Feds Fine Utah School $15,000 for Soda Machine, Declare Snickers Bars Nutritious

[Prince]

Feds Fine Utah School $15,000 for Soda Machine, Declare Snickers Bars Nutritious
May 22, 2012

A school in Utah was recently fined $15,000 by the federal government for the crime of selling soda to students during lunch. The school used the money made from the sale of soda to fund school programs.

According to federal rules, schools are only allowed to sell soda before and after lunch.

“The rule is vague and open to interpretation. For example, the way the rule reads – you can buy before lunch starts a carbonated beverage, buy school lunch, sit down in the cafeteria, eat the school lunch and not be in violation,” Davis High Principal Dee Burton told KUTV in Salt Lake City.

It is OK to sell Gatorade and “Snickers and Milkyway bars because they have nuts and they’re nutritious. You can’t sell licorice, but you can sell ice-cream,” Burton said.

Snickers and Milkyway bars are nutritious?

The feds say they are attempting to cut down on childhood obesity by fining schools thousands of dollars. But if the government is concerned about the health of children, why don’t they ban all soda sales in schools? Why haven’t they outlawed McDonald’s and other fast-food restaurants from operating within a certain distance from schools?

According to studies, the primary cause of childhood obesity is parent obesity and is linked to genetics and environment. Dietary factors play a secondary role.
A three year randomized controlled study of 1,704 3rd grade children which provided two healthy meals a day in combination with an exercise program and dietary counsellings failed to show a significant reduction in percentage body fat when compared to a control group, according to a Wikipedia write-up on childhood obesity.
Despite this, the CDC believes schools “play a particularly critical role by establishing a safe and supportive environment with policies and practices that support healthy behaviors. Schools also provide opportunities for students to learn about and practice healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.”

This should be the responsibility of parents, not public schools and the government. However, if we are to assume childhood obesity is caused by processed food, maybe the feds should be fining agribusiness and the food industry instead of attacking schools and parents.

That is not likely to happen any time soon because agribusiness and large corporations that produce and sell processed food contribute a lot of money to “our” Congress critters.

It’s easier and more profitable to take money from schools, and subsequently local communities, that pay property taxes to fund schools.
Fining schools for selling soda is another way for government to revenue enhance.

» Feds Fine Utah School for Soda Machine, Declare Snickers Bars Nutritious Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

[troubador]

If anything, the federal government shouldn't try to solve the obesity problem because it will only result in a cluster fuck of bureaucracy. Forget the liberty issue, our government couldn't succeed in solving obesity with any means.

[~RaZr~]

^^^
Truth. Americans will continue to eat themselves into the grave, no what the government tries to do.

[dirtbiker666]

When will this end. Everyday there is a new study or the government is fucking people over some how. I am about to start a new thread for this but has anyone herd of WWASPS???

[dirtbiker666]

Correct me if I am wrong but isnt there a tax on foods that contain fat now ?????

[LAM]

according to PISA rankings in IQ the country with the lowest average IQ seems to be the one that has the most overweight percentage of the population...the USA

[LAM]

If anything, the federal government shouldn't try to solve the obesity problem because it will only result in a cluster fuck of bureaucracy. Forget the liberty issue, our government couldn't succeed in solving obesity with any means.

and who controls the government...lobbyists

big food is obviously more powerful than the drink manufactures

[hoyle21]

A big part of the problem is corn subsidies.

http://grist.org/article/food-2010-09-21-op-ed-corn-subsidies-make-unhealthy-food-choices/

[troubador]

Correct me if I am wrong but isnt there a tax on foods that contain fat now ?????

I don't think so. Most foods contain some fat. Some place(s) in California have banned trans fats but CA is like a foreign country... a communist bankrupt country.

[Zaphod]

What is making people fat are the processed foods in our grocery stores. The processed food the government lets food companies sell.

[Curt James]

What a crock of ****. I'd remove all those vending machines. The government fines my school $15K? I'm pulling the plug on high priced junk food if I was the superintendent of that school. Period. The kids can buy their own Snickers bar for less money at the local grocery store. Same with soda. If they're allowed to pack their own lunch and snacks.

Same story, different video:

[Gissurjon]

and who controls the government...lobbyists

big food is obviously more powerful than the drink manufactures

Pepsi co. owns just about half of everything in the grocery store, food and drink.

[irish_2003]

they should sell Crunk Juice instead to avoid fines...it's just ghetto enough to be acceptable under this administration

[dirtbiker666]

I don't think so. Most foods contain some fat. Some place(s) in California have banned trans fats but CA is like a foreign country... a communist bankrupt country.

Sorry it was Denmark. The USA is trying to implement it though .

Denmark Introduces ‘Fat Tax’ on Foods High in Saturated Fat - ABC News

[dirtbiker666]

What makes me mad is they should ban high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. Remember that big ordeal they had about fast food chains switching the grease they cook there food in because it was bad for you ? Well that very same oil they made the chains switch to is 50 times worse for you.

[DOMS]

What makes me mad is they should ban high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. Remember that big ordeal they had about fast food chains switching the grease they cook there food in because it was bad for you ? Well that very same oil they made the chains switch to is 50 times worse for you.

You have my vote. There's a strong tie between HFCS and diabetes; and a strong tie between trans fats and heart disease.

[Dale Mabry]

I don't think so. Most foods contain some fat. Some place(s) in California have banned trans fats but CA is like a foreign country... a communist bankrupt country.

If CA got back an equivalent amount of federal taxes they paid they wouldn't really be in all of that much trouble. For every $1 CA sends the federal gov't they get back $.65. Outside of TX nearly every red state takes back $1.50 all the way up to $2.25.

[Dale Mabry]

You have my vote. There's a strong tie between HFCS and diabetes; and a strong tie between trans fats and heart disease.

Every day I eat 80-90g of fat and about 800% of my daily cholesterol allowance. As a tradeoff I keep my carbohydrate consumption restricted to fruits and vegetables which give me between 75-100g. In addition, I pass on the Chx breast and get organic free range thighs or legs with the bone and skin. I eat grass-fed organic beef 3-4 times a week and uncured bacon or sausage every day. According to every expert and doctor I should be dead, but my cholesterol dropped 75 points while my HDL (Good) cholesterol rocketed up 25 points to 75. My tri:HDL ratio, an indicator for insulin resistance is about 1:2 with anything less than 2:1 being healthy. In addition, my weight has gone from 215 to 185 with an increase in strength and athletic performance. I do not want the gov't getting involved in this because they will just fuck it up. They spend $9 billion in farm subsidies to grow crops (Corn, soy, and wheat) that are directly causing the obesity epidemic by making processed foods containing those ingredients cheap and readily available to everyone. This drives up healthcare costs and not only puts money in the hands of Big Agra, they then have to take the money I pay in taxes and give it to Big Pharma so some dumb asshole can continue to be a fat slob and not exercise and still pump money in to the food industry. Giving the gov' control over what is "unhealthy" enough to tax will make the problem worse, because that decision making power will be given to the very industry that is causing this problem. How do I know this? They already do, the gov't recommendations for what you should eat are developed by the US Dept of Agriculture, basically the trade group who decides what kind of food is profitable, and not people who know anything about health and human nutrition. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter, they teach the myplate/food pyramid that the US Dept of Agriculture makes. The ties run too deep, inform yourself about nutrition because wrt the gov't you are shit out of luck.

[irish_2003]

there's a movie with Matt Damon about corn syrup that's a conspiracy theory type movie, but opens your eyes to the possibilities of it all...it's pretty funny too

[Dale Mabry]

Oh yeah, and Type 2 diabetes is fueled by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance happens when people eat tons of sugar but lack the intense physical activity that glucose is suited for. The only people who get full blown diabetes are the ones with a higher %age of Type IIx muscle fibers. If you train appropriately and eat a Paleo Diet you can both avoid, and get rid of Type 2 diabetes. Here is a cool study comparing the Paleo Diet with the Mediterranean Diet, which is the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association. The results of this study are not even close, Mediterranean led to no change and Paleo dropped fasting glucose by 25 points in 2 weeks, enough to put someone from diabetic to complete remission without even exercising, which if done properly can improve insulin sensitivity by between 25-40% as well.

HealthWatch: Caveman Diet Helps Diabetics In UCSF Study « CBS San Francisco

[hoyle21]

If CA got back an equivalent amount of federal taxes they paid they wouldn't really be in all of that much trouble. For every $1 CA sends the federal gov't they get back $.65. Outside of TX nearly every red state takes back $1.50 all the way up to $2.25.

Alaska I believe gets back $4 for every dollar they put in.

[hoyle21]

It's not just the HFCS though. A bag of Doritos is cheaper than a bag of apples.

[DOMS]

Every day I eat 80-90g of fat and about 800% of my daily cholesterol allowance. As a tradeoff I keep my carbohydrate consumption restricted to fruits and vegetables which give me between 75-100g. In addition, I pass on the Chx breast and get organic free range thighs or legs with the bone and skin. I eat grass-fed organic beef 3-4 times a week and uncured bacon or sausage every day. According to every expert and doctor I should be dead, but my cholesterol dropped 75 points while my HDL (Good) cholesterol rocketed up 25 points to 75. My tri:HDL ratio, an indicator for insulin resistance is about 1:2 with anything less than 2:1 being healthy. In addition, my weight has gone from 215 to 185 with an increase in strength and athletic performance. I do not want the gov't getting involved in this because they will just fuck it up. They spend $9 billion in farm subsidies to grow crops (Corn, soy, and wheat) that are directly causing the obesity epidemic by making processed foods containing those ingredients cheap and readily available to everyone. This drives up healthcare costs and not only puts money in the hands of Big Agra, they then have to take the money I pay in taxes and give it to Big Pharma so some dumb asshole can continue to be a fat slob and not exercise and still pump money in to the food industry. Giving the gov' control over what is "unhealthy" enough to tax will make the problem worse, because that decision making power will be given to the very industry that is causing this problem. How do I know this? They already do, the gov't recommendations for what you should eat are developed by the US Dept of Agriculture, basically the trade group who decides what kind of food is profitable, and not people who know anything about health and human nutrition. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter, they teach the myplate/food pyramid that the US Dept of Agriculture makes. The ties run too deep, inform yourself about nutrition because wrt the gov't you are shit out of luck.

I'm not saying it's likely to happen, just that I want it to happen.

Also, the issue with trans fat isn't the "fat" part, it's the "trans" part. And, no surprise here, it comes down to money. The reason companies use trans fats is that they have a longer shelf life. They save a few bucks and the average Joe gets a higher chance of getting heart disease.

I also believe that crop subsidies should be curtailed or even terminated.

[cshea2]

Agreed. Even with the end of the ethanol subsidy, corn is still very profitable in the US. Global demand for US corn is only going to increase, so we have all this excess corn.

[troubador]

What makes me mad is they should ban high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil.

No way. If they ban HFCS they'd have to ban cane sugar; it is basically the same chemical composition. People need to start making better choices. It's insane to me that someone would ban a food. HFCS is roughly half glucose and half fuctose. Unless there is something else in the corn syrup (like a chemical that isn't a nutrient) then I think it's crazy to ban a disaccharide. I'm currently going to school and on a very limited budget, I buy very little processed food or fast food. A package of chicken thighs was $1.59 a pound today, oatmeal, rice, potatoes are really cheap. I don't buy into the idea that healthy food is always more expensive and poor people are forced to buy shit food. Sure a lot of fruit is more expensive but it's not like you eat a pound of fruit in one sitting. I'd bet money if budget wasn't an issue at the grocery store this nation wouldn't be any healthier and people still would buy shit food. Like Mabry said, if the government started telling people what they can and can't eat, they would totally fuck it up. I also think telling people what they can and can't put in their own body is a huge infringement of liberty. To the argument of how others have to foot the healthcare bill for that liberty, I say that's the wrong solution.

[dirtbiker666]

Funny thing is one of the main reasons most fruits an veggies from the super market are bad for you are obviously from pesticides. But the reason they started using them is because people were not buying the fruit because it did not look pretty on the shelves so they had to change things up (MONEY). It sucks because there are not to many places around here where I can get grass fed meat and organic fruits an veggies. There are some really good documentaries about the FDA and the industry it self.

Food Inc.: This film touches on the politics of food production, farming, obesity and disease in our 21^st-century diet.

Fresh: Urban farming activist Will Allen and Joel Salatin discuss how corporate America threatens our food economy.

The Future of Food: A look into genetically-modified food (GMOs) and the destructive path of the Monsanto Corporation.

Food Matters: This film shows that what we eat really does matter and how it affects our health, mood and happiness.
Forks Over Knives: Despite our advanced technology, this movie investigates the “disease of affluence” that can be controlled or reversed by avoiding meat and processed food.

Fast Food Nation: Showing the dark side of the all-American meal, this film examines the local and global influences of fast food.

[dirtbiker666]

Wont let me fucking quote

Oh yeah, and Type 2 diabetes is fueled by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance happens when people eat tons of sugar but lack the intense physical activity that glucose is suited for. The only people who get full blown diabetes are the ones with a higher %age of Type IIx muscle fibers. If you train appropriately and eat a Paleo Diet you can both avoid, and get rid of Type 2 diabetes. Here is a cool study comparing the Paleo Diet with the Mediterranean Diet, which is the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association. The results of this study are not even close, Mediterranean led to no change and Paleo dropped fasting glucose by 25 points in 2 weeks, enough to put someone from diabetic to complete remission without even exercising, which if done properly can improve insulin sensitivity by between 25-40% as well.

HealthWatch: Caveman Diet Helps Diabetics In UCSF Study « CBS San Francisco

LOL you guys make me laugh not a happy laugh either. It's so true all this an a lot of people either don't care or are not bothered by the truth. I have read a lot about this whole epidemic and you are 100% right my friend .

[LAM]

Oh yeah, and Type 2 diabetes is fueled by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance happens when people eat tons of sugar but lack the intense physical activity that glucose is suited for. The only people who get full blown diabetes are the ones with a higher %age of Type IIx muscle fibers. If you train appropriately and eat a Paleo Diet you can both avoid, and get rid of Type 2 diabetes. Here is a cool study comparing the Paleo Diet with the Mediterranean Diet, which is the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association. The results of this study are not even close, Mediterranean led to no change and Paleo dropped fasting glucose by 25 points in 2 weeks, enough to put someone from diabetic to complete remission without even exercising, which if done properly can improve insulin sensitivity by between 25-40% as well.

HealthWatch: Caveman Diet Helps Diabetics In UCSF Study « CBS San Francisco

surprisingly there is still so many out there in the "health" profession spouting the same old bullshit about "a calories is a calorie" and that the source doesn't matter. but they have been proven wrong so many times again and again...