The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and major beverage industry leaders announced guidelines for beverage service and access in elementary, middle and high schools (see Press Release).
From USA Today's coverage: Tens of millions of students will no longer be able to
buy non-diet sodas in the nation's public schools under an agreement announced yesterday between major beverage distributors and anti-obesity advocates. See the prepared Q&A and Fact Sheet for more details. Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and the American Beverage
Association are part of the agreement and had their quotable quotes in the main release. The American
Beverage Association represents the majority of school vending
bottlers, but it isn't clear why no major education or school groups were part of the agreement or announcement. One would think they are an important 'partner' for such an effort.
John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, which compiles
extensive data on the beverage industry, said the agreement would have
no impact on the $63 billion beverage industry's bottom line.
"The
sale of sugar-carbonated sodas in schools is a tiny, tiny part of their
overall volume," said Sicher. "Financially, on the big companies, it
will have virtually no impact."
He applauded the move, however, saying "The impact is more in terms of responsibility and accountability to the consumer." [Newsday]
Sooo, the reason it took so long was because...
Take 1: All the activity by advocates at the local and state level to ban soda and other beverages from schools was beginning to look like the tapestry the tobacco industry was facing with local ordinances and state laws prohibiting various marketing activities. Something too big and complicated for the beverage industry to effectively deal with or influence without spending lots of money. The Big Dogs will take the credit here, but don't underestimate what the local churning has done to make this possible.
Take 2: Let's not forget this news release headline today either: CSPI Applauds Agreement to Get High-Calorie Drinks Out of Schools; Drops Planned Litigation.
Technorati Tags: School Food Guidelines, Sodas
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