March 2005

Editor’s Note: With California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calling for an end to soda and junk food in schools, we dedicate this special, all good news issue to school-based nutrition advocates all over the country who are fighting for exactly that. In addition to Kentucky and California, states such as Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Arizona are all making progress towards passing legislation, albeit with the necessary compromises thanks to industry lobbying. Informed Eating will continue to keep you up-to-date on the latest developments.

Plus, a not-so-good-news update from last month: Maine’s legislation to require menu labeling in chain restaurants failed, thanks to heavy lobbying from the restaurant industry.

Fighting Back: Focus on Schools

Kentucky Four-Year Battle Ends in Compromise

At 11:46pm on March 8, with just 14 minutes before the end of the legislative session, Kentucky lawmakers passed SB 172, a bill that represents four years of bitter battles over school-based nutrition and physical activity policy. Among other provisions, the bill: 1) bans soft drink sales in elementary school during the school day (middle and high schools were off the table thanks to industry pressure); 2) limits retail fast food in cafeterias to once a week (a ban on fried foods was struck due to outcry from food service directors); 3) establishes penalties for competitive food violations; and 4) requires the board of education to promulgate regulations for the nutritional content of foods and beverages sold outside of meals. Dietitian Carolyn Dennis, who has led the charge since 2001, told Informed Eating, “The passage of this legislation is an acknowledgment of the important role that schools play in providing a healthy environment that encourages children to make healthy choices.” The state’s Republican governor is expected to sign the bill into law. Congratulations to Carolyn and other heroes who fought so hard for this victory and we look forward to more progress.

Update on California’s Cutting-Edge Bills

Despite industry lobbying that exempted high schools from previous legislation to ban soda in all California public schools, nutrition advocates are trying again. State Senator Martha Escutia is sponsoring a bill to eliminate the sale of soda and other highly sweetened beverages on high school campuses. Even Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is supporting the bill. If passed, California would become the first state to rid high schools of soda state-wide. In addition, Senator Escutia is sponsoring a bill to set nutrient standards for all competitive foods on California school campuses, grades K-12. (A previous effort failed due to both industry and school food service lobbying.) The current bill’s numerous co-sponsors include the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, the California School Boards Association, and the American Cancer Society.

For more information on these bills and how you can send letters support, visit: www.publichealthadvocacy.org/legislation/index.html.

Informed Resources

Community Action to Change School Food Policy

The Massachusetts Public Health Association has put together a wonderful toolkit to help pass local policies to eliminate junk food and sodas from schools. It includes many top-notch resources, including sample policies, how to write a press release, arguments and responses (provided by CIFC), and much more. The toolkit also links local school policy efforts with Massachusetts’s statewide legislation re-filed this year to eliminate sweetened beverages and foods of minimal nutritional value from schools. Kudos to MPHA’s director of education, Roberta Friedman for her dedication and hard work on this project! To download the toolkit, visit: www.mphaweb.org/home_food_policy_kit.pdf.
 

Framing the School Soda Debates

The Berkeley Media Studies Group has evaluated how recent debates on banning sodas in schools were framed in news coverage of the battles in the Oakland and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. How did proponents and opponents make their case? What statistics, metaphors, and values did they use? The findings can help advocates better state their position and anticipate their opposition's arguments. To download the report, visit:
http://www.bmsg.org/content/Issue15.pdf.
 

Countering Arguments for Sodas in Schools

To help support advocates who are fighting battles to get soda out of schools all over the country, CIFC has put together a list of common arguments along with suggested responses. You can access this document on the new section of our Resources page called, Taking on Industry: www.informedeating.org/resources.html.

Thirst for Profit: Mothering Cover Story 

Pick up the March/April issue of Mothering magazine to read a cover story called, “Thirst for Profit” by CIFC’s Michele Simon. The article relates stories from activists all over the country who are doing battle with the soda industry to rid their schools of Coke and Pepsi. Join Michele Simon for an online chat about this topic on Wednesday, March 23 at 10:00am pacific time,
1pm eastern, here: http://mommychats.com/chatinfo.htm.

Upcoming Classes: Series on the Politics of Food

If you’re at least 50 years old and live near Berkeley, California, you can sign up for a series of seven interactive classes this spring on the politics of food. Taught by CIFC’s Michele Simon and hosted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, topics include the politics of nutrition advice and genetically-engineered food. For details, visit: http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/prog/olli/courses/096255.html.

Michele Simon is available for lectures and workshops in your community and can speak on a variety of food policy topics. For more information, visit: http://www.informedeating.org/lectures.html.

Seeking Local Stories of Battling Big Food

CIFC is currently gathering stories at the state and local levels where the food industry is attempting to block nutrition advocacy efforts. Many states, cities, and counties around the country are trying to pass nutrition-related legislation (e.g., limiting junk food in schools or imposing soda taxes), but the food industry is lobbying hard to either stop or curtail these efforts. If you know about any specific fights, we want to hear about them. We are especially interested in stories related to soda contracts in schools. Please contact Michele Simon at: Michele@informedeating.org or (510) 465-0322. Thank you!

The Center for Informed Food Choices in a nonprofit organization that advocates for a whole foods, plant-based diet and educates about the politics of food.

CIFC is proud to make Informed Eating available as a free public service. Unlike industry publications, it is not underwritten by corporate sponsors. We would greatly appreciate your support for this newsletter and our other important policy work. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit www.informedeating.org or call (510) 465-0322.

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2005 Informed Eating  -  All Rights Reserved