Junk Food
In thousands of schools across the country, corporations and school administrators have joined together to market high-calorie, caffeinated, high-sugar candy and soda pop and other junk food and fast food to impressionable children.
Propaganda touting the consumption of junk food is now commonplace in the nation's schools. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Channel One are the worst offenders.
We work with parents, teachers, and students to stop the marketing of junk food to children.
More Information
News Releases
Clinton School Food Deal Good for Junk Food Company PR, Not Kids
Gary Ruskin | October 6th, 2006
New Bill on Food in Schools Deserves Swift Passage, Says Commercial Alert
Gary Ruskin | April 6th, 2006
USDA Won’t Enforce Rules Against Junk Food Sales in Schools
Gary Ruskin | June 14th, 2005
Commercial Alert Petitions USDA to Enforce Restrictions on Sale of Junk Food in Schools
Gary Ruskin | April 26th, 2005
American Diabetes Association Sells Out to Cadbury Schweppes
Gary Ruskin | April 21st, 2005
Health Experts Call for Worldwide Ban on Marketing of Junk Food to Kids
Gary Ruskin | February 27th, 2004
Commercial Alert Criticizes National PTA Over Coke Sponsorship
Gary Ruskin | June 4th, 2003
Childhood Obesity Prevention Campaign Launched
Gary Ruskin | April 2nd, 2003
Commercial Alert, Groups Urge HHS Sec. Thompson to Support WHO Effort to Fight Junk Food Marketing, Prevent Obesity, Diabetes
Gary Ruskin | May 10th, 2002
Stop Peddling Junk Food to Children, Commercial Alert Tells Publishers
Gary Ruskin | September 22nd, 2000
Coalition Wants Schools to Stop Pushing Junk Food on Children
Gary Ruskin and Jim Metrock | July 12th, 2000
Articles
Expel Junk Food from School
Gary Ruskin | December 12th, 2005
Kennedy Introduces Bill to Ban Junk Food From Schools Nationwide
Gary Ruskin | April 18th, 2005
A Sign of Despair from the Ad Industry
Gary Ruskin | January 26th, 2005
Swann Song
Gary Ruskin | January 13th, 2005
The Fast Food Trap: How Commercialism Creates Overweight Children
Gary Ruskin | October 31st, 2003
Related Articles and Links
Related Articles
Burger King Brands Subscription Mobile Games
PROMO Magazine | April 24th, 2008
Junk Food Ads Find Web Home
Julian Lee | Sydney Morning Herald | April 16th, 2008
Council To Consider Junk Food Ad Ban For Kids
Metroland Durham Region Media Group (Canada) | April 9th, 2008
Nestlé Uses Prank to Promote Branded Comedy Network
Brian Quinton | PROMO Magazine | April 3rd, 2008
Fatty Food on the Tube a Large Problem
Jennifer Torres | The Record | March 26th, 2008
Obesity Experts Back Junk Food Marketing Ban
Scoop Health | March 14th, 2008
Junk Food Ad Ban Comes into Force in Britain
Agence France-Presse | January 1st, 2008
Fast Food Gets its Greasy Hands on Report Cards
Julie Deardorff | Chicago Tribune | December 16th, 2007
Effort to Limit Junk Food in Schools Faces Hurdles
Kim Severson | New York Times | December 2nd, 2007
Living Well: Food Biz Feeds Kids a Steady Marketing Diet
Bob Condor | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | April 4th, 2007
Junk Foods to be Banned in British Schools
Philippe Naughton | Times of London | September 28th, 2005
Junk Food Nation: Who's to Blame for Childhood Obesity?
Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor | The Nation | August 11th, 2005
The Fairy Tale About Soft Drink Nutrition Won't Sell
Derrick Z. Jackson | Boston Globe | November 30th, 2004
Chicago Schools to Ban Soda, Candy
Reuters | April 21st, 2004
Maine Students to Lose Candy, Soda Machines
Tom Bell | Portland Press Herald | December 12th, 2003
Maine Students to Lose Candy, Soda Machines
Tom Bell | Portland Press Herald | December 12th, 2003
State Becomes Sour on Sweets in School; Policy Aims to Reduce Student Obesity
Jeffrey Gilbert and Ruth Rendon | Houston Chronicle | August 6th, 2003
State Becomes Sour on Sweets in School; Policy Aims to Reduce Student Obesity
Jeffrey Gilbert and Ruth Rendon | Houston Chronicle | August 6th, 2003
Advocates Push for More Healthy Foods in Schools
Susan Snyder | Philadelphia Inquirer | July 10th, 2003
Advocates Push for More Healthy Foods in Schools
Susan Snyder | Philadelphia Inquirer | July 10th, 2003
New York City Cuts Back Fat and Sweets in School Meals
Abby Goodnough | New York Times | June 24th, 2003
New York City Cuts Back Fat and Sweets in School Meals
Abby Goodnough | New York Times | June 24th, 2003
S.F. Schools Join War on Obesity, Ban Junk Food; Soda, Candy to be Banished -- But Only from Cafeterias
Ray Delgado | San Francisco Chronicle | January 15th, 2003
S.F. Schools Join War on Obesity, Ban Junk Food; Soda, Candy to be Banished -- But Only from Cafeterias
Ray Delgado | San Francisco Chronicle | January 15th, 2003
Metro Schools Cancel Channel One
Natalia Mielczarek | The Tennessean | November 25th, 2002
Schools to End Soda Sales; L.A. Unified: The Soft Drinks Won't be Allowed on Campuses Starting in 2004.
Erika Hayasaki | Los Angeles Times | August 28th, 2002
TEA Slaps Lid on School Junk Foods; New Guidelines are Instituted to Combat Child Obesity
Lucy Hood | San Antonio Express-News | May 2nd, 2002
TEA Slaps Lid on School Junk Foods; New Guidelines are Instituted to Combat Child Obesity
Lucy Hood | San Antonio Express-News | May 2nd, 2002
Oakland Schools Ban Vending Machine Food
Kim Severson | San Francisco Chronicle | January 16th, 2002
Oakland Schools Ban Vending Machine Food
Kim Severson | San Francisco Chronicle | January 16th, 2002
Advertising to be Curbed in Schools; Policy Will Phase Out Channel One, Commercial Logos
Gregory Roberts | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | November 22nd, 2001
California Legislators Ban Sale of Junk Food in Elementary, Middle Schools
Bradley Weaver | North County Times | November 6th, 2001
California Legislators Ban Sale of Junk Food in Elementary, Middle Schools
Bradley Weaver | North County Times | November 6th, 2001
School Board Ditches Contract with Coca-Cola
Doug Erickson | Wisconsin State Journal | August 29th, 2000
Fight on Obesity Faces Hefty Commercial Problems
Marion Nestle | New York Newsday | June 22nd, 2000
External Links
Center for Informed Food Choices
Soft Drinks in Schools
American Academy of Pediatrics | January, 2004
Halting the Obesity Epidemic: A Public Health Policy Approach
Nestle and Jacobson, Public Health Reports | January/February, 2000
America: Drowning in Sugar
Center for Science in the Public Interest | August 3, 1999
Relation Between Consumption of Sugar-sweetened Drinks and Childhood Obesity: a Prospective, Observational Analysis
Ludwig, Peterson, & Gortmaker, The Lancet | February 17, 2001
Childhood Obesity: Public Health Crisis, Common Sense Cure
Ebbeling, Pawlak, Ludwig, The Lancet | 2002-08-10
The Health Risks of Obesity: Worse than Smoking, Drinking or Poverty
R. Sturm, RAND Health |
Foods Sold in Competition with USDA School Meal Programs: A Report to Congress
U.S. Department of Agriculture | January 12, 2001
Seattle School Board Approves Comprehensive Suite of Nutrition Policies; Sales of Sodas and Junk Food Banned on School Campuses
Seattle School Board |
Fast Food Restaurant Use Among Adolescents: Associations with Nutrient Intake, Food Choices and Behavioral and Psychosocial Variables
French et al., Int'l Journal of Obesity | (2001) 25, 1823-33
Prevalence and Trends in Overweight Among US Children and Adolescents, 1999-2000
Cynthia L. Odgen et al., JAMA | October 9, 2002
Effects of Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake and Diet Quality Among Children in a National Household Survey
Bowman et al., Pediatrics | January, 2004
Rethinking School Lunch
Center for Ecoliteracy |
Reading, Writing and Raisinets: Are School Finances Contributing to Children's Obesity
Patricia M. Anderson and Kristin F. Butcher, National Bureau of Economic Research |
Liquid Candy
Michael F. Jacobson, Center for Science in the Public Interest |
Effects of Decreasing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption on Body Weight in Adolescents: A Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study
Cara B. Ebbeling, PhD, et al., Pediatrics, March 2006 |