Soda Industry Mulls Voluntary School Ban!

Sounds like soda manufacturers might get embarrassed into taking soda out of our nation’s schools — and not because of any new legislation or litigation.

Last week, the evidently industrious reporter Caroline Wilbert reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that as pressure mounts from health advocates, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and the rest of the soft drink industry is thinking about voluntarily banning carbonated soda in both elementary and middle schools and restricting sales in high schools.

Wilbert reported that industry leaders "are expected to vote on the issue this week during a conference call of the American Beverage Association’s board, say several people familiar with the trade group’s discussions."

Although the news was picked up by a number of other media outlets, including Beverage Daily, Supermarket Guru, Food Navigator and MorningNewsBeat.com, here we are the week after the alleged call and soft drink companies have been mum about such a shift in strategy.

In fact, if you visit the website of the American Beverage Assocation — the group that used to be called the National Soft Drink Association — you’ll find no such announcement.

In her July 26, 2005 article, reporter Wilbert did, however, get a comment from Coke spokesman Don Schaefer who said the Atlanta-based company "would give serious consideration to any industry proposal."

But she was quite realistic. "While the new rules might please some health advocates, others argue that soft drinks should be banned entirely from schools, including high schools. Health advocates have argued that it is irresponsible to sell sugary drinks to children at school, when there is a childhood obesity epidemic."

Even if the soda companies do yank their sugary, carbonated beverages out of the schools, the "practical impact of the rules, if they take effect, would not be huge," Wilbert astutely observes.

In fact, school sales don’t even represent much of the revenue for beverage companies. For example, schools make up less than 1 percent of Coke sales.

Even so, Wilbert aptly notes, "the change would be important from a symbolic standpoint."

Very good point.

You see, soft drink companies have been getting a bad name.

Groups such as Commercial Alert, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Center for the Science in the Public Interest have been blasting soft drinks manufactures for caring more about the bottom line than the welfare and health of our nation’s kids.

Not only that, but the companies pushing sugary, carbonated beverages have raised the ire of too-many-to-list public health advocates and nutrition experts for fighting really hard to keep soda in our nation’s schools. (They’re motivated by the universally acknowledged truth that if you nab soda customers when they’re young, they’ll become brand-loyal customers for life.)

Ultimately, I suspect that if public-interest groups and other health experts keep the pressure on, the soda companies will curtsy (or reluctantly leave) our U.S. schools.

I can wish, can’t I? (FYI, I wrote this while drinking a glass of very nice, refreshing Evian water.)

You see, teaching good nutrition belongs to both teachers and parents, in my opinion, but unnecessarily tempting impressionable kids all day long does these youngsters a major disservice, in my opinion.

What do you think of all this soda talk? Let us know.