# Should we restrict junk being sold in schools? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 16, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997 "2003-09-16T20:17:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/1 "2003-09-16T20:17:07Z")
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a campaign to reduce the amount of junk food children eat. Part of this is asking for governmental restrictions on offering sodas and candy bars in schools: > [@](#): > > CSPI has repeatedly called for Congress to give the Agriculture Department authority to restrict food sold in school vending machines and school cafeteria lines. [http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/09/16/school.snacks.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/09/16/school.snacks.ap/index.html) Should we just let the free market handle this? If children want to spend their money on Coke insted of orange juice, let 'em. Or does this affect society as a whole in increased costs for health care? Should these junk foods be freely sold in all schools? Only high schools? Elementary schools too? Who should decide? Each individual school? School district boards? City or state governments? The federal government? ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/2 "2003-09-16T20:36:26Z")
Oyy! Of course, insted of “boing” in the title it should be ‘being.’ Why do I always seem to screw up titles? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/3 "2003-09-16T20:58:54Z")
I’m almost tempted to be anti-whatever the Center for “Science” in the Public Interest is for. Parents should do their best to educate their children about nutrition and health. It would also be nice if healthier snack options were available, assuming they’re not already. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/4 "2003-09-16T20:59:38Z")
Well, let us compare Coke & Apple Juice. Both are basicly sugar water. (OJ does contain some vitamins. ). Why is Coke so bad and Apple Juice so good? ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/5 "2003-09-16T21:03:36Z")
Most kids don’t have a strong sense of the benefits of a balanced diet over a diet composed entirely of Chee-tos and Dr. Pepper, at an age when the eating habits that they develop will affect the way they eat, and their overall health, for the rest of their lives. If they were at home, they wouldn’t be allowed to eat whatever junk they would choose for themselves. I think it’s a little odd that they can do so at school, where the school would seem to have some responsibility for keeping them reasonably healthy if it’s in its power. Boing! ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/6 "2003-09-16T21:05:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrDeth \* > Why is Coke so bad and Apple Juice so good? Caffeine might be part of the answer to that. I see a fair number of coke junkies cruising the pop aisles for their daily sixpack of caffeinated goodness, but far fewer with a jones for applejuice. Applejuice is a somewhat natural product, coke is designed to make people want to drink it to excess. -Just IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/7 "2003-09-16T22:17:50Z")
I’m all for kids having choices, but they should be presented with maximum opportunities to make good choices and minimal opportunities to make bad ones. They should be able to choose from: Broccoli, peas, green beans, spinach. Freedom, choices. For dessert: Apples, oranges, bananas, or strawberries. Their junk food availability should be limited. If it’s available, they’ll eat it. Kids don’t really think they’re ever going to get old and less that they might want to be healthy later in life. This is why they have adults to guide them. They should definitely have their Boing intake monitored. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/8 "2003-09-16T23:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by autz \* > \*\*Oyy! Of course, insted of “boing” in the title it should be ‘being.’ > > Why do I always seem to screw up titles? \*\* Fixed it. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/9 "2003-09-16T23:18:26Z")
Well, is it that hard for kids to walk to the corner store and buy whatever they want? I don’t get it. A coke machine isn’t going to cause kids to suddenly become adicted. Kids are getting their fix all over the place. Stopping schools from selling “bad” food is just going to have the kids walking a little bit more (not a bad thing really). ---
**Author:** ![sandythecur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sandythecur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandythecur)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/10 "2003-09-17T00:25:04Z")
Well, yes, sometimes it is hard for kids to walk to the corner store, at least during the day. With ever-increasting restrictions surrounding school buildings, even in my rural area, kids can’t come and go from school like they used to be able to. So, during the day when they’re trapped :), shouldn’t we (as adults and presumably people with more knowledge) try to provide them with healthier alternatives than nacho chips and cola? I don’t know. I’m not a big fan of government intervention in most cases. In this case, however, I’d like to see kids encouraged to make good choices. Heaven knows I wish I’d started making better choices about food earlier in life. I wouldn’t have so many bad habits to break. Like Juanita, I hope that healther options are at least _available_ – they weren’t when I was in school. I won’t hijack this thread by ranting about the nutritional atrocities leveled upon unsuspecting children in the form of school lunches. I have been known to rant about that in person, and it ain’t pretty. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/11 "2003-09-17T00:30:30Z")
In my son’s school, the children aren’t allowed off campus during the school day, so it’s not just a matter of hopping down to the corner store to buy a candy bar. If momma doesn’t give them Coke, and they can’t access it at school, they probably can’t get it (at least not at all often). At his school (admittedly, an elementary) you have a lunch choice of milk, water, or whatever mom packs in your lunch bag. But I know when he goes on to middle and high schools, it will be another ballgame. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/12 "2003-09-17T01:28:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by autz \* > **Oyy! Of course, insted of “boing” in the title it should be 'being.'** I’m all for eliminating the Junk Boing currently sold in schools. Our kids deserve nothing but the highest quality Boing. ---
**Author:** ![PlanMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2bfe46/32.png) [@PlanMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanMan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/13 "2003-09-17T01:39:20Z")
[slight hijack 'n thought] This school distict signed an EXCLUSIVE contract with Pepsi to sell their products in the couple hundred schools in this county. Mrs. Plan is a teacher in the system, and tells me they have been told this exclusivity extends to soft drinks brought in for school events - no Cokes, no store brands - and even for your own lunch! [/sh’t] So far as I know, there aren’t healthy alternatives, nor are there ANY alternatives to the Pepsi Boing. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/14 "2003-09-17T02:04:19Z")
Absolutely! Let them buy it on the street from a dealer like everybody… Oh. \ Never mind \ ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/15 "2003-09-17T03:10:48Z")
Why should schools be getting into the business of ‘endorsing’ specific mass-produced products and brands anyway? I know, I know, that’s the beauty and wonder of the free market, and schools do need the money, but still, it strikes me as wrong (though not nearly as wrong as those “teacher’s kits” that are advertising kits in disguise)… ---
**Author:** ![Run4YourLife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9a28c/32.png) [@Run4YourLife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Run4YourLife)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/16 "2003-09-17T04:46:44Z")
As a high school student, I think people make too big of a deal about what the vending machines have in them. We are all responsible and intelligent to know that junk food isn’t good for us, and we have to be responible for what we eat. When we go out in the “real world” there will be junk food surrounding us wherever we go in our career. Kids have to learn and take responsibility sometime over what they consume. The one thing I don’t like is where high schools don’t have enough healthy foods to choose out of because then you might be stuck with junk food because you have to eat something. Also, elementary schools shouldn’t have junk food because they’re still young kids without the responsibility to make wise choices on their nutrition. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/17 "2003-09-17T04:54:24Z")
It depends-are we talking high school-where kids will just eat what they want, regardless, or elementary school kids? I shudder to think of an entire first grade class on a caffeine buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/18 "2003-09-17T12:17:23Z")
My knee-jerk response is that I don’t want that stuff in my kids’ school. Government intervention does give me pause. However, I am a very authoritarian-style parent, and if I don’t want my kids consuming crap, then I do whatever is in my power to keep crap from them. (Which is not to say that they don’t get junk food. But I like to monitor the amount they get.) ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/19 "2003-09-17T13:32:22Z")
It’s a really hard question. With schools getting less and less gvt funding, they sometimes really need the extra cash that Coke (or whoever) provides them. It’s not just food, either, that is corporate-sponsored. Added to people’s commitment to individual choice - caveat emptor, “I can make my own decisions” kind of thing - it seems hard to support banning this stuff from schools. But, check [this](http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1061935819780) out ! > [@](#): > > Last year … FoodShare, a community agency dedicated to making nutritious food widely available, launched a pilot project at nine Toronto schools. They brought in a child-sized salad bar stocked with fruits, vegetables, grain products and a daily source of protein so kids could create a healthy lunch. > > There were plenty of skeptics at first. What would a generation programmed to salivate at the sight of McDonald’s golden arches, want with broccoli and arugula? How could fresh produce compete with hotdogs and chips? Why would kids eat foods they’d never seen at home? > > … > > The program turned out to be the surprise hit of the 2002-2003 school year. > > Parents came and joined their children for lunch. Volunteers — some who could barely speak English — bonded with their neighbours as they chopped, diced and served. Teachers and students ate together. > > Lunchtime at the school became a community event. > > This fall, five more schools are getting salad bars. FoodShare hopes to add another 15 schools in 2004. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Beaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Grim\_Beaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Beaker)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997/20 "2003-09-17T15:39:54Z")
That’s a nice example **cowgirl** and I’m glad it worked out for that school. If it works for the school and the kids want it, then by all means, include healthy alternatives. IMO though, banning junk food goes against principles of choice and personal responsibility. It’s just another example of paternalism gone wrong. Give kids healthy food choices in addition to the junk food currently available, but _let them make the choice_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-restrict-junk-being-sold-in-schools/201997.md?page=2)