by Mentalgongfu » Wed May 03, 2006 9:41 pm
Just heard a snippet of this on NPR news. an excerpt of Chicago Tribune coverage:<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Schools will no longer sell non-diet sodas<br>BY MATTHEW CHAYES<br>Chicago Tribune<br><br>WASHINGTON - Most sodas will be banished from almost every U.S. primary and secondary school by the 2009-2010 school year under a beverage-industry agreement brokered by former President Bill Clinton, a deal that even the industry's harshest critics say is a progressive step in the battle for healthier kids.<br><br>As part of his campaign to stamp out childhood obesity, Clinton said Wednesday that he hopes to seek similar accords with the food industry.<br><br>"We're turning a huge ship around in the middle of the ocean before it hits an iceberg," the 42nd president, a self-described recovering junk-food addict who underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery in 2004, said in New York.<br><br>The agreement calls for limiting the size of all beverages to 8 ounces in elementary schools, 10 in middle schools and 12 in high schools compared to some 20-ounce containers that now are sold.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>In addition, any beverages that are sold must have no more than 100 calories, except for water, milk and nutrient-containing juices. Soda sales will be confined to high schools, and then only diet sodas. </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->Milk must be skim milk or contain no more than 1 percent fat.<br><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>This means, among other things, the only soda sold in high schools will likely contain aspartame, that wonderfully carcinogenic sugar substitute so many Americans enjoy. <br><br>A quick scan of headlines in Google News showed a hearty round of applause for this move and some misleading headlines, IMO. I can't say I've searched diligently yet, but I didn't see any good background to how this deal came to be and if it actually has any legally-binding authority. <br><br>Already, many school districts have asked parents not to send birthday treats like cookies and cake to school on their kids' birthdays. Others have outright banned the practice. Those that allow kids to bring treats often require the food to be purchased and pre-packaged, the explanation being fear of contaminated food, etc. <br><br>There are too many fat kids in America. But something about this whole anti-obesity thing stinks. It seems to be opening the door even wider for authoritarian government controls. <p></p><i></i>
