Ont. Gov't bans certain foods in schools.....

[mark tonin]

Nice to read that lots of people are supportive of this initiative, as I think that schools should be promoting and encouraging children to make healthy choices whenever possible.

Having said that, I really wonder how much of an impact this will have at the elementary school level, especially with younger children. Do younger children really spend that much money on junk food at school? Lots of parents send their kids with absolute crap to eat (or nothing at all), but I don't know how much junk food is actually bought by younger children at school ... I wonder what the stats are?

High schools are certainly a different story ... I'd love to see the reaction from students, parents, businesses, the community, etc. if the government tried to ban junk food from being sold at high schools ... some food for thought ::

Peace, Mark

[Tonberry]

so... you're all saying you don't like the large folks, huh?

... my aura has turned slate grey...

[bouche]

I do not remember pop and chips when I was in elementary school at all. I remember there was a milk day, or maybe it was daily at a certain time. Everyone in class would be given a small milk at recess.

Vending/junk food should never have been in elementary schools.

I only remember seeing vending machines in Highschool, and that's where I had all the choice in the world.

I could choose, chips, chocolate covered everything, fries, fake burgers, onion rings, and soda pops of many different flavours.

That is probably THE most important time to work on nutrition. I shouldn't have an opportunity to hit a pop and potato chip machine on the way to my next class. Geez, we'd eat chips (quietly) in class.

Hey, what about Halloween? Isn't that yearly super sugar tradition just plain ridiculous still? A pillow case or 2 full of candy is just plain wrong...as much as I loved it.

[StoneMtn]

It appears that the Ontario initiative is making some waves across our country. It's certainly become an issue in BC now:

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=83083bfc-16b0-4e95-9118-dab50e937e5f

Education minister vows to ban junk food sales in schools

Healthier foods will improve students' health and fitness

Jim Beatty, Janet Steffenhagen and Jenny Lee, with files from Pamela Fayerman

Vancouver Sun

Thursday, October 21, 2004

CREDIT: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun

Tessa Rumpel, 14, and Lanzer Permalino, 13, display an assortment of junk food soon to be history in B.C. schools under a provincial ban intended as part of a broad health strategy. The ban follows one announced in Ontario.

VICTORIA -- British Columbia will ban junk food in schools within months as part of a broad-based strategy to improve the health and physical fitness of children, says Education Minister Tom Christensen.

Christensen, who has long vowed not to ban junk food, made the surprising policy reversal Wednesday afternoon after the Ontario government announced a ban on potato chips, pop and other fattening foods in Ontario elementary schools.

"I would love it if, tomorrow, we didn't have any junk food in schools," Christensen said Wednesday. "Sometime over the next few months I'd like to get that finalized and get that out the door," he said of the junk food ban.

Christensen said his ministry has been working on the proposed ban on fatty foods for a year, saying the removal of caffeinated pop and other sweets from schools will help children learn.

"I'd like to do it in the context of a broader strategy around physical activity in schools and creating a healthy environment for our children in schools," he said.

"We want schools to be places where children are focused on their education. There's more and more evidence that says junk food doesn't help with their education."

Health Services Minister Colin Hansen welcomed the move. "As far as I'm concerned, the sooner we can get there the better. We need to encourage our kids to have a healthier diet."

But Hansen said one of the difficulties is determining the definition of junk food. "Does it do any good to remove Coca-Cola from a vending machine in a school and replace it with something else that has a fancy label with a picture of fresh fruit on it when in reality it is no better than the can of Coke?"

On Wednesday, Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy released guidelines to restrict the in-school sale of calorie-rich treats such as sports drinks and chocolate granola bars to students from kindergarten through Grade 8.

"We firmly believe that this is one small way that Ontario's publicly funded education system can and must deliver excellence to all students," Kennedy told the Ontario legislature.

B.C.'s previous education minister, Christy Clark, said the ministry didn't have the power to ban junk food because school boards - and not the education ministry - were entering into financial contracts with cola makers and junk food suppliers.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said the government must be cautious in its approach, citing the financial contribution vending machines bring to school boards, money that pays for things such as sports equipment.

"It's a direction that most communities are starting to go in but we had better look at all of the ramifications," he said.

New Democratic Party MLA Jenny Kwan said the public has a right to be confused about the government's policy on junk food, accusing Christensen of "making up policy on the fly here. We heard earlier in the day that he didn't know what he was going to do and later on in the day he said he was going to proceed."

Kwan urged the government to ensure school boards won't suffer financially from a ban. "The government must provide financial compensation to the school boards and address the issue of contract ramifications for the school boards."

The issue of vending machine money was also on the minds of school trustees.

While Vancouver school board chair Adrienne Montani welcomed the government's move, calling it a "sign of leadership," she said the government would have to compensate schools for lost revenues and that would be "a pretty big chunk of money."

Trustees say they aren't sure how much revenue is generated through junk food sales because it generally stays within the schools, but Montani said a large secondary school can collect $20,000 to $30,000 a year from vending machines alone.

Schools also raise money by selling chocolate bars and chips in school stores and burgers and fries in their cafeterias.

"There's going to have to be money on the table," added Andrea Reimer, a Vancouver trustee who has lobbied to end junk food sales in schools. But she said the announcement was exciting.

"There's been so much pressure to do this - from the chief medical officer . . . the cancer society, citizens groups, parents. All sorts of people want to see this changed."

Jinny Sims, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, said she was pleased the minister listened to appeals from teachers.

"It's a general concern that we share with parents and the public about the impact of junk food on [children's] health and their learning," she said.

"We absolutely, 100-per-cent support the stopping of the sale of junk food in schools."

But other trustees had reservations. Shawn Wilson, school board chair in Surrey, the largest B.C. district, and Melissa Hyndes, chair of Coquitlam, the third largest, said schools and school boards should make decisions about food sales.

"I was under the impression that local school boards had autonomy," said Hyndes, referring to one of the Liberals key promises upon taking office.

She said she believes in giving students choice while also educating them about healthy eating.

Wilson took a similar position, saying: "Responsible people should have the freedom to make their own choices."

Linda McPhail, Richmond board chair, said she worries secondary school students would simply buy junk food at nearby stores if sales in schools were halted.

"On the surface, it sounds really good, but what are the unintended consequences? What will happen if they're taken out of schools? What will kids do - and is that really the right answer?"

Penny Tees, president of the B.C. School Trustees' Association, said she is pleased the minister plans to consult broadly before implementing a ban because there are many issues to be discussed, including the lost revenue and sensitivities about choice.

Dr. Bob Armstrong, head of pediatrics at B.C. Children's Hospital, said it would be entirely appropriate for B.C. to follow the Ontario lead. "There is no rationale for junk food in school vending machines. Public bodies like schools have a moral responsibility for showing kids the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods," he said.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Chanoine, a pediatric endocrinologist who is an expert in childhood obesity at B.C. Children's Hospital, said since children spend 35 hours a week in school, "they should also be educated about what is good and bad to eat. "We now have hard evidence about how soft drinks cause obesity," he said, adding "it is no longer just a suspected association or epidemiological evidence."

Dr. Susan Biali, a Vancouver family doctor who writes a monthly column on nutrition in The Medical Post, called the Ontario decision "wonderful news.

"But I am disappointed that they are not extending it to high schools as well because we should be making it more difficult for kids of all ages to obtain junk foods. We have an obesity crisis now and we need drastic action so this is a good place to start."

The tough Ontario guidelines mean there will be no pop, no candy, no sports drinks. Instead, vending machines will be filled with milk, water, 100-per-cent fruit juices and fruit snacks.

Registered dietitian Lynn Roblin who helped draft the Ontario guidelines, said the vast majority of commercial cereal bars won't make it into schools because they are too high in fat and low in fibre. Cookies will squeak in if they provide such good things as fibre, D vitamins and iron, but candy is out. "We didn't really find any candy that met our criteria," Roblin said.

Parent advisory council fundraising and lunches that children bring to school are not affected by the new guidelines, but are the "ideal next step," Roblin said.

The new guidelines will be a shock to some Toronto schools, but others are already ahead of the game. Toronto-based Roblin's own children's school have already switched to fruit kebabs from doughnuts and to small oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from regular chocolate cookies.

The restrictions don't have to have a negative impact on fundraising, Roblin said.

"We have altered our lunch at my children's elementary school to more nutritious choices and we're making the same amount of money."

jbeatty@direct.ca

- - -

Eastern example

Some foods now approved and banned in Ontario elementary schools:

OUT

- Chocolate bars

- Sports drinks

- Soft drinks

- Potato chips

IN

- Milk, yogurt and yogurt drinks, cheese

- Fruit and vegetable juice

- Popcorn, pretzels

- Granola bars

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

Copyright © 2004 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.

Optimized for browser versions 4.0 and higher.

[PalacePrincess]

take away halloween candy??? okay now that's just wrong. (no offense, bouche :. why don't we ban easter chocolate and christmas cookies and ice cream and birthday cakes while we're at it? it's perfectly okay for kids to cram their faces with garbage every once in awhile. isn't being jacked up on sugar just one of the fun parts of being a kid? i mean really, you show me one kid who is thrilled at getting apples in their halloween candy. heehee. i was allowed to eat whatever i wanted when i was a kid (and lemmie tell you, what i wanted to eat was definitely more along the lines of fruit loops and ice cream than brown rice and seaweed), hell, i STILL have mad sugar cravings, and at 25 years old i don't even have any cavities. so no, i don't think we need to go THAT overboard, kids should still be allowed to be kids and eating rotten, terrible food full of sugar that is awful for you is part of that. as long as that's not the ONLY thing you're eating, you'll turn out okay. we all did!

i'm glad they're doing this though. i read a good point in an article about this yesterday -- schools are teaching about nutrition, it's about time they stand by what they're trying to instill in kids. in addition to banning the sale of junk food at schools, they're also making 20 minutes of physical activity per day mandatory, which i think is great.

it's still ridiculous this is being limited to elementary schools and not being enforced in the high schools. all of your high schools sound a lot like mine -- hmm, what to have for lunch in the caf today, french fries or chocolate? give me a break. i read just today the real reason they aren't doing this for the high schools is that many of the school boards are locked into multi-million dollar contracts with companies like coke & pepsi. i totally believe that, i even saw an item on the news a few months ago about that, i guess coke & pepsi were in a massive bidding war over who got to have all their pop machines in the cafeterias.

[voodoolady]

Hey, what about Halloween? Isn't that yearly super sugar tradition just plain ridiculous still? A pillow case or 2 full of candy is just plain wrong...as much as I loved it.

I thik if parents are feeding their kids healthy meals/snacks/school lunches then a pizza day/ treat night or even halloween can be a fun treat for kids. It's all about moderation, and you learn to appreaciate Halloween more when your not eating junk all day every day!!!

[MamaPink]

exactly - moderation is the key.

My mom was never allowed to eat junk cereal when she was a kid. Instead, they use to have lumpy porridge. yuck! Now, she's obsessed with junk cereal - no word of a lie, there’s about 15 different kinds of cereal in our cupboards right now.

[SevenSeasJim]

All 7 of the elementary schools that I work at have drink vending machines. 3 of these 7 schools have them located right outside of the kindergarten class so that every day the first thing these 3-4 year olds see is a big Pepsi/Aquafina sign (nothing like starting them young!!)

These schools also have their "Theme" days 2 or 3 times a week as well to raise money for school events/trips(Pizza on Monday/Hotdogs on Tuesday/Hamburgers on Thurday type of thing)in order to offset the high cost of going on trips. Three days per week of eating crap for some of these kids.

Not good.

[Velvet]

"I wish we still had gym class in the work world"

In SE Asia it's pretty standard for all the employees of a company to start the day with group exercises. This often goes on out on the sidewalk, and sometimes looks like you're watching prisoners of war. And there's always one or two hiding in the back faking it.

[PalacePrincess]

you know, it's actually a huge misconception that pizza is junk food. it's not that bad at all. it's got all four food groups, and the amount of fat & calories is relatively low -- compared to other junk foods it's practically like eating salad with no dressing.

another big misconception is that subs are a healthier choice -- you think they're better because they have vegetables on it, but lettuce & tomoatoes don't have a whole lot of nutiritional value, and once you add up all the fat, cholestoral, sodium and calories, you may as well be eating a big mac. that subway "6 subs with less than 7 grams of fat!" is a total farce -- those nutritional values are based on subs with no cheese, no dressing, and only in the 6" size. if you were to look up the nutirtional value of a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza compared to an assorted sub with say, cheese and mayo (which is likely what they serve in schools), you'd be surprised at how unhealthy they actually are.

[Velvet]

Y'know I did that Subway diet thing and it worked pretty good, but yeah, no cheese and only two dressing options.

That said, I'm having my own famous pitazza for lunch today!

[mark tonin]

3 of these 7 schools have them located right outside of the kindergarten class so that every day the first thing these 3-4 year olds see is a big Pepsi/Aquafina sign

... wow ... that's brutal! Two separate but related issues with that - healthy food choices and corporate advertising in schools.

I think that "junk food" is ok in moderation, but I do have a problem if elementary schools promote regular junk food choices with vending machines or tie fundraising to the sale of junk food. Having said that, defining junk food can be tricky, and my daughter recently sold Girl Guide cookies ... maybe that makes me a hypocrite ... although I must admit it bothered me that she was selling junk food to raise money ... but she's an exception I think when it comes to junk food, as she has remarkable restraint for a 10 year old ... maybe it's because she has got a lot of healthy and nutrition education and training at home and through her gymnastics program.

Should a high school student have a choice when buying lunch/food at school? fries or salad? juice or pop? Or should the unhealthy choices be removed from school? We can't stop children from eating junk food, but we can do our part by educating them about it and by not making it as easy to get. And yes, there's money involved ...

To be honest, I flip-flop on the junk food issue and the corporate presence in schools issue at the high school level. Lots of solid cases can be made for either side.

I wish I had more time to write, but it's time for me to supervise in the cafeteria ... bring on those oh so healthy fries with gravy ... ::

Peace, Mark

[ollie]

I thought pizza had tons of fat. I remember reading that a slice of Pizza Hut New Yorker had as much fat as a Big Mac.

Here's a random reference:

The fat content of a large slice from Pizza Hut, for example, jumps from 15 to 24 grams when pepperoni is added to a simple cheese pie.

“The recommended amount of daily fat intake is 30 per cent of the calories you consume,” explains Mitchell, a registered dietitian. “For most people, that’s 60 or 65 grams of fat a day. If you take 24 grams in a slice of pizza – and many people have two slices – that pretty much uses up your daily allowance.”

Moreover, the fat in the cheese and in such toppings as pepperoni and sausage is saturated fat. That’s the kind with the biggest effect on heart health.

http://umanitoba.fitdv.com/new/articles/article.html?artid=377

[SevenSeasJim]

" Should a high school student have a choice when buying lunch/food at school? fries or salad? juice or pop? Or should the unhealthy choices be removed from school? We can't stop children from eating junk food, but we can do our part by educating them about it and by not making it as easy to get. And yes, there's money involved ..."

So many factors here. Educating the kids about this can only help, but with high school only be 4 years now where does this extra time come from? One of the biggest mistakes that the provincial government made was going to 4 years of high school (IMO). Nutrition/Health/Gym should be mandatory courses along with English and Math for all 4 years. Of course if we had 5 years (or even 6 years) of high school we could teach many other cool things as well.

[AdamH]

Kids love junk food. We all did and subesquent generations will too.

Giving choice is a step but enforcing what they can and cannot eat goes against my way of thinking for promoting good nutrition.

Mandatory Gym class is a step in the right direction. Why this ever ceased or even became less than twice a week is beyond me.

[PalacePrincess]

good job with the selective editing. heehee, j/k! (sorry, i'm just being a brat. :: the tone of voice i'm saying that in is nowhere near as snotty as it looks typed.)

anyway, from the same article:

On the other hand, notes Mitchell, “the cheese also has calcium, which is a nutrient that tends to be lacking in the diets of Americans.”

“Pizza is one of those things that can be a healthy food, but it depends what’s on it,” says Rita Mitchell in the Department of Nutritional Science at University of California at Berkeley.

Pizza retailers sometimes adjust the ingredient mix to offset fatty toppings. That can show up as a slice of pepperoni pie with hardly more fat than the plain cheese pizza, meaning the amount of cheese is reduced on the pizza with the fatty meat topping.

You can always ask for reduced cheese on the pie, cutting the fat substantially.

If you really want meat on your pizza, chicken or ham are leaner choices than pepperoni and sausage.

Gourmet pizzas are not necessarily a bargain in terms of health. Ingredients such as pesto sauce, eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes tend to be high in fat.

Beware rich options like “stuffed” pizza. A slice of Sbarro’s stuffed pepperoni pie weighs in at a whopping 42 grams of fat and 960 calories.

and you can always order a ton of veggies on your pizza (enough that you don't even need cheese!) and a lot of pizza places have a huge variety of good-for-you veggies like broccoli, spinach, green peppers (which have more vitamin C than oranges), etc. etc. etc.

like the subs, it's all about what you put on it. like velvet said, a 6" turkey sub with no cheese and no sauce is quite low in fat, but as soon as you load it up with other things like it becomes high in fat and not as good for you. the same goes with pizza. if you want double cheese, stuffed crust with pepperoni, sausage and bacon, that's obviously not as good for you as a no cheese quadruple vegetable pizza. my point was just that pizza is not really as "junky" as we are often led to believe,and that compared to other junk foods it's good for you. for all the fat you're getting, you're getting calcium and other nutrients too. and fat is not all bad for you. we need fat for flexible bones (flexible for lack of a better word ), and if you're choosing cheese as your fat source for the day, as long as it isn't your choice every day you'll be fine.

[ollie]

Hey PP,

I agree with you that pizza can be a healthy option depending on the toppings but I'm guessing the average pizza goer is still reaching for the cheese and pepperoni. And as the article points out, two large cheese (not even extra or double) and pepperoni slices can blow your allotment of daily fat intake.

P.S. I knew you'd nail me on the selective editing! ::

P.P.S. Pizza WITHOUT cheese??? ::

[mark tonin]

Students shows up to high school and haven't eaten ... they have some money to buy some food ... it's just as easy for them to buy a pop and chips or something healthier because both are available at our school ... should they have that choice?

If they didn't have the choice and could only buy the healthier option, would they choose to buy it, or would they run to the corner store to buy the pop and chips? ... or would they buy nothing at all?

And how about the fact that many students can make responsible choices about eating junk food ... why should they be penalized?

Age old questions without easy answers. With adults I almost always fall on the individual freedom of choice side of the argument, but with younger people I find it harder to determine where I stand.

A few other comments:

I love pizza!

Dancing and other forms of physical education should be mandatory at school. ::

Peace, Mark

[Patchoulia]

I think one of the most startling (and selectively ignored) facts presented in "Super-Size Me" was the evidence that healthy, organic school lunch programs cost the SAME AMOUNT as the 99% processed, low-nutritional-value lunch programs.

[MamaPink]

I think one of the most startling (and selectively ignored) facts presented in "Super-Size Me" was the evidence that healthy, organic school lunch programs cost the SAME AMOUNT as the 99% processed, low-nutritional-value lunch programs.

FOR SURE!! I think i watched that entire movie with my jaw to the floor... it grossed me right out... i'm so glad i saw it.