Latvia bans Coca-Cola, Pepsi and sweets in schools

1) quote:

Quote:

The Latvian government banned schools from selling food and beverages it considers unhealthy, including soft drinks made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
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The government said the ban covers all products that contain artificial food colorings, flavorings, sweeteners and caffeine.
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Instead of sweets, crisps, soft drinks and bubble gum, school cafes will be stocked with unsalted nuts, dried fruit, wholegrain snacks, oatmeal cookies, mineral water and unsweetened juices.
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"Artificial colorings and flavorings can result in allergic reactions, and young organisms are more sensitive to chemicals," the Latvian health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that every European Union member state is allowed to ban or restrict sales of food containing certain artificial agents. Latvia joined the EU in 2004.
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In July, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sent a letter to Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga asking that sales of Coca-Cola should not be banned in Latvia's schools.
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Albright is a director of the Albright Group LLC, whose activities include brokering agreements with governments and businesses and building strategic relationships with opinion leaders, according to the group's website. Coca-Cola is one of its clients.
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The ban approved by the Latvian government does not require approval from parliament and will come into force on November 1. — AFP

2) Source:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/138027.asp

3: Statement:
lol?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Schools are doing that here in the US, as well. It's not really that big of a deal. Kids don't need that kind of sugar.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well there is a difference between USA where kids look like bowling balls and Latvia, I guess

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Kids still don't need all that sugar, no matter where they live. Don't be an asshole.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Hello. I am trying to back up capitalism right here.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Capitalism will back itself up, especially when kids start bringing in candy and such on their own. The more enterprising ones will stock up and sell to their fellow students.

Sodas will be a bit more difficult, though.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Lord Styphon

Sodas will be a bit more difficult, though.

Actually, a guy I know converted his locker into a cooler for this very reason. He made quite a bit of money off of it.

FELIPE NO

I get the sense that they're jumping on the Jamie Oliver bandwagon here, soon all 'unhealthy' foods are going to stop being served in UK schools. It doesn't target any brands as such but stuff like fizzy soda, sweets and so on aren't going to be sold. If the kid doesn't like it it's either starve or get a packed lunch.

It's nothing to do with capitalism or money, it's purely down to kids' health and the supposed mass child obesity crisis in this country. No doubt Latvia has similar reasons.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Good for them, if that's what they want to do, I don't see the problem with it. If Coca-Cola and Pepsi still insist on being sold in schools, I'd say they should then buy gym equipment and sports stuff for the school as well, so that the kids can have some fun playing sports and working out. That way, it's win-win, soda can still be sold in school, and kids can work off those extra calories doing something fun (running gets kind of boring after a while you know, but baseball, soccer, football, etc. can be quite fun as a kid).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Healthy food could be so much more effectively marketed to kids. The industry and the dieticians do all the complaining (and so they should) yet routinely fail to pick up of the cues of McDonald's, Coco-Cola, etc.

Kids don't shun healthy food it because it's healthy, but because they're not sure it tastes good. Good on 'em for the ban, at any rate, but changing public perceptions would pay larger dividends.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

While I agree marketing is the biggest issue, to combat the effects of fast-food marketers with the sort of budget that health companies and schools have is laughable. Also diet is just one facet of a healthy lifestyle and exercise needs to be incorporated more into the school day and at home, everyone knows the statistics of computer sufing, tv watching, videogame playing versus going outdoors and playing with your friends/family. But at that point, schools can only do so much, parents have to take an active role in continuing the sort of health education that schools implement. And as long as fast-food is inexpensive, there will always be families surviving on it and when both parents work long hours, it's highly unlikely kids will get the exercise and attention to their health that they really need. It's a bigger problem that needs a bigger solution outside of schools, governments and corporations have to take a role in changing society and society's perception on health.

Companies are starting to shift, I just read this article one CNN that had fruit companies plastering Disney characters and Spongebob on their packaging to make it more appealing to kids.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Gecko3

If Coca-Cola and Pepsi still insist on being sold in schools, I'd say they should then buy gym equipment and sports stuff for the school as well, so that the kids can have some fun playing sports and working out.

Buying gym stuff for each school is unrealistic (it requires a lot of money), and Coca-Cola and Pepsi are corporations, not charities.
A quick & dirty market solution: if they want to sell in schools, sell the sugar-less versions (Coca-Cola Zero and Pepsi Max)

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by x86

Buying gym stuff for each school is unrealistic (it requires a lot of money), and Coca-Cola and Pepsi are corporations, not charities.
A quick & dirty market solution: if they want to sell in schools, sell the sugar-less versions (Coca-Cola Zero and Pepsi Max)

The Latvian government are citing the high levels of additives in those drinks, not just the sugar content. There's an awful lot of artificial shit in diet coke which is not particularly good for you.

Personally I think that if schools want fewer fat kids, they should stop cracking down so hard on bullying. Back when I was at school, the fat kids got picked on and as such, often put some effort into losing weight. These days everyone has to be so damn PC and kids aren't allowed to bully each other anymore so the fat kids get this stupid notion that being overweight is ok. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Quote:

Healthy food could be so much more effectively marketed to kids. The industry and the dieticians do all the complaining (and so they should) yet routinely fail to pick up of the cues of McDonald's, Coco-Cola, etc.

Kids don't shun healthy food it because it's healthy, but because they're not sure it tastes good. Good on 'em for the ban, at any rate, but changing public perceptions would pay larger dividends.

Agreed.
I’m a dietetics major myself and this is one of the big things professors are desperately trying to jam into our heads, regarding the profession. I took Nutrition Education over the summer and one of the major take home lesion is that dieticians are supposed to be the experts in nutrition education but were not, not by a long shot. The real experts in nutrition education are the fast food companies, mind you the lesion they are teaching you is a terrible one but that does not reduce the fact that the sophistication and effectiveness of their techniques far exceeds the ones we are using in the dietetics profession. Most people have an attitude that consist of that people eat at fast food places is because they “are fat and lazy and stupid” this is a gross over simplifcation, the reason people eat at fast food places is because the cooperation’s have removed every possible barrier they could to eating at their establishment. Dieticians on the other hand have in the past (and some continue to) pushed difficult to follow, ideological driven, (i.e. the main reason many R.D. don’t see fast food as a model for nutrition education is because it not based on one of the Ivory tower academically approved models of eating behavior) one size fits all diet plans or even more prevalent raw nutritional knowledge (often in language the audience can’t understand) without the any practical guidelines on how to follow them.

In short fast food places call it marketing and consumer research, dieticians call it nutrition education but at the end of day they are one of the same - and it quite obvious who’s better at it. Dieticians think that fast food places have a lot to learn from us dietetics folk, while they may have a little to learn from us, it is really dieticians that have a lot to learn from the fast food industry.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Sounds so logical it's hard to believe you actually need laws to enforce it.

FELIPE NO

I think its definitely a step in the right direction for ANY nation.

I see no reason why kids should be permitted to purchase soda in school. Here in Massachusetts, schools are not allowed to allow kids to purchase soda because the caffeine therein is considered an "addictive drug" (which it is), and the school can not legally give that shit to kids.

Or so I was told. I have no idea how true it is since I've seen soda machines and soda at lunch in other schools.

And yea, I agree that kids will try to turn a buck on selling shit food independently. It's a great idea - and I say let them. Totally permit it, just don't encourage it.

The American kids would actually LEARN something from running their own business this way. Real-life education, I guess. ^_^

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

And yea, I agree that kids will try to turn a buck on selling shit food independently. It's a great idea - and I say let them. Totally permit it, just don't encourage it.

The American kids would actually LEARN something from running their own business this way. Real-life education, I guess. ^_^

I dunno ... it's not very far from what drug dealers do either. =/

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by niki

I dunno ... it's not very far from what drug dealers do either. =/

I was halfly joking when I mentioned that there's a lesson to be learned in boot-legging. I learned a great lesson when I sold booze out of my locker.

But I think drug dealers would get more harsh punishment considering what they do is actually illegal both in and out of school. As I understand it, in Latvia, it's illegal for schools to provide these items.

Please correct me if I misread.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

I was halfly joking when I mentioned that there's a lesson to be learned in boot-legging. I learned a great lesson when I sold booze out of my locker.

But I think drug dealers would get more harsh punishment considering what they do is actually illegal both in and out of school. As I understand it, in Latvia, it's illegal for schools to provide these items.

Please correct me if I misread.

No no we do agree. It's just me who didnt detect the half joke in your first post. =j

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I like soda. I like milk too, and when I was in high school/junior high I'd be as likely to purchase a carton of milk as a bottle of soda. It depended on my preference at the time.

What I mean is, I know how to moderate myself. In addition, I was plenty active in school -- I walked to school and I did extracurricular activities and overall I felt pretty healthy.

Banning the sale of sodas and candies is a well-intentioned step (though I feel it "punishes" people like me who are perfectly healthy and not obese), I think, but I feel it's just like a "duh" step people take because it seems obvious. Why don't they also make physical education classes mandatory (in my high school, we only had to take it for the first two years), or encourage more extracurricular activities, or offer some health classes? Eating right is important, but you need more than that to stay fit and healthy.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Saka, Phys. Ed. is mandatory for all four years at my high school. Health 1 and Health 2 are both necessary if you plan on graduating.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by niki

Sounds so logical it's hard to believe you actually need laws to enforce it.

Basically it is in need of a law because it is restricting basic rights or something like that

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

GOTTA FIGHT

FOR MY RIGHT

TO DRINK COCA-COLA!

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Capo

Saka, Phys. Ed. is mandatory for all four years at my high school. Health 1 and Health 2 are both necessary if you plan on graduating.

Yeah, it's mandatory in most — if not all — schools of Latvia as well.

FELIPE NO

No but you have the right to buy a bottle from the vending machine, open it and drink the liquid that is in it.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by x86

A quick & dirty market solution: if they want to sell in schools, sell the sugar-less versions (Coca-Cola Zero and Pepsi Max)

Often, there's so much shit in food that is marketed as ''diet'' or ''sugar-free'' that it's not even funny. Just because it has zero calories or uses a sugar substitute doesn't mean it's healthy.

Jam it back in, in the dark.