Big Food Magazine Table of Contents

 


THE GREAT MACHINE-FOOD REVOLT

RECOMMENDED LINKS

Dr. Joseph Mercola facts about the junk foods kids eat

Education Week October 1st issue on school vending machines, good links

KidsHealth.org read and sign up for their email news alerts

sundayherald.com (UK), July 21 summarizes legal actions re school vending machines

Center for Science in the Public Interest related press releases

banzhaf.net website of John Banzhaf, the scientist-lawyer leading the fight against big food--latest news, legal updates, etc.

"Public Health Advocacy Institute has initiated a project to track and publicize the progress made by food producers and distributors that have voluntarily agreed to improve their practices and products so as to counteract the obesity epidemic." ascribe.org, Oct. 29


Magazine supplement to
The School Lunch News


FAST FOOD NUTRITION DATA

Burger King

Kentucky Fried Chicken

McDonald's

Pizza

Taco Bell

Wendy's

Fast Food Nutrition Facts

foodingredientsfirst.com

Fast Food Calories & Fats Chart


The Kerry Group Casein Corporations From fattening farm animals to fattening humans?


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Many Foods Make Us Hungry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Nutritional Liberation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vender5.jpg (20290 bytes) + caffeine

"Center for Science in the Public Interest stacked these 30 one-pound boxes to show the amount of soda sugar a typical child consumes in a year."

 

and then lunch: 

"Every snack machine will stock favorites such as M&Ms, Snickers, Cheetos and nacho cheese-flavored Doritos."


string cheese1.jpg (17349 bytes) "First Healthy Vending Machine"? Isn't String Cheese Just More Addictive Casein? Aren't Pita Chips Just More Starch, Salt and Acrylamide? Organic Yogurt: Filled With Sugary Fruit Jams?"Three schools have joined the first healthy vending pilot subsidized by Stonyfield Farm, including Tollgate, Cranston East and Cranston West High Schools. The machine includes organic yogurt, string cheese, dried fruit, soy nuts, and pita chips among other low-fat and low-sugar products." PRNewswire, Oct. 24

ORGANIC? OR JUST JUNK ADDED TO THEIR LUNCH MILK? "Orange Cream and Caramel Flavored Milks Round Out Horizon Organic's Lunch Box Offerings just in time for National School Lunch Week. Lifelong eating habits are established during childhood, which is one reason Horizon Organic believes it is important to offer a wide variety of nutritious lunchbox-ready organic foods that kids enjoy." Horizon Organic Holding Corp., Oct. 7   yahoo.com  "Flavored milk drinks contain more fat, sugar, cholesterol, and calories than even soft drinks do."  Miami Herald, Oct. 21 

JUST MORE JUNK?--"But even the juices and sports drinks do not meet with approval from some vending machine critics. 'Anything is better than soda,' said Robert McKenzie, professor of communication studies at East Stroudsburg University. 'But a lot of those products aren't what they appear to be. They have artificial covering, artificial flavoring, preservatives, sugar, caffeine and caramel.'" Express Times (Pennsylvania), Oct.  "Some of the fruit drinks that are now being served are as problematic in calorie and sugar content as soda." Newsday (New York), Oct. 30

"'There will probably be some resistance from school boards. They make money on the vending machines. They have to get beyond that,' Dr. Zachariah said. 'You've got to do this or ultimately the citizens of Florida are going to pay for these fat kids.'"tallahassee.com, (Florida) October 16

"Whether or not to have vending machines is not an issue. It's to have healthy food in the machines with fruit drinks containing at least 50 percent actual juice, low-fat rather than whole milk and sandwiches instead of highly processed snack foods freemontnebraska.com, Oct. 17."

SCHOOL BANS VENDING MACHINES BUT CAFETERIA SELLS SAME JUNK--"NewsCenter 16 found that whatever students cannot buy at the vending machine, they can certainly get in the cafeteria. Freshman Anita Kaoma says, "We can get ice cream and everything in here [cafeteria] but out there [vending machines] they'll have the same stuff but they'll just close it. My personal opinion is it doesn't make any sense."  WNDU News (Indianna), Nov. 6

More news...


LEGAL ACTIONS RE SCHOOL VENDING MACHINES

"Taxpayers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars for a federal school lunch program, but many kids are filling up on empty calories before lunch. That's what has to change."US Senator Patrick Leahy, washingtonpost.com, March 14, 2001

MANY STATES TO REMOVE SCHOOL VENDING MACHINES OR REQUIRE REMOVAL OF FAST FOODS FROM THEM"At least 30 states have considered legislation CNN.com, July 14." "The Philadelphia School District will take soft drinks out of the district's schools in an effort to reduce obesity in children July 15." "Chips, cookies, candy and soft drinks will now be banned from the vending machines Missouri, July 11." "The Seattle School Board, in Washington state, has narrowly voted to extend a five-year drinks contract with Coca Cola - but has placed restrictions on sales to pupils BBC, July 21."

From Education Week "Arkansas, California, and Texas now have laws or rules that restrict the sale of soda and candy in schools. Legislation to impose similar food and drink restrictions in schools is pending in at least 19 other states." Oct. 1

More news...


Business News

Researchers Find Increasing Corporate Marketing in Schools"The pressure on schools to permit a broad array of marketing activities is now intense and pervasive."--Commericalism in Education Research Unit, Univ. Arizona, July, 2003  "Nationwide, more schools are seeking business partnerships that involve some kind of corporate presence in schools, from small signs bearing logos at a school's entrance to renaming gymnasiums and even school buildings."--Duluth News Tribune (Minnesota), Oct. 31  "This first wave of sponsorships, however modest, is troubling evidence of corporate creep into local classrooms."--Santa Cruz Sentinel (California), Oct. 29 "Increasingly, companies are calling the shots in America's schools. Facing a growing gap between the cost of educating children and the cash available to do so, schools are getting desperate. Some swap advertising space - on school buses, at the gym or stadium and in the lunchroom - in return for corporate cash. Others accept "free" materials or services. But these often serve corporate interests more than they promote educational objectives.--Tallahassee Democrat (Florida), Oct. 25

HUGE NEW YORK CITY CONTRACT QUESTIONED--"A month after agreeing to an unprecedented $166 million contract that places Snapple vending machines in every city school and public building, the Bloomberg administration is fending off charges that the city gave the beverage maker too sweet a deal." wnbc.com, Oct. 24

VENDING MACHINES ARE BIG BIG BIZ"The Philadelphia-based company's refreshment services division is investing millions - nearing the $10 million mark - on technology upgrades in many of its 30,000 vending machines in 60 markets across the country. The Journal Gazette (Texas), Dec. 1 "Redding (AP) - The director of Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Redding says the facility is about to become the soft drink giant's largest remanufacturing plant in the country. There will be 160 people working at the facility, which refurbishes and repairs vending machines mercurynews.com (California), Oct. 15." "The city’s five-year Snapple deal, announced in September, is worth $40 million to the Department of Education and $126 million to the city. Last week, City Comptroller William Thompson urged the city to cancel the agreement, saying the deal was struck without a fair bidding process." Crain's New York Business, Nov. 5

TAX JUNK FOOD IN SCHOOLS? "The leader of B.C.'s Green Party is calling for a junk food tax in B.C. schools. Schools are compromising their students' long-term health with vending machines because they aren't getting enough money from the B.C. government, says Adriane Carr. Seventeen U.S. states now add a junk food tax on such vending machine sales and B.C. should join them, she says." CBC News (Canada), Nov. 3


Views of Vending Machine Contract Terms:

School Signs Contract with Coke
By Katie Zerr
The Mobridge School District Board of Education entered into an exclusive five-year contract with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company that has the potential of earning more than $80,000 for the district in that five year period.

The contract calls for Coke to provide the district with vending machines and product in the three schools and concessions during the games at Scherr-Howe Arena. The concession arrangement at Tiger Stadium will remain as is.

The package includes a total financial consideration of $8,000 per year and $1,625 worth of free product worth of free product at all dances. The total financial consideration would be $41,625.

The District will receive 20 percent of revenue from the commissions of all 20-ounce package beverages and 10 percent of all 12-ounce package beverages sold at the district schools and functions.

The estimated earning potential from packaged beverage sales is $10,370 over the five-year contract.

The total value potential for the marketing package, including five free Powerade kits and game sponsorships, along with other considerations is $18,000 for the five-year period.

As part of the marketing package, the Mobridge School District will become part of an online school technology network that will sell custom Mobridge Tiger merchandise. The customized products will be packaged and delivered to the customer.

Coke will pay for the set-up and the maintenance of the website.

The District will receive a percent of the profit from this online storefront.
"We can't afford not to do this," said Mobridge School Board President Harry "Bingo" Kindt. "The money will go into a special request fund to be dispersed as needed."

Kindt said the money would go to all projects in the schools not just in support of athletics.

"We don't know what those projects might be at this time," said Kindt. "Whether it is reading or something else, the money will help all across the board."

The contract will also include free 24-hour service for all vending machines.

The Pepsi Company was also given the opportunity to bid on the contract but the board did not receive a bid by the deadline.
      Mobridge Tribune (S. Dakota), Oct.17

 

Under the Pepsi contract, the soda company gives $25,000 to each of the 12 high schools, $10,500 to each of the 14 middle schools, $1,500 to each of the 51 elementary schools and nearly half a million dollars to the school district every year. 

In exchange, Pepsi has exclusive rights to: 
Place vending machines in all schools 
Place full trademark panels on its vending machines 
Sell or provide all beverages at athletic contests, booster club activities and all other special events in the district 
Hang scoreboard panels, including advertising, in each high school 
Have its name mentioned in eight-second public address announcements at each high school varsity football and basketball game.
Pepsi also provides a 35 percent commission on all products sold to the schools. 

Michael Degutis, the district's director of accounting services, said students bought $578,811 worth of Pepsi products last school year. 

Degutis said Pepsi "is losing money on this deal." No one from Pepsi returned phone calls to answer questions for this article. 

Pepsi also donates more than $950,000 to the school district. That includes $450,000 worth of scholarships to students, $197,500 in "awards" to schools, and $125,000 for fund-raisers, such as The Teacher of the Year award. 

It's a part of their contract with the school district that none of Pepsi's competitors' products will be sold or given away. So don't even mention the word "Coke" in Brevard County Schools. 

If school district officials want to extend this sweet soda deal beyond the year 2005, they get a $1 million signing bonus. 

Florida Today, Oct. 25

More news...


Magazine supplement to
The School Lunch News