CERUCommercialism in Education Research Unit
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2003 - Non-CERU Publications/Writing
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» Think Tank/Policy Institute
Commercialism in North Carolina High Schools: A Survey of Principals' Perceptions
Date:
August 2003
Authors:
Joseph Di Bona, Rittik Chaudhuri, Joshua Jean-Baptiste, Peter Menachem, and Meggan Wurzburg
Institution:
Duke University
Source:
Peabody Journal of Education
This study explores how North
Carolina high school principals view schoolhouse commercialism, as they are the chief decision makers at
their schools. The study concludes that the principals view schoolhouse commercialism in a positive light.
PDFDate:
June 20, 2003
Authors:
Geof Rayner and Mike Rayner
Source:
EuroHealth
Using the United States as an example, the article points out how the increase
in chronic diseases linked to obesity has created negative economic consequences
that will only worsen in the future. Additionally, they warn that unless
lawmakers and government officials act soon, European countries will likely
suffer a similar fate.
Date:
May 19, 2003
Source:
Health Affairs
Report finds excess medical expenditures result from treating obesity-related diseases.
School Foods Toolkit
Date:
November 2003
Authors:
Claudia Malloy, Director of Grassroots Advocacy, Joy Johanson, MPH, Nutrition Policy Associate, and Dr. Margo Wootan, Director of Nutrition Policy
Source:
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Guidelines for parents, teachers,
school administrators, elected officials and others to improve the nutritional quality of foods and beverages
in their local schools.
WordDate:
November 2003
Source:
Center for Science in the Public Interest
The CSPI report identifies a plethora of
ways that companies target children in their homes, in their schools, on the web, and wherever else they go.
Date:
November 2003
Authors:
Sarah E. Samuels, Dr.PH., Lisa Craypo, M.P.H., R.D., Lori Dorman, Dr.PH., Marnie Purciel, Marion B. Standish, J.D.
Source:
The California Endowment
This report examines the relationship
between food and beverage marketing and the skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes among children.
Date:
October 10, 2003
Source:
Parents Advocating School Responsibility
While many school districts around the nation are raising standards
for food, San Francisco may be the first to adopt a "no empty calories" policy. The standard not only sets maximum
levels for fat and sugar but also requires minimum levels of nutrients in all foods sold at every school,
elementary through high school.
Date:
July 13, 2003
Source:
Parents Advocating School Accountability
Aptos Middle School in San Francisco has shown how healthy food options on campus
can turn a profit.
Date:
July 1, 2003
Source:
Citizen's Campaign for Commercial Free Schools
The
Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools scheduled a press conference
on Tuesday, July 1st, to alert the public to possible legal ramifications
if the school board chooses to renew its exclusive 5-year Coke contract.
Date:
June 30, 2003
Source:
Citizen's Campaign for Commercial Free Schools
A Seattle Attorney has joined national anti-obesity lawyers' efforts to
keep the Seattle School Board from renewing its soft drink contract with
Coca-Cola.
Date:
June 27, 2003
Source:
Commercial Alert
Calls
on state and local officials to protect children by prohibiting the marketing
and sale of junk food in schools.
Date:
May 19, 2003
Author:
Caroline Grannan
Source:
Parents Advocating School Accountability
Leader
of the California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) lends
his and CADA's names to the soft-drink industry.
Date:
May 8, 2003
Author:
Holley Wysong
Source:
Parents Advocating School Accountability
Fundraising by selling unhealthy snacks has devastating health consequences.
Date:
March 27, 2003
Authors:
Dana Woldow and Caroline Grannan
Source:
This seven-page guide, produced by parents of Aptos Middle School in San Francisco,
describes how parents can get rid of junk food at their children's schools.
It is made available by Parents Advocating School Accountability, a San
Francisco-based research and information project.
Date:
March 6, 2003
Source:
Parents Advocating School Accountability
"The commonplace nationwide
practice of selling cola and other sodas in school cafeterias at lunchtime
violates U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations." Also see links to
USDA memo and to the
62-page list of foods of minimal nutritional value.
Date:
January 14, 2003
Author:
Gary Boyes Sr.
Source:
A statement made to the
Salem-Keizer (Ore.) school board about the caffeine content of Pepsi and
its apparent violation of school rules and state law on drug substances.
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2003
Date:
July 2003
Source:
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
This report finds that the startling rise in the number of overweight youth
over the past 20 years in the United States poses a major public health
problem.
Date:
May 2003
Source:
U.S. General Accounting Office
While
schools are moving toward meeting school lunch requirements, they are
still in need of more improvement, specifically in complying with the
required 30 percent limit on calories from fat in lunches. Additionally,
the report finds that more needs to be done within schools to promote
healthy eating, noting that most students have access to foods of minimal
nutritional value, including soft drinks and candy.
Date:
February 13, 2003
Institution:
Aptos Middle School, San Francisco, Calif.
A media release by Aptos
Middle School in San Francisco on behalf of the school's PTSA announcing
"a pioneering pilot project to eliminate junk food sold at the school
and replace it with healthy choices."
Date:
February 2003
Source:
Centers for Disease Control
This fact sheet of the
CDC's School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) summerizes a portion
of the SHPPS 2000 national survey periodically conducted to assess school
health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom
levels.
Date:
February 2003
Source:
Centers for Disease Control
This fact sheet of the CDC's School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS)
summerizes a portion of the SHPPS 2000 national survey periodically conducted
to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district,
school, and classroom levels.
Coca-Cola to Cut its Branding in Schools
Date:
December 23, 2003
Author:
Helen Puttick
Source:
The Herald
Coca-Cola has agreed to
remove its branding from vending machines in Scottish schools under the first deal of its kind
in the world to promote better nutrition among pupils.
Date:
December 8, 2003
Author:
Meg Haskell
Source:
Bangor Daily News
Does the government promote obesity? State Rep. Sean
Faircloth says, "Yes."
Date:
December 5, 2003
Author:
Matt Frazier
Source:
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Parents and teachers
overwhelmingly agree that soda and candy vending machines in schools across the nation should
be converted to provide healthy food.
Date:
November 12, 2003
Author:
Sarah Schmidt
Source:
Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children
A 15-year-old student has won a two-year
legal battle to get Pepsi and Coke to reveal details of their exclusive soft drink contracts with Ontario public
schools.
Date:
October 30, 2003
Author:
Anita Powell
Source:
Austin American Statesman
The cash-strapped Round Rock school
district is looking to put someone's name in lights on its new stadium – for a price.
Date:
October 29, 2003
Author:
Cara Mia DiMassa
Source:
Los Angeles Times
In hopes of slimming down its many chubby
students, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted unanimously to ban fried chips, candy and other junk foods
from school vending machines and student stores and to put strict limits on the amount of fat, sugar and sodium
in any snacks sold during the school day.
Date:
October 29, 2003
Author:
Jim Hightower
Source:
In These Times
Remember the field trips you took in
elementary school – maybe to the fire department, a farm, a radio station or other places where you learned a
bit about how things work? Well, now those old-fashioned field trips are being updated...and commercialized.
Date:
September 16, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
Pity consumers–or legislators–trying to
figure out who stands for what when making up their minds on controversial issues like whether sugar-filled
sodas should be sold in our schools.
Date:
September 12, 2003
Source:
The Arizona Republic
It's high time to kick sodas,
candy and high-fat snacks out of Arizona schools.
Date:
September 15, 2003
Author:
Phyllis Schlafly
Source:
Copley News Service
Public schools must take a big share of
responsibility for our epidemic of childhood obesity, not only because of the kinds of foods and drinks they
sell or give away, but because of the inducements that flow from easy availability and peer pressure.
Date:
August 30, 2003
Author:
Kara Shire
Source:
Contra Costa Times
In an effort to curb rising obesity
in children and get ahead of expected government mandates on the healthfulness of school lunches, the West
Contra Costa school district has rid many of its middle school cafeterias of candy, soda and those
ubiquitous slices of greasy Red Baron pizza.
Date:
August 26, 2003
Author:
Nancy Wartik
Source:
The New York Times
In a report this month that points out this
discrepancy, the American Academy of Pediatrics has called on members to make obesity screening and counseling
routine parts of children's checkups, like testing reflexes or measles immunizations.
ReportDate:
August 24, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
When school opens this week, San Francisco will begin
implementing arguably the healthiest food regimen of any school district in the nation.
Date:
August 20, 2003
Author:
Betsy McKay
Source:
Wall Street Journal
Schoolchildren are use to getting grades
in math, science and English. Now, Arkansas state officials want to score them on their weight.
Date:
August 12, 2003
Author:
Rob Stein
Source:
Washington Post
Nearly
1 million U.S. teenagers suffer from a syndrome associated with being
overweight that makes them unusually prone to diabetes and premature heart
disease later in life.
Date:
August 8, 2003
Source:
TIME Magazine
Texas
has become the latest jurisdiction to ban sugary soft drinks in schools,
following similar moves by Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and
other smaller jurisdictions.
Date:
August 6, 2003
Author:
Seth Lubove
Source:
Forbes Magazine
Is high-fructose corn syrup responsible for
the obesity epidemic in the United States? The debate roars on.
Date:
August 5, 2003
Author:
Jeffrey Gilbert
Source:
Houston Chronicle
The Texas Department of Agriculture will enforce new guidelines in Texas schools
which prohibit foods of minimal nutritional value from being sold during
the school day.
Date:
August 5, 2003
Author:
Neil Buckley
Source:
Financial Times
Efforts by junk food and soft drink companies to target school children as product
consumers are no longer going unnoticed, and the result has been soda
pop bans in some schools and threats of lawsuits.
Date:
August 3, 2003
Author:
David Barboza
Source:
The New York Times
Food companies that target children, through school commercialism and television
advertising, are coming under increased scrutiny and pressure to reign
in their aggressive marketing practices.
Date:
August 1, 2003
Source:
The News Tribune
It's a lamentable sign of the times that the Sumner School District is even exploring the idea of selling
naming rights to its venerable Spartan Stadium.
Date:
July 29, 2003
Author:
Mimi Turner
Source:
Hollywood Reporter
BBC Worldwide, the public broadcaster's commercial arm, announced that it
will no longer allow its children's television characters to be used in
fast-food sponsorship deals.
Date:
July 27, 2003
Source:
Sacramento Bee
Schools' dependence on the profits generated by the sale of sugary soft drinks
is a shame, and has revealed some unlikely foes to the passage of Senate
Bill 677, which would curtail the sale of such products in elementary
and middle schools throughout the state.
Date:
July 22, 2003
Author:
Eric Nagourney
Source:
The New York Times
A recently released government report finds that the rise in obesity among
U.S. children poses a "major public health problem."
Date:
July 22, 2003
Author:
Erica Goode
Source:
The New York Times
Experts seem to agree that as food portion sizes have steadily increased over
the past 30 years, so have Americans' waistlines. If so, perhaps there
is more to the obesity epidemic than simply a lack of self-discipline,
as fast food companies assert.
Date:
July 20, 2003
Author:
Sarah-Kate Templeton
Source:
Sunday Herald
It seems that both in the US and in the UK, legal action against school districts
which profit from the sale of sugary soft drinks and snacks appears to
be on the not-too-distant horizon.
Date:
July 19, 2003
Source:
The Washington Times
Trial lawyers plan to target school board members in Seattle who voted to extend
a soda-machine contract with Coca-Cola Co.
Date:
July 18, 2003
Source:
Seattle Post Intelligencer
The Seattle School Board recently voted 4-3 to extend its exclusive contract
to sell Coke products in its schools' vending machines.
Date:
July 18, 2003
Author:
Tan Vinh
Source:
Seattle Times
With pressure from lawyers and community activists to curb the sale of soft
drinks in its schools' vending machines, Seattle School Board members
voted to limit the sale of soft drinks to middle-schoolers. The School
Board did, however, go ahead and extend its contract with Coca-Cola, which
could possibly provoke legal action.
Date:
July 16, 2003
Author:
Alissa Quart
Source:
The New York Times
Recent efforts to curb commercial activity on school campuses will benefit students
in many ways.
Date:
July 16, 2003
Source:
BBC
Some academics predict that if McDonald's isn't careful to respond to accusations
that it is contributing to the obesity epidemic, it could become a relic
of the past.
Date:
July 15, 2003
Author:
Andrew Martin
Source:
Chicago Tribune
Many fast food chains continue to add fattier foods in larger portions to their
menus, and that has sparked threats from legislators and anti-fat lawyers
who would like to curb the trend.
Date:
July 14, 2003
Source:
CNN.com
States and school districts throughout the country are rethinking their policies
regarding vending machines in public schools which sell sugar filled drinks
and snacks to students.
Date:
July 10, 2003
Source:
Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board supports Philadelphia's school reform
chief Paul Vallas in his move to ban soda sales on school campuses.
Date:
July 10, 2003
Author:
Susan Snyder
Source:
Philadelphia Inquirer
While advocates of healthier foods in schools are excited over the decision
to ban soda sales in Philadelphia schools, they say more should be done
to promote healthier school lunch options and snacks.
Date:
July 10, 2003
Source:
Sacramento Bee
It appears that the California Legislature's Assembly Health Committee failed
to seek the best interest for children when it decided to remove part
of a bill which would keep soft drinks off of high school campuses.
Date:
July 5, 2003
Author:
Alanna Mitchell
Source:
The Globe and Mail
Kraft's decision to become
more calorie-conscious shouldn't have come as such a big surprise. The health campaigner who cost
the big cigarette companies billions has turned his attention to what's on the menu.
Date:
July 2, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
California
Senate Bill 677, sponsored by Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), would
prohibit the sale of soda in all public schools but high schools. It was
recently approved by the Assembly Health Committee and now moves on to
the Assembly Education Committee.
Date:
July 2, 2003
Author:
Keith Ervin
Source:
Seattle Times
This article summarizes recent legal activities aimed at keeping the Seattle
School Board from renewing its exclusive "pouring rights" contract with
Coca-Cola.
Date:
July 1, 2003
Author:
Bruce Horovitz
Source:
USA Today
With parents screaming and lawyers suing, several fast food companies are experimenting with healthier
alternatives.
Date:
June 29, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
In spite of national trends which suggest that schoolhouse commercialism
is more a rule than an exception, Aptos Middle School in San Francisco
is showing how bucking the trend benefits students.
Date:
June 29, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
Even with its cafeteria offering healthy options for lunch, Folsom High students still flock to the school
sponsored snack bar to buy junk food at lunch time.
Date:
June 29, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
Arroyo High school is a good example of how healthy foods on campus have fallen
victim to the fast food craze.
Date:
June 27, 2003
Author:
Marguerite Higgins
Source:
The Washington Times
Fast food companies are fighting back against legal challenges against their
practices through ads poking fun at the trial lawyers who are taking them
to court.
Date:
June 27, 2003
Source:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle School Board members were asked to end the district's contract with Coca-Cola,
which allows the soft drink giant to sell its products in Seattle schools.
Date:
June 25, 2003
Author:
Abby Goodnough
Source:
The New York Times
In a move to curb the "obesity epidemic" among New York City schoolchildren,
the Education Department has moved to reduce the fat content in daily
meals and ban candy, soda, and other sugary snacks from vending machines.
Date:
May 19, 2003
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
California Senate bill aims to ban soda sales in all public elementary schools beginning
on Sept. 1, 2005, and restrict their sale on middle and high-school campuses
beginning on Sept. 1, 2006.
Date:
May 19, 2003
Author:
Elizabeth Lee
Source:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Financially strapped cafeterias find solution to economic woes by selling fatty foods
in large portions a la carte.
Date:
May 18, 2003
Author:
Tom Zoellner
Source:
The Arizona Republic
In a financial pinch, it appears that the Phoenix City Council is considering
seeking a corporate sponsor for the city. In spite of consumer concerns,
soft drink vendors could seal a deal with the city and obtain the rights
to call their soft drink the "the official drink of Phoenix."
Date:
May 18, 2003
Author:
Ken Maguire
Source:
Associated Press
Lawmakers in Massachusetts have voted to draw up guidelines for sponsoring and renaming
parks and forests. Facing a 3 billion dollar deficit, some lawmakers apparently
feel comfortable with the idea.
Date:
April 15, 2003
Author:
Marjorie Coeyman
Source:
Christian Science Monitor
Sharp decline in school-lunch nutrition sparks grassroots reform.
Date:
April 8, 2003
Author:
John Fauber
Source:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quality of life for children
suffering from obesity comparable to that of children undergoing chemotherapy.
Date:
April 4, 2003
Author:
Linal Ishibashi, Dana Woldow, and Caroline Grannan
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
Banned soda sales at Aptos
Middle School, three months earlier, explodes five myths.
Date:
March 26, 2003
Author:
Anne Ryman
Source:
The Arizona Republic
Article reports that "55 percent of Arizona schools do not meet the U.S.
Department of Agriculture standards for nutrients over a week's time,"
reviews school nutrition policies and lunch reimbursements.
Date:
March 15, 2003
Source:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Student leaders at the University of Washington kill a seven-year, $2.1 million
deal, that would have given a credit card company access to students' addresses.
Date:
March 6, 2003
Author:
Scott Leith
Source:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coca-Cola Enterprises
(CCE) says "enough is enough," defends its sales in schools.
Date:
March 5, 2003
Author:
Dan Freedman
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
Article quotes Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa) at hearings on the National School Lunch
Program. Also link to Letter
to the Editor (March 7, 2003) for clarifying comments by a parent.
Date:
February 11, 2003
Author:
Coletter Bancroft
Source:
St. Petersburg Times
An epidemic has overtaken
America, an epidemic that kills 300,000 people a year – obesity.
Date:
January 24, 2003
Author:
Kendra Mayfield
Source:
Wired
Article discusses the
naming rights issue at California's Belmont-Redwood Shores school district,
also citing examples from CERU's annual report.
Date:
January 18, 2003
Author:
Ryan Kim
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
Belmont-Redwood
Shores School District (Calif.) looks at giving companies naming rights
to its schools as the district faces a one-fifth budget reduction due to
state cutbacks.
Date:
January 15, 2003
Author(s):
Ray Delgado
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Unified
School Board eliminates sale of sodas and snacks sold in school cafeterias–a
$500,000 hit to the district's food nutrition program.
Date:
January 15, 2003
Author:
John Borowski
Source:
Statesman Journal
The author says the caffeine
in soda violates the zero tolerance policy of "No-Doze" or caffeine
tablets of Salem-Keizer (Ore.) schools.
Date:
January 14, 2003
Authors:
Kim Severson and Ray Delgado
Source:
San Fransisco Chronicle
San Fransisco School Board
considers a nutrition policy that would eliminate the sale of soda and
unhealthy snacks in its 114 schools.
Date:
January 13, 2003
Author:
Elizabeth Becker and Marian Burros
Source:
The New York Times
"For the first time
in five years, Congress will take up the school lunch issue this winter
[Feb 2003], writing legislation that will affect the diet of 27 million
public school children, in elementary through high school."
Date:
January 11, 2003
Author:
Emily Gersema
Source:
Associated Press/Detroit News
Physicians argue that
school lunches are partly to blame for overweight children. Agriculture
Secretary says the bulk of eating and buying decisions is done by the
parents.
Date:
January 7, 2003
Author:
Kim Severson
Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
"An overweight America
is killing itself with excess, and all that can save it is a major cultural
transformation led by individuals and families"–Surgeon General Carmona
Successful Students Through Healthy Food Policies: Act Now for Academic Excellence
Date:
2003
Source:
California School Boards Association and California Project LEAN
This policy resource guide
is designed for use by school board members and school administrators who want to positively
affect the health of students. The guide offers a step-by-step approach for creating a
healthy school environment so students can practice healthy eating habits while at school.
Date:
August 12, 2003
Author:
Carol Chmelynski
Source:
School Board News
This article reports on several school
districts in the United States whose exclusive contracts with carbonated beverage companies have recently
come under criticism.
Date:
June 15, 2003
Source:
American Diabetes Association
One in three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes, according to a
yet to be released U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
report presented at the American Diabetes Association's 63rd Annual Scientific
Sessions in New Orleans, LA.
Date:
March 4, 2003
Source:
Maryland Secondary Schools Principals' Association
Press release on testimony before the senate Agriculture Committee offers a
counter view to the undesirable impact of the sale of foods and beverages
in schools.
Date:
February 2003
Author:
Healthy Schools Network
Source:
National Association of State Boards of Education
"The link between nutrition and learning
is well documented....Well-planned and well-implemented school nutrition
programs have been shown to positively influence students' eating habits."