Soda Banned in Schools

Fox News ^

[ejroth]

School Soda Ban •Major Soda Brands Agree to Halt Sales to Public Schools 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. 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.

[Txsleuth]

AH...yes, now I know...thanks for the information..

I bet these soft drink companies are NOT happy!!!

You know I have read comments about the "empty calories"...and how cokes aren't good for you or your kids...

We all know that...and we didn't have cokes in my house when I was growing up...but we had Kool-Aid...NO DIFFERENT, except for the lack of caffeine.

[zook]

No, we weren't. We had plenty of exercise. To suggest that limiting milk, juice, and soda in school cafeterias is going to have any significant impact on young America's health is like saying we can improve kids TV viewing habits by assigning them different kinds of homework.

[bkepley]

--Don't know. No one ever monitored what I ate in school. We had all kinds of rich foods, whole milk, ice cream, etc., and we seemed to be just fine.

All those things are food. Soda is not, it's garbage. If parents want to feed their kids garbage that's up to them. It doesn't belong in the schools any more than cigarettes.

[Mo1]

With the exception of lunch break .. kids are in classes learning .. not drinking sodas all day

[Txsleuth]

LOL...yes you are right...and anything that happens before or after school is the parent's and child's responsibility.

[Mase]

The problem is, we weren't just fine. We were in the process of developing Type-2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

The problem isn't going to get fixed by managing one meal a day. The issue is bigger than school lunch programs. You can exert greater control over these programs but the incidence of obesity and diabetes will not decline. The schools probably want to do some good but, as usual, they are seriously misguided. Bill Clinton on the other hand, has an ulterior motive that you can bet has everything to do with control.

If the education system was truly concerned about the health of our children they would be doing more to educate their communities about nutrition. Or course, they'd have to understand nutrition in the first place and would have to agree to take some time away from their prized indoctrination programs to make it work. This feel good nonsense will have little or no impact on the relative health of children.

[kaktuskid]

"The amount of control people are willing to give up to government is amazing. Even small things like what refreshment we may consume are controlled."

School lunches have existed for decades, and somebody in authority decides the menus. That's just the way it is. Soda happens to be a major contributor to obesity and Type-2 diabetes, so eliminating it from schools is a good idea, even if liberals are behind it. I hate to think that there is something in conservatism that is against a healthy diet. If so, that is an argument against conservatism.

So does drinking large amounts of fruit juice..which is equivalent to sugar water

[Old Professer]

Today it's just soda, tomorrow it'll be scotch.

[Caleb1411]

[Monti Cello]

If the soda companies wanted to fight this, they could make 'schoolhouse' versions of their products with vitamins added. Soda has no more sugar than fruit juice. Squirt in the nutrients, and it's comparable to what mother nature is offering. Let the food police argue with that. However, nutritive value would probbly freak out most of the kids whether it tasted any different or not.