You can be sure whenever an industry’s cash flow is threatened, the PR propagandists are going to working overtime, spinning faux concern to the public. This is most obvious in a recent press release riddled with confusing euphemisms entitled “School Partnerships”; a document regarding school district beverage vending policy. It’s wise to remember, however, that when the fox is watching the henhouse it is only a ruse. This great declaration of corporation concern was declared on August 17, 2005 has more holes than a collander.

This document paints childhood obesity as a big problem that should be addressed by promoting healthy lifestyles, a balanced diet and regular physical exercise. Who would disagree with such a self-evident statement?

Next is a list of associations exhorting the importance of a parental role in the execution of the above mentioned virtues. This responsibility, however, is everyone’s job. Alas their industry (which has long provided “refreshing and tasty soda") believes their products have a place in this healthy lifestyle as long as young soda drinkers are following a balanced diet and exercising frequently. It’s difficult to believe that the educated and smart youngster who maintains a balanced diet and works out regularly is really interested in wolfing down 24 ounces of colored sugar water. Their exact words were: “We believe our products have a place in a healthy lifestyle and these products are appropriate for young people who follow balanced diets and are physically active.” This statement appears ludicrous, when one considers that truly healthy lifestyles have no need or desire for drinks full of empty calories.

The document then addresses the importance of variety. They offer in this order ( which is not the order in which they are currently consumed) bottled water, 100% fruit juices, juice drinks, dairy based milk drink, sports drinks, teas and sodas. Notice sodas were mentioned last. I observed that reduced sugar juice drinks are not mentioned. Dole has made a light 50% less sugar berry blend with only 13 grams of sugar per 8 oz. serving size; Tropicana’s light offering has 30 grams. These prove that there are reasonable choices for flavored beverages. Unfortunately, the profit margin is higher on the sugary choices.

The beverage industry realizes that there is considerable discussion of sales of soft drinks in schools. They claim to recognize that at school children are not under direct supervision of a parent thus raising unique issues! This is an excuse, as there is nothing unique or new about not wanting our kids strung out on sugary sodas. They propose to solve this problem for us by adopting “responsible school vending policies” and working with school districts to provide a mix of products meeting needs of school administrators and parents. The beverage manufacturers concluded that a new-industry wide school beverage policy would enable them to better partner with parent and schools enhancing the role of community decision making over the sale of beverages in school. This seems to state that school administrators can’t possibly create a reasonable nutritional policy without help from the industry.

The industry-recommended policy goes on to make the following statements which strike me as a case of “too little, too late"! The beverage industry states that after having worked with parent and community leaders and school officials, they want to do more to help children make good lifestyle choices. Why would a soda pop tycoon be suddenly interested in improving their product choices to suit a healthier lifestyle? If you examine the document closely, it appears that they want greater control over available choices for younger children in the school environment and suggest that older children should have more beverage choices, in this case, more cola and soft drinks – which is quite contrary to what local school officials and community leaders want for their children. This represents the bulk of the ABA’s (American Beverage Association) response to groups adopting new policies regarding the availability of vending machine beverages. With the watered down version of soda control the industry presents perhaps their soda profits will be maintained. Effectively, the ABA is trying to “head them off at the pass", like in an old western. You can find this document at: http://www.ameribev.org/schools/vending_policy.asp

In the meantime, the industry is working to develop new types of beverages which will mollify their critics. As they continue to develop innovative beverages choices they will remain vigilant in forcing their policies upon local schools. Allow me to list their goals.

1. Provide only bottled water and 100% fruit juice to elementary schools
2. Provide nutritious and/or lower calorie beverages to middle school students, such as bottled water, 100% juice, sports drinks, no calorie soft drinks and low-cal juice drinks. No full- calorie soft drinks or full calorie juice drinks containing 5% or less of real juice will be provided until after school hours.
3. Provide a variety of beverage choices to high school students such as bottled 100% juice, sports drinks, juice drinks. No more than 50% of vending machines will be soft drinks.

This is The Strategic Alliance of Oakland consumer group [website, email] has to say about this PR fairy tale spun by the ABA:

“These guidelines are all about PR, not students health. The industry announced its new guidelines as political cover from much deserved criticism for their role in promoting unhealthy products . A growing movement of parents, school administrators and teacher demanding only healthy drinks to be sold in schools. This is a threat to the soda industry.”

“These guidelines are weak. Many school districts and state level policies, including California’s SB677, are much more stringent, have been more successfully implemented in many schools. San Francisco and Los Angeles school districts, for example. have banned all soda and other highly sweetened beverages.”

“These guidelines will have no effect on school beverage offerings. They call for the elimination of soda sales in elementary schools but elementary schools rarely have vending machines, making this a moot point. They apply only to vending machines, ignoring the many other places where beverages are sold in schools.”

“These guidelines are unenforceable. The American Beverage industry, which authored the voluntary guidelines, is a trade association and does not directly sell beverages to schools. There is no enforcement or accountability mechanism in the new voluntary guidelines.”

“These guide lines are a distraction. Schools are supposed to teach children life skills. If children are being taught about health in school, and then being sold things that aren’t healthy there, it is not only a mixed message but also not in line with the mission of schools.”

What do you think about beverage policy in our schools? Leave comments here and get involved with your local consumer group or PTA.

The world is waiting for science and technology to bring us that magic pill to slow down obesity and fight cancer. Well it has arrived! I suggest they go to their nearest grocery store or Farmer’s Market where a myriad of colors and shapes beg to be taken home and enjoyed. These unpaid doctors have offices open 24/7. Their medication is delicious, easy to ingest and the bill for feeling so good is pathetically small.

Containing such profound things like anti-oxidants, lycopene, isoflavones, beta carotene and folate. More benefits from vegetables are mentioned daily with promises of weight reduction, greater disease resistance and energy.

Nonetheless , this get well, stay well food group (vegetables) is neglected by moms and ridiculed by presidents and pompous movie stars while the food industry would have us eating them in altered states or drowned in fat and salt. We can choose to accept this or you can join me in an educational effort to create change in attitude and practice of better eating habits. In short, we need to have a “Coalition Against Cruelty to Carrots ” which will include the entire kingdom of our crunchy life-saving edibles.

When something is this good, this available and comes from the earth specifically to sustain us, how can we continue to mock their value?

Perhaps it’s the ridicule that truly irritates me and we should not accept such subliminal message sent by the drug companies. Their message is so offensive, it’s necessary to express my repugnance. The following ad is just one of many bad raps these cruciferous unsung heroes have suffered.

The commercial portrays a woman sitting at a desk pretending to chomp on entire stalk of broccoli, then later chomping on carrots while engaging in another activity. Declaring that if we eat as much fiber as is recommended by the USDA, we wouldn’t have time for anything else. Excuse me! but no one nibbles on a full size stalk of raw broccoli to receive a portion of daily fiber. A normal intelligent person would place a trimmed broccoli into their microwave and within minutes enjoy a sensible serving of needed fiber. There would be plenty of time for a real life afterwards.

Unfortunately, such images sell lots of products for the drug companies while creating negative images for children looking for excuses to dislike their vegetables. Whatever nature spent months nurturing in the soil, it was just destroyed in a 30 second commercial.

The reason the general public has not become excited over vegetables and all their health benefits is they have never been given star treatment publicity. No PR, no image building, and no actual appreciation has been expressed.

Who better to change America’s attitude towards veggies than Hollywood!

After all they parted the Red Sea and brought a lost girl back to her home in Kansas. Miracles happen on the screen and we are in need of one of those miracles right now. As children are acquiring diabetes and become fatter and nothing and is slowing down the epidemic needs every possible tool.

Here is force which to get every kid in America to eat veggies like candy and choose milk over soda. In essence, they have more influence than any other medium on earth. They can mold our human species into mere numbers without opinion. Children are their selected prey. Instead of living examples, they create heroes of animated non-humans. So why not apply this power to slow the collision course of today’s unhealthy children.

Lets think scenario. Due to an unknown phenomenon, Hollywood has grown a heart and sense of moral duty. They have begun to denounce junk food. Their characters are eating oatmeal instead of pop tarts. Around town, streets are lined with McVeggie food stands. The only pizza allowed must be covered with 70% vegetables. Toys resembling people are given out instead of artificial beings. And at the local movie marquee proudly displays Hollywood’s newest box office hit “The Global Vegetable Summit” a film where all the world’s vegetables meet in Geneva Switzerland to protest the abuse, the alteration of their content, and the ridicule they have endured for so long.

The fiber flaunting participants were interviewed the noted American journalist Katie Carwrec. Their messages were convincing and ominous. They warned of a complete breakdown of the medical community if humans did not listen to their warning. That our fast food meals were simply ticking time bombs–that Darth Vader was now masquerading as a Triple Burger. French Fries were merely evil mutations of a once natural potato and they were powerless to warn you. But without funding and imagination and damn clever animation, the vegetable family seems doomed and simply left inside some plastic bag to decay.

Educational awareness is way behind while Disneyland and Shrek toys are all over the place. Whether any one will take me seriously and help me to change attitudes toward the eating of vegetables is probably a pipe dream..

Realistically there’s no help from Hollywood or my local TV. Networks have trashed all my letters and appeals. However if anyone to has empathy to my cause they might just write a to movie producerssoliciting their involvement and local TV networks to stop airing these unhealthy foods promoting our health crisis.

I’m a grandmother whose been writing letters and articles for 20 years because I care, now with the help of the Internet perhaps my concerns will be shared.

To learn the benefits of photochemicals (nutrients of found in produce) you can visit http://ohioline.osu.edu. For calories of most fast foods you can find that on www.cspi.org along with many other food facts. However, I hope you’ll visit your local Farmer’s Market in your neighborhood, a place where cruelty to carrots never happens. No doubt, later that day some quite contented veggies will be swimming around in a big vat of homemade soup just as their ancestors did long before the birth of fast foods.!

Written by a consumer activist of Sacramento… hsdell@lanset.com who writes a bi-weekly blog and published mega-vegetable pizza book.

I challenge all readers to respond to my REALITY PROGRAM, which is simply returning to life supporting practices which are found primarily in our kitchens. Learning to love your kitchen is not directed at getting your cabinets and floors replaced but rather what is happening on top of them. Has your pantry become a jungle of boxes and cans and some have been there for months? Has your refrigerator collected its share of leftovers resembling super bowl souvenirs? Has the microwave become your sole cooking unit?

Well, not to worry. You are not alone in this hectic eat and run world. Whether it’s losing weight, becoming more fiscally responsible, or practicing tolerance towards our fellow human beings, returning to a working kitchen is a slow gradual program. Unlike TV Reality Shows, my living program, LEARNING TO LOVE YOUR KITCHEN, offers no cash, no fame or opportunity to appear in TV commercials–just a lot of pride.

It’s every food-consuming person’s opportunity to turn the tide. Eating and preparing wholesome food must be desirable and even enticing. I will be your guide with savvy and easy to follow instructions to make this task a walk in the park.

Are you someone who really hates anything to do with food preparation and who would much rather have a freezer-full of eat to eat meals or just go to Denny’s for Saturday breakfast? I can totally understand your dilemma. I have had a natural knack for cooking since my teens and enjoy this chore yet. I have two daughters with artistic talent who simply hate to cook. Perhaps, I write this for them as much you.

I think it begins with priorities. You have to decide what’s most important: Having money? Attaining fame? Being lucky in love? Achieving the family you wished for you? Staying healthy? Having caring friends? Earning and receiving respect? Having an active and probing mind? Understanding your role in the world and how your actions might influence and better the condition of the human race? These are the noble goals which of course seldom land on the front page of any newspaper. These are challenges each of us have. Whether any of them are important is a matter of personal choice.

I have chosen to use whatever knowledge I have acquired through my many years behind the stove in a valiant effort to initiate change. I am hardly a candidate for the Oprah Show or to be noted by Andy Rooney on 60 minutes. I only wish for a change in attitude.

Brainwashing you into the easy out of food preparation is multi-million biz which glamorizes the way their product is going to give you more time and glowing praise from the family. It began in 60’s and slowly went to over a hundred new ways to escape the toils of arduous meal making. But 40 years later, even those box dinners weren’t enough. Now it’s dinner under the arches and baked potatoes are being replaced with French Fries and meatloaf is now high fat burger with lots of ketchup and mayo. Sodas have taken the place of milk or juice.

There are soccer games, dance lessons and preparing for next weeks’ bake sale. Who’s got time for meat loaf and baked potatoes? Then you’re so busy you don’t have time for even fast food restaurant so you grab up a bunch of frozen dinner from the local market. They require only removing from the box and popping into an oven. They were on sale. So give yourself a good pat on the back. It was cheaper than making something from scratch. But did you read the label? Did you check the fat content? Are cookies and ice cream your best sources of dessert? Have you checked the salt? Do you know the sugar content of popular soups? Are you confused on what’s a serving?

After all–it takes times to interpret all these portions. I recently took time to read my potato chip label and I discovered that 15 chips were 160 calories and I had a 3 oz bag of these chips in front of me. This entire bag would equal 480 calories. If I were to wash down the excess salt with juice or soda I would be ingesting some 650 calories before dinner. I later discovered that 4 whole-wheat sesame crackers were only 116 calories and had much less fat. Having gained 6 pounds over months of December and January I was now beginning to understand just how easily this can happen. Reading labels is the key starting point in the race for a better life.

Once you have read those labels and decided that all these shortcuts you have been taking are actually harmful to your health and to that carefree old age you someday wish to enjoy, it is tantamount to putting money into investment for sound fiscal future. Carefully thought out plans will yield good dividends. You must decide if you and your family’s health are going bankrupt or it can still be averted. It’s all a matter of priority.

Allow me to be your guide in this journey back to the kitchen, back to the stove and back to the cookbooks–and most of all, back to that wonderfully fantastic taste of simple food prepared without your artificial assistants. It’s so much easier than you think! You really can learn to love your kitchen!