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Hyperactivity, attention deficits, obesity and diabetes – |
The foods students eat daily for lunch, and often for breakfast, are responsible for a growing epidemic of health problems, according to critics. Many concerned people are working to reduce school junk food by reforming school cafeterias and improving the contents of vending machines.School administrators throughout the United States and United Kingdom are finding that reducing school junk food often brings an unexpected bonus – namely that students behave and perform better academically. At schools in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida, as well as Worcestershire, Hampstead, Cheshire, Dunstable, and Cobham in the U.K., new school food programs have resulted in a remarkable improvement in student learning and behavior.
The reason for this is that most junk foods contain synthetic food additives, which have been shown by numerous studies to trigger hyperactivity, attention deficits and other problems in sensitive children. So when students eat less junk food, they are consuming fewer harmful additives (such as those eliminated by the Feingold Program). The result is that many children concentrate and behave better.
The link between school sanctioned junk food and America's super-sized children is even harder to miss. The statistics are sobering. 20% of today's kids are overweight and 15% are classified as obese. High blood pressure, diabetes and even heart disease are showing up in younger and younger children. According to Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, American children and teens get half of their calories from sugar and fat that is added to food. These are the unhealthy trans-fats, not the beneficial "omega 3" fats. (See also: The FDA on trans-fats and Dr. Mercola on trans-fats)
A generation ago a meal of fast food was a sometime thing,
but today it is the daily fare for a growing number of children.
A well-nourished body can afford occasional junk food flings, but many people today don't have the ability to cope; their nutritional "bank account" has long been overdrawn.Pressure is building in many areas to improve the food being served to children in school and to tame the $120 billion non-nutritive food industry. This is a super-sized task.
Greg Critser, author of Fat Land, How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World, explains the economics behind the explosion of fast food. For every dollar a fast food company spends, only 20 cents of that pays for the actual food. The remainder goes for fixed costs such as the building, salaries and advertising. So when a customer is offered the chance to "super size" his selection for only a small increase in cost, the company still profits.
Journalist Shannon Brownlee explains the dynamics. "The flakes in your kid's breakfast cereal, for example, account for only 5 percent of the total amount Nabisco or General Mills spend to make and sell them. Soda costs less to produce than any drink except tap water thanks to a 1970s invention that cut the expense of making high-fructose corn syrup. There used to be real sugar in Coke; when Coca-Cola and other bottlers switched to high-fructose corn syrup in 1984, they slashed sweetener costs by 20 percent. That's why 7-Eleven can sell the 64-ounce Double Gulp -- half a gallon of soda and nearly 600 calories -- for only 37 cents more than the 16 ounce, 89 cent regular Gulp."
How have fatty and sugary foods come to dominate the American marketplace? Susan Linn of the Harvard Medical School says, "Essentially kids are
inundated with marketing from the moment they get up in the morning to when they go to bed at night, and the two primary products are food and toys, which are often linked." (McDonald's is one of the world's largest toy distributors, and even Barbie has a fast food outfit.) Children play a big part in determining which products will sell, and every company hopes to establish brand loyalty at as early an age as possible. Insiders discuss strategies to teach aggressive marketers "how to own kids."
Even if a child escapes junk food ads on his home TV, he must still withstand the school sponsored advertising. Students who are required to watch Channel One in their classroom get daily advertisements for non-nutritious foods. Companies gladly provide an assortment of branded promotional materials including scoreboards, book covers, lesson plans and have succeeded in getting their products placed in text books used by the schools.
The most dramatic example of industry intrusion into public schools is the issue of "pouring rights." Soft drink giants offer lucrative contracts to school systems for allowing them to install vending machines in the schools, which then agree to offer only the products from that company. Huge checks are written for the schools, and the subsequent income is based on the amount sold. Because the profit margin on most soft drinks is so huge (a $50 billion/year industry), the companies can afford to share millions of dollars with a school system.
While soft drink money is spent in many ways, the favorite use appears to be to promote a school's athletic program. One must wonder if the companies are hoping to associate their sugar-water drinks with the image of the physically fit teenager.
Fierce Resistance
In cities and legislative halls where reformers have campaigned for better food, representatives of the National Soft Drink Association and the Grocery Manufacturer's Association have vigorously lobbied against efforts to reduce their hold. But the trend does not seem to be letting up.
Jane Brody, of the New York Times, quotes Dr. Nestle: "By the end of 2000, more than 30 school districts in California, Tennessee and Wisconsin...had refused such deals after protests by parents, students and school officials....Philadelphia refused an offer from Coca-Cola for $43 million over a 10-year period, and Michigan turned down a contract that would have covered 110 school districts encompassing nearly half a million students."
Los Angeles made news when the school board voted to ban the sale of soft drinks in schools. Beginning in 2004 vending machines will carry only water, milk, and drinks that contain a minimum of 50% juice. A spokesman for the California Center for Public Health Advocacy calls this decision "absolute proof that there's a momentum building to create a healthy school environment."
Will students accept healthier food?
Will this food cost more?
They certainly have accepted it in the Appleton, WI schools (See related article). And in two New York schools children arrive early so they can enjoy freshly baked muffins and scones.
The food programs in the Ross School and nearby Bridgehampton Public School are under the direction of Ann Cooper, a trained chef who has an impressive background working in upscale restaurants.
Students and teachers eat together in an attractive dining room, using real dishes, utensils and cloth napkins. Ms. Cooper creates dishes like those she has made when she worked at fine restaurants: pasta with scallops, orange and rosemary, roasted squash, steamed beans, sourdough bread and natural strawberry "jell-o" with fresh fruit.
They use no processed foods, no canned foods, no refined sugars or flour. Most of the food is organic, and locally grown. Breakfast is offered and there are snack foods and beverages available during the day. The students are enthusiastic about these gourmet meals. How much does it cost to provide such a program? The cost of the food for one student's breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages throughout the day is just $3.84. (Breakfast costs $1 or $2; lunch is $2.25 for students and $6 for teachers.)
Ms. Cooper is working with researchers at Harvard to determine the nutritional value of the food being served at both Ross and Bridgehampton and to develop a program that could be used in other schools.
- Melinda Welsh, Sacramento News & Review
On the opposite side of the country, chef Al Schieder has brought about a similar transformation in the school cafeterias of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District in Sacramento. He serves an enthusiastic clientele of 7,000 students freshly baked calzone, a wholesome version of pizza, veggie bowls, fresh fruit, sushi and taco salads. The food tastes great and lunch costs only $2.50. Like Amy Cooper, chef Schieder has a background of preparing fine meals. The district that previously lost about $200,000 a year in the school lunch program realized a profit of $300,000 with the new menus.These innovations have attracted the attention of nutritionists, administrators and food service directors.
Shouldn't students have the freedom to choose the food they want?
This would be a more compelling argument if students actually did have choices. What kind of free choice does a student have when he must be at school early in the morning, has only the cafeteria and vending machines to supply food, and may remain at school for various activities several hours after classes are over? Free choice would be a cafeteria that offers nutritious selections as well as fatty fried foods, that provides fresh fruit in vending machines, along with the Doritos.
Would schools lose money?
The income from vending machines would probably go down. Sodas provide schools with a profit of 50% while other beverages yield only 25%. But one can only guess at the savings that could be realized as a result of healthier students.As schools are forced to spend increasing amounts on special services for children with behavior and learning problems there is less left for all of the other expenses. When metal detectors and security officers have to be added to the school budget, the money has to be taken from some place. The same is true for the repair of vandalism and for dealing with truancy. The school cafeteria is a favorite place to cut costs and increase profits. But the Appleton Alternative High School has shown that this is a very bad economic decision. By spending a mere $20,000 per year, the above costs were drastically reduced. This sum ($20,000) would not even pay for the incarceration of one teenager for one year. See the article on the Appleton, Wisconsin school system.
Many teachers find they can't "get through"
to kids after they eat lunch in the cafeteria.
New challenges and opportunities
School systems could see dramatic improvements in their foods without having to totally reinvent their program. Even modest changes can yield impressive results. By removing synthetic colors, artificial flavors and the preservatives BHA, BHT, and TBHQ, any school system would be well on their way to improving both the behavior and learning ability of students. New York City accomplished this in over 800 public schools. Scores on the California Achievement test rose 15.7 points after the dietary changes. (Schoelenthaler 1986)In the early 1980s Fairfax County, VA responded to public pressure and provided a similar program. The food was well received by the students and did not cost more to provide. Unfortunately, the county has reverted to the typical school foods.
Changing the System
School food service directors and dietitians have long been the step-children of the system. The "mystery meat" legacy -- a reputation for serving uninspired foods -- makes it hard for most school systems to see cafeteria food as a high priority. But as parents and school boards begin to understand that the current diet is affecting behavior and learning, as well as the health of their students, there will be a need for food service professionals who understand what is common knowledge in every Feingold home: that some of the chemicals routinely added to foods can cause serious problems, and that natural foods, foods free of these additives can be delicious.Food distribution companies will be faced with a growing demand for products that are free of the unwanted additives. Most such companies serve a wide range of clients, from institutions to upscale restaurants, and they can provide whatever food a school system demands.
Even the companies filling vending machines can adapt to requirements for better food. This past year the snack giant Pepsi-Co, earned $3.5 billion from its Frito-Lay line of snack food, and they are working to retain their dominant place in the market. Seeing the coming trend to healthier foods, the company has even created a natural version of their (neon orange) Cheetos as well as an organic Tostitos.
