Nearly All Sodas Sales to Schools to End

[TechBear_Seattle]

Nearly All Sodas Sales to Schools to End
By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - The nation's largest beverage distributors have agreed to halt nearly all soda sales to public schools, according to a deal announced Wednesday by the William J. Clinton Foundation (emphasis added).

Under the agreement, the companies have agreed to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools, said Jay Carson, a spokesman for former President Bill Clinton. Diet sodas would be sold only to high schools.

Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and the American Beverage Association have all signed onto the deal, Carson said, adding that the companies serve "the vast majority of schools." The American Beverage Association represents the majority of school vending bottlers.

The deal follows a wave of regulation by school districts and state legislatures to cut back on student consumption of soda amid reports of rising childhood obesity rates. Soda has been a particular target of those fighting obesity because of its caloric content and popularity among children.

The article continues at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060503/ap_on_re_us/soft_drinks_schools

[redqueen]

1. That's fantastic news!

:D :D :D :D

Those things are addictive and soooooo bad for you.

[rocktivity]

2. Good--let them practice poor nutrition on their own time.

though I have nothing against selling whole milk--not all kids need low-fat milk.

:headbang:
rocknation

[catabryna]

5. I agree that not all kids need low-fat milk...

My son, who is way below the charts in height and weight, needs the calories and fat contained in whole milk. While he was in a preschool special education program, I had to take whole milk to the school for him to have with his meals. In any event, it worked out alright because the school milk wasn't organic and I prefer that he drink milk that comes from cows raised on organic farms with no use of rbST and antibiotics.

[BoneDaddy]

8. Go to

Notmilk.com if you want a wake up call to the dangers of milk.

[kestrel91316]

13. If milk is so "dangerous", why am I one of the healthiest 50-yr-olds my

Dr has seen in a LOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG time?

Just curious. 'Cause I drink nonfat milk daily, and have for decades.

[reprobate]

26. The human is the only animal that drinks the mammary product of

another species.

And that only because it is profitable to a corporation.

A proper and balanced diet will provide all the nutrients the body needs. As generations grow we are seeing more and more people who are lactose intolerant. Speculation is that the enzyme required to digest milk is a ancient holdover and is being removed from the species.

[BoneDaddy]

28. big amen

to that. People need to investigate the truth about the dairy and meat industries.

[reprobate]

81. Thank you, BD. I don't make up facts, just report them.

It's really surprising how aculturated we become. Even to attacking the reporter.

But it has ever been thus.

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. "only because it is profitable to a corporation"?

Tell that to all the people around the world who keep animals they drink the milk from. Are you sure you're not thinking of Coca-Cola? If the enzyme really is an "ancient holdover", that would indicate that drinking milk has a long history, wouldn't it? I think your speculation needs some thought.

[bmbmd]

37. True. Check out the Heifer Foundation.

http://www.heiferfoundation.org/aboutus/index.cfm

[TX-RAT]

36. Not completely true.

I've seen dog's, birds, rodents, horses and even deer drink the milk we put out for the cats.I've seen grown cats nurse on dairy cows.

[catabryna]

41. The caveat is that the child must be able to chew...

Adoptive mothers can not lactate without hormonal intervention and breast milk banks typically don't provide their "stock" for adopted children. I was blessed to have a friend donate her breast milk to my son for a few weeks before his first two surgeries to help build up his immunities.

He wasn't able to eat solid foods until he was almost 2 years old so, he is a cow milk kid and very little could have changed that; hence my choosing organic.

I only throw this out because there will always be an exception to the general rule of thumb.

[Odin2005]

44. What a bunch of BS. Eurasian nomads didn't buy milk from Kemps.

Lactose intolerance was the ancestral condition. The abillity to digest lactose developed in the neolithic cattle-hearding cultures of Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Africa.

[eppur_se_muova]

55. Most infants can digest lactose, but lose the ability as they grow older..

... and are weaned from their mother's breast milk.

And you are correct, it is only ethnic groups with a LONG history of herding dairy animals who have adapted to preserve the necessary enzyme into later life. In this country, this historically meant European immigrants and Navajos. It was not until relatively recently that anyone realized that serving milk with ALL school lunches was not a good option for children in other ethnic groups--some of whom got quite sick. That's when they started adding orange juice (or some "orange juice flavored drink") to the menus. Before that, they just didn't know better.

[harpboy_ak]

70. You're full of BS

it is only ethnic groups with a LONG history of herding dairy animals who have adapted to preserve the necessary enzyme into later life. In this country, this historically meant European immigrants and Navajos.

Sorry, Navajos didn't herd animals until the Spanish came along with European sheep.

BTW, acidophilus eats up lactose, which is why yogurt, yogurt based cheeses, and other fermented milk products are widely eaten in cultures that have populations which have higher occurences of lactose intolerance.

[eppur_se_muova]

104. **Very** politely put. Shows REAL class. Just mentioning what I'd read.

I have no actual idea why the Navajos should be exempt from lactose intolerance; I just read it somewhere years ago, and Navajos were specifically singled out as being unique among Native Americans in this regard. No connection with sheep herding was claimed or implied; it was just noted as an oddity. However, a Google search does show it to be apparently in error (one of those 'myths' that just got started, I guess): Most of the citations I found online say lactose intolerance is "common" among NA's, and some are specific about Navajos in particular. Maybe it's less common among Navajos than other NA's; I don't know. I can't find any statistics except this: "74% of Native Americans"; "80 to 100 percent of American Indians" are lactose intolerant, and the (more anectodal) account below:

There can be many other strange things for our children to see and experience in school, not the least of which might be the cafeteria. The school feeding program will acquaint Indian children with foods they may never have seen before. One thing they will have to contend with immediately is the Anglo belief in the beneficence of a peculiar liquid called cow's milk.

Very slowly we are beginning to understand that nutritional requirements mean different things to different racial, and possibly sub racial, groups. Although what I have said may be shocking to the most democratic of us, it may be that what is good for the Anglo body may not in fact be good for everyone else. This may be another mindless prejudice yet to be purged: nutritional ethnocentrism. To put it another way, the consequences of ethnocentrism may be more tenacious and deep-seated than we have thought. In the animal pens near Navajo hogans you can usually find the remains of milk products from the commodities program: butter, cheese, dried milk. From one tribe to the next, parents will report that "he (or she) won't drink that milk," to the double perplexity of the non-Indian inquisitor, i.e.. that the child dislikes milk, and that adults don't force children to drink it anyway "for their own good."

But as more and more investigations are reported, the fact is becoming incontrovertible that for many or most of the world's people, milk is not our most valuable food, or "nature's way," or so say the slogans of the milk industry. These studies indicate that most of us cannot drink milk after early childhood without suffering gastric upset, cramps, bloating, diarrhea or nausea. One report, The Health Letter, published in San Antonio, summarizes by saying that:

". . . Most of the adults in the world have some degree of lactose (milk) intolerance . . . the major exceptions to this are the northern European and Scandinavian descendants. In the United States, over 35 million whites and 25 million blacks have lactose intolerance. Most of the nations minority races have a high rate of lactose intolerance. The rate has been described as high as 90 percent of all adult blacks and 70 percent in a random sampling of the black population. The American Indians, Mexican Americans and other people not of northern European and Scandinavian extraction have lactose intolerance. "

excerpted from http://www.indianreader.com/indian.html

The search did lead me to some interesting links on lactose intolerance. Not suffering from it, I was pretty surprised (years ago) to realize that it's actually the default condition. (Not trying to sound unsympathetic to anyone, just never knew, because it never came up.)

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/lactose_intolerance.html
http://poplicks.com/2005/04/lactose-and-intolerance.html
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/l/lactose_intolerance/stats-country.htm

Perhaps the most inclusive survey is the one cited here, if I can locate it (recent article but broken links):

http://news.com.com/Gene+research+offers+cheesy+insights/2100-1008_3-5739824.html

Now, it's true I probably should have checked my own original info before posting, but if you want to rebut, isn't a citation of actual sources like this better behavior than saying "You're full of BS?"

(Oh, and I learned that the California Sea Lion is the only mammal whose milk does not contain lactose. Sea Lion dairy farming, anyone?)

[YOY]

47. Profitable? Corporation? Try something else.

Try cultural.

I can name cultural dishes based on dairy products worldwide that have nothing to do with corporations.

Try it just tastes good with chocolate chip cookies!


Post PETA disinformation somewhere else.

[reprobate]

80. I am neither a member nor supporter of PETA. And the fact remeins that

with each generation there are more people that are lactose intolerant once they reach adulthood. In these people the enzyme is produced during infancy and childhood, but disappears from the system in adulthood.

Facts is facts and ice cream is delicious, but taste has little to do with genomics.

[YOY]

85. Please reprobate...

Could you back it up with some proper documentation?

[BoneDaddy]

87. LOL

I love the attack on PETA, People want their dysfunction and will do anything to protect it.

[YOY]

108. Stuck in some 3-year-old's fantasy where

fish have feelings and a chicken could write Shakespear...

Gotta share a wing with some wackos...better them than the RW's wackos...

[BoneDaddy]

110. I am not sure

what you mean. I do not subscribe to PETA's fanfare entirely but much of it makes some sense.... I eat meat, fish, but I also acknowledge the dangers of processed and over developed meat and dairy products which are clearly unsafe and irresponsible.

[YOY]

That's just common sense to be careful because there are truly a lot of

nasty additives to the food.

That's being careful about what you consume for very good reasons. I eat only organic meat when I have a chance and my wife and I both drink organic milk. The Gargoyle Group are a bunch of ripe old bastards and they do some pretty nasty stuff.

On the same level some mass produced meat is done so unethically and the animals are treated inhumanely.

However, acknowledging that and subscribing to some theory that no one should ever eat meat or any animal byproduct? That's just beyond illogical.

[YOY]

111. That's just common sense to be careful because there are truly a lot of

nasty additives to the food.

That's being careful about what you consume for very good reasons. I eat only organic meat when I have a chance and my wife and I both drink organic milk. The Gargoyle Group are a bunch of ripe old bastards and they do some pretty nasty stuff.

On the same level some mass produced meat is done so unethically and the animals are treated inhumanely.

However, acknowledging that and subscribing to some theory that no one should ever eat meat or any animal byproduct? That's just beyond illogical.

[jpgray]

50. Yeah, being the CEO of a Mongol nomadic mlk corporation was a hot ticket

And the Bedouin Dairy Conglomerates really pushed the camel milk slurpees, I hear.

[iconoclastNYC]

52. We're the only species to do A LOT of things

You need a stronger argument to support your point of view.

Lactose intolerance is a "holdover"....and is being "removed from the species?".... if that is so it will take thousands of years... and only if natural selection prefers those who are lactose intolerant, which doesn't seem logical to me.

[reprobate]

79. Please read more carefully. It's the enzyme that helps digest lactose

that's being dropped from the genome, not the other way round.

[iconoclastNYC]

105. "Dropped?"

Do you know how natural selection works? I kinda doubt it the way you are using the terminology.

To argue that the enzyme to digest lactose is being removed from the genome (via natural selection) you'd have to somehow demonstrate that not having that enzyme is an advantage.

That's how natural selection works. People with mutations that increase the gene holders chance of survival outbreed people without the mutation. This is the engine of evolution.

I don't see how you can say getting indigestion from eating dairy is a beneficial mutation.

[toopers]

106. In the human race, at least in developed countries . . .

there is no such thing as natural selection. We are also the only species that protects the weakest among us.

[iconoclastNYC]

107. Tell that to the 40 million uninsured

Or the children born to poor people who die at much higher rates then those born to the rich.

[kestrel91316]

76. I am confident that consuming milk will NOT make me lactose intolerant.

It doesn't work that way. Other folks' lactose intolerance is no reason for me to give up something that I digest perfectly well.

[reprobate]

78. Of course it won't. I'm talking about over many generations

[kestrel91316]

99. If you review Biology 101, you will learn that it is not possible for

something like milk consumption over the course of generations, as you put it, to cause something like lactose intolerance down the road.........any more than cutting off generations of mice's tails will eventually cause their offspring to be born without tails. That sort of nonsense was discredited when we discovered DNA.

Of course, the Russians believed it for lots longer.........

BTW, does anybody remember who that nut was that came up with this idea - Lamarck??

[kestrel91316]

77. Oh, BTW - do you maintain that the tribe in Africa (I forget the name)

that has subsisted on cow's milk and cow's blood for millennia has done so only to profit corporations, which didn't even exist until a couple hundred years ago????? How about Mongolian tribes, and cultures that developed cheese (like the Greeks and Middle Easterners and Hindus and Europeans and Italians). They started consuming dairy products thousands of years ago to profit nonexistent corporations????

I hate corporations as much as the next person, but this line of reasoning is, well, just SILLY.

I guess they aren't teaching about other cultures in school anymore............or history, either, for that matter.

[ChoralScholar]

88. nuh-uh....

Oh yeah, also, I'm anti-corporation as much as the next guy, but people were drinking cow's milk long before there were corporations to profit from it.

Dog Nurses Cat


Dog Nurses Squirrel


Tiger Nurses Dog


Baby Nursing a Beer

[lynne]

95. My cat disagrees.

[Southsideirish]

100. I exercise 10 miles per day and haven't had any dairy products in 10 yrs.

And I'm way over 50.

[BoneDaddy]

27. I know 80 year olds who have

smoked and drank but that does not mean they are good for you... that means nothing.

Did you read the site, do any research or just react to what I said. At least do me a favor to look at the science.

[kestrel91316]

75. I don't know what some internet site will teach me about nutrition that I

don't already probably know. That was the toughest class in vet school, by far. And I didn't stop reading and learning 24 years ago, either.

I don't DO RESEARCH, BTW. And neither do YOU, I suspect. Reading is not "doing research". Performing controlled experiments is "doing research".

[BoneDaddy]

86. I forgot

you doctors KNOW everything already... forgive me your majesty for my ignorant affront of your vast omniscience..

[BoneDaddy]

89. Oh yeah here

is the definition of research:
"inquire into; "the students had to research the history of the Second World War for their history project"; "He searched for information on his relatives on the web"; "Scientists are exploring the nature of consciousness"
systematic investigation to establish facts
attempt to find out in a systematically and scientific manner; "The student researched the history of that word"
inquiry: a search for knowledge; "their pottery deserves more research than it has received"

So before you open that holy orifice and the wrong mana from heaven comes out, do some research.

[bmbmd]

39. You are very fortunate.

You also are a good enough scientist to know that anecdotal evidence is the weakest of proof, and that there are exceptions to every rule.

[kestrel91316]

74. Yep. And I also know that I make enough sacrifices as it is. I refuse to

live like a monk and give up EVERYTHING I enjoy for the sake of my "health". If I can't have a little milk, why bother getting up in the morning? I have given up ice cream, potato chips, processed foods, margarine and shortening (ok, no great loss there), real coffee, most candy, most red meat, most liquor, pot, racing giant slalom, mountain climbing, and more stuff I can't even remember.

If some weirdo wants me to give up nonfat milk, too, I say: GO SUCK AN EGG.

[reprobate]

82. SO DON'T GIVE UP YOUR MILK. If you can digest it, it provides valuable

nutrients. Enjoy. It's those that can't tolerate it that become known as anasthesiologists (gas passers). They're the people that leave unpleasant clouds behind them.

[BoneDaddy]

90. it is poison

sorry you disagree

[kestrel91316]

98. Worse yet, they get diarrhea (they probably won't tell people about THAT)

[TX-RAT]

40. Also drink it daily, only it's full strength.

Just had a great check up 3 weeks ago.

[kestrel91316]

73. If I used full-fat milk I'd probably weigh 300 lb!!!!!

[TX-RAT]

93. I love milk, have ever since i was a kid.

I do manage to keep it to 1 glass a day with breakfast.

[Pacifist Patriot]

46. Could be any number of reasons.

Too complex to draw a direct correlation between your milk consumption and your state of health. My 91 year old grandmother drank gin every day. I wouldn't prescribe that for longevity.

[LeftyMom]

58. Probably some combination good genes and lifestyle choices,

just like most healthy people. Also if you're of northern European descent you may likely have a mutation that allows you to digest cows milk well, which most human beings can't do.

[kestrel91316]

72. I am Northern European. And I watch out for saturated fat.

I have EXTREMELY good lipid profile numbers, and low BP. I DON'T consume trans-fats, and haven't for ove two decades.

[superconnected]

60. Plenty of chain smokers say the same thing.

Anyway, milk is full of cow hormones now - added. There's more problems with it but I doubt you'll invest the time to look into it.

Spout away...

[kestrel91316]

71. I know a lot about cows, and milk, and disease. I'm a vet.

[Coventina]

3. Wow! Great news. I have to say, I'm amazed!

I thought there wasn't anything these companies wouldn't do for a buck.

[katty]

63. They'll sell "water" now-for over a buck, more profitable

less processing.

[Sammy Pepys]

4. Great idea

I remember we weren't allowed to have soda in elementary or middle school, but in high school there was a soda machine every three feet. Took me a long time to cut down my soda consumption, but I drink a lot more wzter and tea now.

Though I just tried that Coca Cola Black stuff last night and it was pretty good (not terribly high in calories either). I also love Coke Zero.

[Doctor Venmkan]

6. Riiight...

*sigh* And what of the kids who know what "MODERATION" is? Kids that can enjoy a Pepsi here and there without having one in their hands every waking moment? Guess they're SOL because of those that were taught no self-conrol at home.

[LostinVA]

7. They can drink soda on their own time

Kids don't have a right to soda in school.

I personally know many teachers who will be joyous at this news!

[chopper]

9. asdf

i guess they'll just have to bring soda from home. oh, you can actually do that? what a time to be alive.

[Nikia]

57. At my school, we were not allowed to use refrigerators

If you want to have a soda before or during the meeting of your after school club meeting, you are probably out of luck if you prefer cold soda.

[gratuitous]

16. Bummer

I guess the kids who can practice self control at 12 and 13 and totally resist the blandishments of Madison Avenue (all four of them) will just have to bring a soda from home. In the meantime, schools can get out of the soda vending business and spend more time, I dunno, teaching or something?

[ShortnFiery]

23. Yes, it's a damn shame, kids can't be as free as we were

in the 70s. Heck, you could step outside and enjoy a smoke without getting snagged. And "a smoke" is not that ole' nasty nicotine. Oh, I miss the 70s. :(

[IADEMO2004]

34. Teach'em to live without a choice early

Baby boomers sure have turned into nanny no no with their kids

[ShortnFiery]

43. Not this one ... she's better off for it

We love to sing "I hate Republicans" and "Republicans Suck" as we motor through the burbs. :P

[Roon]

68. I remember being in elementary school

and riding by the middle school on the bus and seeing kids toking and smoking.I think a couple of them were barefooted! My how have times changed! lol

[donsu]

102. and they knew where La. was

nt

[killbotfactory]

10. Wow, awesome...

Now we just need to give the kids better food.

[DUHandle]

11. Diet soda and other non nutritional products will still be sold

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12604166/


Under the agreement, the distributors will not sell soda or diet soda to elementary and middle schools. Diet soda, diet and unsweetened teas, fitness water, sports drinks, flavored water and seltzers will be sold to high schools, the news release said.

[Retrograde]

24. Whew! I was worried Pepsi et al would lose money

but since they're finding other sorts of stuff to peddle their income stream won't be in that great jeopardy.

"Fitness water" and sports drinks: gotta love those marketeers!

[nashville_brook]

12. Bill Clinton! wow. what an amazing deal!

[donsu]

14. diet soda should not be in high schools! bad stuff, messes up the body

teenage girls should not drink diet soda

[rocktivity]

19. A man and a girl about 7 were in front of me at a food stand

After the man ordered some food, he turned to the girl and asked what she wanted to drink. She replied, "Do they have diet Pepsi?"

:headbang:
rocknation

[Festivito]

48. Bugs me also. /nt

[OnionPatch]

91. You can say that again

I'd almost rather my daughter drink the stuff with the real sugar in it than the stuff with Rumsfeld's poison in it.

Edited to add: I guess I should have said, "real corn syrup."

[libodem]

15. high fructose corn syrup is deadly

as far as i'm concerned. If they ban soda they should ban everything else with that crap in it. i did a google search last evening and the verdict was dire re: high fructose corn syrup.

[BadgerKid]

49. hfcs IN MODERATION should be ok

AFAIAC the problem is with the ubiquity of hfcs; we/they're exposed to much higher amounts that would be gotten from, for example, whole fruit. Metabolically speaking, hfcs goes the same route as regular table sugar.

[Digit]

54. My body can't tolerate HFCS

I get horrible cramping followed by even more unpleasant symptoms, while REAL sugar is tolerated just fine.
Look up HFCS and IBS.

[BadgerKid]

66. Re: My body can't tolerate HFCS

Sorry to hear. Quick web search suggests fructose malabsorption. Another one of Nature's curveballs. Thanks for the lead.

[Frank Cannon]

17. Liquid candy

I never thought I'd see the day.

[aquart]

18. About time.

When I went back to subbing and saw those vending machines, I was stunned.

[rodeodance]

20. and a big thanks to the :William J. Clinton Foundation

[henslee]

21. Sad day for dentists.

[grasswire]

22. isn't Cadbury Schweppes owned by the Carlyle Group now?

I think it is.

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. No - 'plc' stands for 'public limited company'

ie publicly traded shares. It used to jointly own the Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group with Carlyle; but it has just bought out their share.

[DUHandle]

25. One of the better thing going on in school food

is the debit card/email thing.

The students cards are charged with some cash and they can buy what they want.

When they swipe the card, a database is populated and ultimately, and email sent to the parent(s) as to what the $$$ was spent on.

It's a nice system.

[CatholicEdHead]

30. Sales from these products actually are put into the school

With the dropping property taxes (relative to inflation) and other public support, this is one way many districts have turned too to close the gap. We will see many school programs cut because of this.

[DUHandle]

31. Soft drink machines are not

exactly moneymakers.

I do think we'll start seeing corporate sponsorships, at least in more affluent ares.

[0007]

67. cough cough......

[DUHandle]

97. You've Got Corporate Sponsorships Already? n/t

[bmbmd]

38. The Coca-Cola company

built the tennis court complex (very nice) in Graham, Texas in exchange for a long-term exclusive contract to sell soft drinks on campus and at sporting events.

[realFedUp]

62. Coke has lots of other products to sell your child

one of them being selling water back to
people who can drink it for free.
I would bet they are making a larger
profit selling filtered plain water than something
they have to add base and carbonates to.

[KansDem]

101. Bullshit, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages.

My wife works at a community college. Coke came in and said it would donate a certain amount of money if the college agreed to host only its machines and had only Coke products in its deli. The amount was something like $20,000-$30,000. But hundreds of students buy drinks a day, so the "donation" was quickly made up. It was definitely a coup for Coke.

Oh, and since it was an "exclusive contract," the college deli had to stop offering for sale a lemonade made with real sugar, and made locally in the Kansas City area. So there goes a healthier product made locally.

All Coke, all the time...

Corporations don't enter into these kinds of agreements unless they're making out like bandits.

[Orsino]

33. Huh. Clinton has done more for America...

...with this single stroke than * has done in a term-and-a-half.

[winston61]

35. this is good news,

Now if Brother Bill can get the food industry to abandon corn based sweeteners, we'll ALL be better off.

[eppur_se_muova]

56. Just cut tariffs. It's the only reason corn syrup can compete with sugar.

Without the tariffs, Cargill's huge corn syrup business would be put out of business by imported cane sugar (which exploits poverty-stricken third world canefield workers ... dilemma ahead!).

[w4rma]

42. That's really great news! (nt)

[arikara]

45. Its not hurting the soft drink companies to do this

they now own the water bottling plants and juice companies both of which makes them megabucks. I'm not so sure about the milk but no doubt they have their tentacles in factory farming too.

[rainbow4321]

51. I can see TX schools throwing a hissy fit

Cuz our schools are known for their huge school-soda company contract$.

Schools down here say that they need the $$ to make up for the school funding crisis. Never mind that the lawmakers can't get their act together long enough to fix the $$ problem.

Keep in mind this is the same state that has a lawmaker who proposed the following for TX school kids' obesity: He wanted schools to put students' body fat index number on each report card so their parents could see if their kid was fat or not. Um, yeah, that will work..let's just totally destroy the kids' self esteem as their friends start to compare their BFI stats. Idiot. His proposal never was passed, thank goodness.

[Orsino]

53. Clinton's Foundation did what the Congress could not.

They Stood up to, or at least sat down with, Big Soda--and shamed them into compliance with a healthier standard.

Wonder how long it'll last. Wonder where our Dem leaders were?

[Alfalfa Wolf]

59. Here's a different point of view

I hope no one actually believes that this act is actually going to reduce childhood obesity. Here's what no one is saying:

a. Now that the major corporate soda giants have pulled out of the schools, they have given the smaller regional businesses a window to get THEIR sodas into the schools. If I were a high school principal, and I wanted an easy way to fund-raise using vending machines, I'd be negotiating a deal with a mom-and-pop company right now.

b. Soda in the schools is NOT the cause of childhood obesity, poor nutrition and lack of regular exercise at home is. Do not expect obesity rates to drop anytime soon. Even if school lunch programs were completely eliminated, children's waistlines would continue to expand....

c. After a reasonable period of time, the demand for soda machines will begin to increase, and the big sodacorps will begin to reconsider their decision not to sell to schools.

d. Some of these sodamonsters also sell junk food and candies to schools. Whatever revenue they lose in cola, they'll make up in snack cakes and chocolate bars.

e. One Word: POWERADE....

So in the end, this decision solves NOTHING.....

[Shakespeare]

61. Well, not entirely.

Here's why the soda companies will behave themselves: they're running scared--VERY scared--of obesity-related lawsuits, in two areas in particular--(unethical) marketing to children, and emerging concerns over the use of high fructose corn syrup in their products.

And before you tell me I'm full of it, let me tell you HOW I know what I know: until very recently, I worked for a law firm that reps some of the big soda companies(and that's as specific as I can get without giving away too much info), and I've seen the internal corresondence, memos and studies on both those potential landmine areas. They're worried, and have good reason to be, and are bending over backwards to get "healthy" products into schools. Part of it's market-driven (one of the responses to the pending legal problems was to come up with healthier products that can replace sodas), but part of it's an attempt to avoid major, major litigation.

As far as the junk food you mention, those are gradually being taken out, too (thanks to action on the state and local level).

[Chrisduhfur]

69. I don't blame the soda companies.

They have a product and they obviously want to sell it. In my opinion this seems to be more of the fault of the schools than anyone else.

[donco6]

65. Yes, Alfalfa Wolf. And welcome to DU

The biggest problem we had with removing pop from machines was not the kids, it was the PARENTS! They showed up at board meetings demanding it be put back. AND they want bigger portions at lunch, regular chips instead of baked chips on the alacarte line, mad because we got rid of our fryers. Brother.

[Maddy McCall]

84. Powerade is a COCA COLA product, though.

[Terran1212]

64. Good News -- this is progress resulting from pressure and activism

These companies never would've done this had they not been attacked.

[Hekate]

83. A big thanks to the Big Dog! Childhood diabetes and obesity are soaring

in this country. Kids are even developing osteoporosis, for gods' sake, because soda not only doesn't provide calcium, it actually leaches it out of the bones.

Schools strapped for cash have installed soda machines as a means to raise money, and corporations like Coke and Pepsi are only to happy to "help." This has been a disgrace for way too long.

Kids don't know any better, but adults DO. Nobody give me any malarky about taking away "choices" -- young growing bodies need calcium and vitamin D in abundance, the equivalent of at least a quart of milk a day. This standard was set because rickets used to be absolutely rampant among the poor in this country, and milk fortified with D was the quickest and cheapest way to prevent that disease. Making sure all kids got that was -- dare I say it -- a PROGRESSIVE idea for its time, and still one today.

Objections to the hormones and antibiotics given to cows should simply spur us on to remedy farming and dairying practices, not deprive children of essential nutrition.

Adults are supposed to be making wise choices for the children in their charge, not turning their welfare over to the highest bidder.

Many thanks should go to Bill Clinton -- I really hope this article meant to include the whole country, and not just New York.

Hekate

[bdamomma]

92. they should have done that a long time ago

instead of pumping these kids up with soda, and sweets, no wonder obesity is such a risk factor in the US.

[Skittles]

94. yes - and bring back more physical education

absolutely

[Ohio Joe]

96. Thank you President Clinton - nt

[toopers]

103. Get ready for the soda black market!

N/T

[NorthernSpy]

109. ... beer to be sold instead!

You wish, kids!

:beer:

Soda is bad for your teeth (though I'm not sure that banning it in high schools is a reasonable thing to do).

Beer is much, much better than soda. If I ran the country, teens could have a beer with meals if their parents didn't object. Our irrational attitude toward alcohol provokes binge drinking and delays the adoption of normal, civilized drinking patterns.