Schools: No More Soda

I understand the underlying theory of getting sugar out of the hands of teens, but I hardly see this as a victory. All this does is increase the amount of chemicals, in the form of artificial sweeteners, that will be available for addiction that serves "their" brand loyalty agenda.

The only victory is that calorie consumption may be reduced. Even then... one drink will be swapped with another.

If Diet Soda were useful for managing body weight - why do obesity rates still rise?

If we could get rid of the artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup everyone would be better off.

This is a typical political (non)solution to a social problem.

Eliminate the sugar containing drinks and allow the ones with artificial sweeteners which are no doubt much worse for the kids, to remain in the schools.

Then have a high profile politician like Clinton claim a victory as a favor to his wealthy friends who own the food companies that make the products, so everyone feels good about it.

What makes Clinton a nutrition expert by the way? Didn’t he have cardiac bypass surgery for eating too much junk food over the last fifty plus years?

Meanwhile the food companies continue to make the same money as before, if not more, and the ‘problem’ goes away.

I really detest the way our country continues to sell out our health, along with everything else, to big business.

http://www.antiagingatlanta.com

O_O

More solid evidence that our country seriously sucks at solving problems (regardless of who they belong to). Does this remind anyone else of our "pain at the pump", or the proposed solutions to it? Making SUVs more gas efficient does not placate our dependence on fossil fuel. Removing full-calorie soda from schools does not substantially improve the eating habits of American youth. Come on, people.

I would love to see them replace the soda with mandatory phys-ed. Maybe the next think they can take out of the schools is the highly processed food that is a cafeteria staple today.

This is just one more thing to prove my suspicion that personal responsibility is a concept completely lost on many Americans. If I don't want my child to drink soda, then my parental responbilities are as follows: 1) I will pack her drinks in her lunch, 2) I'll limit her snack "budget", 3) I'll give her healthy choices at home to develop her taste for them, and 4) if she makes unhealthy choices, SHE is the one responsible for the outcome. As a mother, I cannot shield her completely from the world, but I can equip and guide her toward the right choices. And if she doesn't, she'll experience negative consequences. It stinks to see someone you love making wrong choices, but eliminating choice isn't the way to solve the problem.

Healthy drink sources have been available in schools for years. They are called water fountains. I will not be surprised if in a few years diet sodas are recalled from schools as well because of all of the negative research findings.

I belive it makes people fat & that the chair people were smart & are taking it out of school, but i belive there stupid too because diet pop is worse than regular pop

Amy from two posts above, I think I love you.

That is some of the clearest thinking I have heard in a while.

I go to school and I think that is pathetic that they are trying to take soft drinks from a place that the students will only be at for 8 hours. Most teachers do not even allow soft drinks in the class room. People think they are going to combat obesity just by doing this one thing...I guess I do understand that they are going to try to limit the kids caloric intake but they have enough problems in the lunch line as it is. Kids are allowed to by high calorie foods (pizza, cheese sticks, little debbie snacks) all the time. Why dont they have schools start with the major problem, and thats in the lunch line. I dont understand how limiting drinks is going to make that big of a differce.

i think that soda should stay in schools...people have the right to choose if they want to drink soda or not

_^.^_

Diet sodas are even worse than regular sodas though
Big corporations make them just

"as a fad to join the dIET Craze"

its all about the money and Diet sodas are even worse....
THEY DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU FAT
why?
would they care about our health?

Their too busy living off of you and getting everyone and ne1 addicted
and im passionate about telling ppl so
I have been reading for years
and despite my age I know alot when it comes to health than people who have 40 + or more years on me...
Im 15 and i think everyone should look at the world and ask does this work
or does the big corporations we see on tv just brainwash us into believing their products are EFFECTIVE..
when its just a bold faced lie!!!!!!

Chandi

i think that kids should have soda because it's there chose

Did they also cut out the energy drinks like powerade and gatorade? Because those drinks are loaded with sugar.

Our school is allowed to serve french fries, pizza, cheeseburgers, cookies, doritos, nachos, hot dogs, and milkshakes EVERYDAY plus other options like pizza sticks, processed chicken nuggets and corn dogs on regular basis. Of course, there are healthier options like salads, veggie trays, hot veggies, fruit, jello etc. always available. We have soda machines, bottled water, 3 juice options and 3 milk options. The majority of students choose the "junkier foods" and soda. I can't tell you how many come through everyday with pizza, fries, cookies and a Mountain Dew. How can we legitimately take away soda and leave these unhealthy food options?

This is not cool!! I like Coca-Cola I drink it every day no matter what! They already took the pop machine out of our school. Did that stop me!?! Heck no!! I walk down to the nerest gas station every day and get a Coke during lunch break! Every one in my family is trying to get me to eat veggies and dies sodas, especilly my grandma! But no I drink Coke and I,am going to keep drinking it no matter what people say. Its a free country!

Jon, if you listened to your family and tried to eat vegetables, you'd feel better, have more energy, do better on your school work, and wouldn't be setting yourself up for a lifetime of illnesses.

I think that school should have pop it keeps me awake and awaer of wut is happin. I LOVE POP MAN!!!!!

thank god this has not happened at my school, and i dont think anyone here would let it.

mike said:
thank god this has not happened at my school, and i dont think anyone here would let it.[...]

where do you live?

i might wanna move there.

I think this is a very good Idea my school should do this

The taking of soda from schools has had little effect. I can understand taking soda out of schools to try lowering the increasing obesity rate, but if your taking out soda, why would you add Ice cream and other 'junk food' to the menu? I say this is because they take soda, which kids are going to go home and drink just as much, and give us ice cream saying that it is healthier. And prices aren't to great for the alternatives, at my school it it $1.00 for a 12oz bottle of powerade. So i believe that this attempt failed miserably, all it did was make sure that kids were drinking soda while they sit on their couches instead of sitting at school.

I think they should remove vending machines all together, except for bottled water. The schools should also not serve anything which is considered unhealthy for lunch too. There is no need to have ice cream or other crap at school. Who wants a bunch of kids jacked up on sugar and caffeine at school anyway? I seriously doubt it is the teachers or other officials who have to work with all of these kids on a daily basis.

And the problem with obesity is more than personal responsibility. It is a community problem that we all pay for one way or another.

sodas not causing obieste its the LACK OF ACTIVITY

The danger of so many healthy new sodas is a health hazard for our children. Today some sodas are organic, but still loaded with sugars hidden by the ingredient list as organic evaported cane juice. The hazards are avirtually the same - diabetes, heart disease, cancer. Our schools need to set a standard for allowable sugars. Carbonation is never good for children.

i think that all or just some school should have soda in school because that is what keeps most or just some people awake for when they are at school. some people may disagree with me but i think that we should. my school has soda in the machines but some of the other schools may not but all we have is some diet, and some regular.

As a High School teacher, I see the excessive use of sugared sodas and "energy" drinks by our students. While I will admit, I do enjoy a good cup of coffee every once in a while, I drink only diet sodas, allowing myself only one 12 oz can a day, and only after I have had at least a minimum of 32 oz of WATER!!! How I wish that all our students could adhere to this. They would be healthier, more alert in class, and might not have as much trouble spelling!!! I am in favor of removing sugared sodas from schools in favor of items such as V-8 juice, diet teas and sodas, flavored calorie-free waters, vitamin waters, etc. This, coupled with healthy items in the snack machine, can help our kids make better choices. However, with open campus options, they can still leave at lunch and get the "junk". We all must be realistic and know that our students will make their own choices. At least, if we give them healthy options, they may get some benefit during school hours.

I luv soda.I think soda should b allowed in schools' vendin machinez. Lets face it the skoolz nd the coca-cola product company will make more money.If uthink kidz r luvin tha non-carbonated nd fruit juices,this'll really keep kidz comin' bak 4 more! WE WANT SODAZ,WE WANT SODAZ! Rap:YEA WE NEED SODAZ IN SKOOL,ONCE DEY GIT MONEY DEY'LL BE COOL SO STOP FRONTIN WIT THA BULL JUST QUENCH YOUR THIRST U MAY GIT FULL,YU,YU,YU,YU,YUHHH!! YAH____YAH!!!!

I agree with you on the organic subject. Applause for the Philadelphia school district fro keeping Enviga out of schools. I just saw another green tea soda called Steaz and it is also toxic liquid candy with 35 grams of sugar per bottle!

It is our responsibility to keep this kind of junk food away from our kids.

I love You !

I think that soda should be taken out of all schools.
I am a student at Waterloo Jr. High and we have sodas in our snack machines.
There is no reason why soda should be sold at schools.
There are health classes in our school and they teach us about how bad soda is for us but yet, they sell it in their own schools.
I think its uncalled for.

Soda should be banned from every school.

Yes, all soda and so called sparkling beverages with sugar should be banned. If it has sugar - read: juice and evaporated cane juice - and carbonation, it is soda. That goes for energy drinks too. Keep our kids strong! Put junk food where it belongs- in the trash.

i agree. sodas are bad.

they are. even the organic ones that are called sparkling green tea are bad. bubbles and sugar are soda and soda does not belong in schools. i hope the policy makers understand this. odrinks like this are job security for dentists and cardiologists.

Do you mean like Steaz, which has 35 grams of sugar in a bottle of carbonation? Some how this made it through the loopholes of regulation and made it into schools. Scary stuff.

At my school, they sell Limonata and Aranciata, which are lemon and orange sodas. If you have one soda, you're fine. But they have lots of sugar, and a girl drank three sodas at once.
Also, my school sells cookies. You can buy as many as you want. People buy 5, 6 cookies at a time and eat that for lunch.

As a high school student, a sophomore to be exact, I completely disagree with this law passed.
At what age do we the students decide to make minor decisions such as maybe not drinking a soda today and having water instead? This banishment from schools is not only unfair to those who do not have an obesity problem or even near that, but if they cannot so much as make a right decision about what soda's we drink, then when will they ever? After all, high school is about "preparing for the future", but yet they can just take this and completely remove it?
No, it's unjust and though it may be a minor thing such as sodas, it's these kind of conflicts that lead to others.

I've talked to students who have told me even though they no longer have vending machines there are still students who slang soda at schoo1. No matter what they try to take; kids know where to go. They can get it anywhere. If they really wanna to fix this so called obesity problem... it starts at home... whatever the parents buy the kids eat... kid's don't just develop this high fat, sugar, fast food thing.... yes it's there.... but who brings them there? their parents of course....unless they can drive... kids start from a very young age eating these foods and drinking sodas... start teaching them when their young...as they get older and you take it ways....you think they can't still get it...

That is very good to hear that soda will be removed from high schools because there is nothing beneficial or nutritious about it. But I think that that should also apply for diet soda as well because while it contains no calories or sugar it's still soda and has a lot of nasty chemicals added to it. So I recommend that that gets banned from the schools as well. I suggest that they only sell bottled water and skim milk in schools. But I cannot make that decision so all of you that make these agreements will have to figure this out on your own.

I HATE THIS!!! i am just about to start highschool in a week, i was really looking forward to getting a soda everyday at school but of course, right before i start school, they take out the machines and replace them with 'Coke Zero' machines. DIET SODA'S TASTE TERRIBLE!!! ALWAYS HAVE ALWAYS WILL!!!! a lot of people think that kids will just grab whatever is in the machine, but thats not true after they find out it tastes like non-caffenated, colored, artificial sugar water. those machines wont ever make any money. you can burn off a can of coca-cola by just sitting in a chair for 6 hours, which is the definition of school. people arent fat because of soda, its because they eat at like mcdonalds every day. dont make the rest of us suffer from these tasteless diet drinks because other kids are fat and arent even trying to lose weight. if they want to drink diet sodas, fine, but we dont, leave us alone, we can make our own decisions. PUT REGULAR DRINKS BACK IN SCHOOLS!!!!