OCA Joins Nader Organization to Ban Junk Food in Schools

TAKE JUNK FOOD OUT OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Organic Consumers Association has teamed up with Commercial Alert to get
the public schools to stop promoting junk food and bad nutrition to our
schoolchildren.

Commercial Alert, founded by Ralph Nader, is a national network of
people who oppose the excesses of commercialism, advertising and
marketing. It is coordinating a nationwide grassroots campaign to kick
junk food peddlers and advertisers out of our public schools. The first
step toward putting organic and local food in the public schools is to
get junk food and junk food ads out of the schools.

In July, Organic Consumers Association, Commercial Alert, public health
professionals, children's advocates, and others sent a letter to Senate
and House Agriculture Committee Chairmen Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Larry
Combest, (R-TX) and Ranking Members Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Charles
Stenholm (D-TX), asking them to get the public schools to stop promoting
junk food to children. The letter says that in thousands of schools
"corporations and school administrators have joined together to market
high-calorie, caffeinated, high-sugar candy and soda pop to
impressionable children," which contradicts the purposes of the National
School Lunch Program. The letter is at
<http://www.essential.org/alert/junkfood/aglet.html>.

***Please tell your Members of Congress to stop the public schools from
marketing junk food, and to ensure that schools carry out the healthful
intent of the National School Lunch Act.***

The Congressional switchboard phone is (202) 225-3121. To find the fax
numbers and e-mail addresses of Members of Congress, see
<http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html>.

TIPS ON WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:
1) The public schools are aggressively promoting junk food and bad
nutrition to impressionable schoolchildren.

2) Congress should stop the public schools from marketing junk food, and
ensure that schools carry out the healthful intent of the National
School Lunch Act.

3) Congress should require the public schools, in exchange for receiving
federal funds for school lunches and other educational programs, not to
advertise, sell or promote junk food to schoolchildren.

WHAT YOU CAN DO IN YOUR COMMUNITY
1) Find out if your local public schools sell junk food to
schoolchildren.

2) Find out if your public schools advertise junk food to children.
About 12,000 schools show Channel One, a televised in-school marketing
program that aggressively advertises junk food to captive audiences of 8
million schoolchildren. Some schools also have marketing deals with
soda companies such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

3) If your public schools sell or advertise junk food, ask your local
school board members and school administrators to get rid of the junk
food and junk food ads, Channel One, Coke and Pepsi.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
about the marketing of junk food to schoolchildren and Commercial
Alert's campaign to stop it: visit Commercial Alert's website at
<http://www.essential.org/alert/> or call Gary Ruskin at 202-296-2787 or
send email to <gary@essential.org>.

New Report Examines Commercialism in U.S. Schools

Full story:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/14/business/14SCHO.html>

Recognizing that the nation's 47.2 million students are an increasingly
lucrative target market for consumer product companies, school districts are
often willing to join with corporations. A new report to be released by the
General Accounting Office today begins: "In-school marketing has become a
growing industry. Some marketing professionals are increasingly targeting
children in schools, companies are becoming known for their success in
negotiating contracts between school districts and beverage companies, and
both educators and corporate managers are attending conferences to learn how
to increase revenue from in-school marketing for their schools and
companies." About 25 percent of the nation's middle schools and high schools
now show Channel One, a broadcast of news features and commercials, in their
classrooms, and about 200 school districts have signed exclusive contracts
with soft-drink companies to sell their beverages in schools. And in at
least one case, students using computers in classrooms were offered
incentives to enter personal data -- names, addresses, information on
personal habits -- which would then be sold to advertisers.

See also:

Educators Buy Into Selling Kids On Advertising Truths
<http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000914/2642022s.htm>

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/alert/ | mailto:gary@essential.org
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