October 24, 2003
Nutrition and Education: The missing link by Cameron Gaut

In his essay, “On the Uses of a Liberal Education,” Mark Edmunson says that university culture, like American culture, is “ever more devoted to consumption and entertainment, to the using and using up of goods and images.” This pervasive trend of consumerism can be partially accredited to the ever-increasing corporate entanglement in our daily lives. For goods and entertainment corporations, American over-consumption of their products happens to be very lucrative. It has become increasingly more difficult to venture outside of our homes without being bombarded by advertisements of these profiteering entities. Corporate influence has become so commonplace that it is now acceptable to market unhealthy foods and drinks to children in the public schools of America. We need to consider the repercussions of this trend of profit over well-being in our public school systems. Junk food and sugary beverages in vending machines and carts should not be permitted on school grounds because they are detrimental to the learning process and behavior of children.
Cola contracts are irresistible to under-funded schools when they are tempted by soft drink corporations like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. The deal is mutually beneficial to both the school and the soft drink corporation. These written contracts provide school funding in exchange for vending machine placement inside the school. The amount provided usually ranges anywhere from $100,000 to $4,000,000 for approximately 10 year contracts (Enquirer, Online). Revenues from soda and junk food sales pay for extracurricular activities, sports, clubs, and more.

Currently, most public schools promote the consumption of unhealthy food. As a long-time student of the US public education system, I can attest to the fact that health class presented an idealistic view of how we should eat. Yet the ready availability of junk food at all times of the day gave a completely contradictory message. Soda dispensing towers littered the school halls, their flashy illuminated advertisements celebrating youth image and cool. Their message proclaimed that it was alright to drink up, as long as it was Coke, Pepsi, or whatever pop peddler paid the bill. Vending machines churned out convenient little packages of hydrogenated fats, refined sugars, and artificial preservatives and colors. My generation seemed to have grown up on this kind of “food”, our taste buds familiarized with the artificial.

Sugary, fatty junk food drinks are causing widespread hyperactivity and obesity in children. The fact that these products are marketed to children at school only amplifies the problem. For every four children at school, one is obese, which is “double the number from two decades ago” (Ohio Committee on School Health, Online). It’s been widely documented that “sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children” (Dr. Nancy Appleton, Online). But sugar isn’t the only culprit. Children who mostly eat junk food are not getting enough essential vitamins and nutrients. There have been numerous studies conducted showing that children with iron deficiency have a shorter attention span, irritability, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating (Quendler, Online). The number of prescriptions written for drugs used to sedate hyperactive children into compliance has increased to five times as many as written in 1991 (Dianne Dunne, Online). We point our fingers to blame various culprits, but never seem to follow the advice we give to our own children. “You are what you eat” goes a long way towards explaining why the nation’s public education system needs to critically reconsider what they feed to their students.

Many pre-packaged vending machine items are filled with artificial preservatives and colors. Several artificial colors are proven to be harmful to lab rats, but do we have to wait until we see the effects in humans before we discontinue their use in food products? Industry studies have shown that Blue No.2 causes an increase in brain tumors among rats. Research also reveals that Red 40 may cause tumors in the lymph glands. Additionally, Red No. 3, now banned from cosmetics, is still used to color confections, baked good, cherries, and more. This food coloring agent may cause mutation of the genes (FDA, Online).
Unfortunately, replacing the contents of vending machines has a hidden cost. Without financial support from the sales of soda and snacks, some schools may be reluctant to banish vending machines. Gaye Lynn Mac Donald, president of the American School Food Service Association, says that “while in the short term schools will need to find alternative sources of funding for programs, it is more important to focus on the long term health of our children” (AFSFA, Online).

Despite the cost, the removal of junk food from schools is a growing trend. In Appleton, Wisconsin, it occurred in 1997 at Central Alternative Charter School, an alternative program for at-risk youth in the public school district. Natural Ovens, the mid-west’s largest baker of whole grain breads, gave a grant of $100,000 to institute a healthy lunch program. Although the school continued to use the foods supplied to them by their local Sysco distributor, they changed the menu. They discontinued the “à la carte” items, and installed a salad bar with dark green lettuce (not iceberg) , cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumbers, mushrooms, peanuts, home-made apple sauce, pineapple chunks, fruit salad, etc. All of the vending machines were removed, and there was no carry-in food or drinks allowed (Appleton School District, online). Listed on the Appleton School District web site are some of the demonstrated outcomes of this meal plan:

- increased ability to concentrate in the school setting (more on-task behavior)
- increased cognitive development
- ability to think more clearly, objectively, and rationally
- fewer health complaints, i.e. headaches, stomach aches, general malaise
- increased attendance
- fewer disciplinary referrals
- less moodiness and more calmness

Central Alternative is not the only school that has tried this radical approach to serving school food. Earlier this year at Aptos Middle School in San Francisco, teachers who were fed up with seeing kids eating chips and pop for lunch spurred the same kind of healthful revolution that occurred at Central Alternative. “We have not seen kids bringing in their own junk food or quarts of soda,” Said Dr. Mel Heymann, an Aptos parent. “It has worked out really well.” Teachers say they’ve noticed fewer discipline problems after lunch, and less littering. Sales of bottled water unexpectedly exceeded those of sodas (San Francisco Chronicle, Online). Elsewhere in California, in 2002, The Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously passed a motion banning soda sales in each of the 677 schools throughout the district. New York City Schools’ Chancellor Joel Klein announced that beginning this fall, vending machines in 1,200 public schools will no longer sell soda, chewing gum, candy corn or licorice. “Schools that have made the switch prove it's not true that kids will only eat junk,” said Margo Wootan, CSPI's (Center for Science in the Public Interest) nutrition policy director. “They just need to be offered healthier choices” (WRAL News, Online).

The quality of America’s public education and of its children’s lives will be significantly enhanced upon the removal of junk food from schools. Not only will it encourage our children to create healthy eating habits, but it will also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their education. A school free of vending machines is a school that values the edification and well-being of its students. A nation that invests in education is a nation that creates a better future for everyone. It’s time to demonstrate to junk food companies that they don’t belong in our schools, and that children need not be treated as profit margins, but as human beings who are going to inherit this country.


Sources Cited

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