STRATEGIC ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

October 2002

Welcome to our first periodic email update. We are very excited by your participation in The Strategic Alliance and that most of you were able to attend the Alliance's inaugural event featuring Marion Nestle.

We want to keep all of you informed about upcoming Alliance events and relevant nutrition and physical activity issues, so we plan on sending electronic updates to you on an approximately monthly to semi-monthly basis. Interest in the Alliance and our membership are continually growing and we hope these periodic newsletters will help everyone stay in the loop.

ACTIVISTS' ROUNDTABLE ON MARKETING TO CHILDREN (NOVEMBER 15, 10AM-12PM)

Strategic Alliance members are invited to participate in discussion with Dr. Ron Slaby, one of the participants in the Federal Trade Commission hearings to limit advertising to children in the early '70s. Dr. Slaby, from the Education Development Center, Harvard University, is an expert on the media effects on the developing child. He will share reflections about opportunities for regulating advertising to children and lead an open discussion. The event is free and light refreshments will be provided. If you would like to attend, please RSVP by contacting StrategicAlliance@preventioninstitute.org. The event is planned to take place at the Prevention Institute office (265 29th Street, Oakland, CA 94611).

LOS ANGELES AND OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SODA BAN

We have made significant progress towards a key Alliance goal, improving children's environments. On August 27th, the LAUSD School Board voted 7-0 to ban the sale of carbonated beverages from all its school campuses beginning on January 1, 2004. More information on the resolution and the media response can be found at the California Center for Public Health Advocacy's website: www.publichealthadvocacy.org/legislation/legislation.html. Earlier this year, the Oakland Unified School District banned the sale of candy and soda from vending machines: www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/16/FD199328.DTL. These decisions should have a significant impact on California's children. LAUSD is the second largest school district in the nation with over 748,000 students and OUSD has over 54,000 students.

BILL MOYERS ON CORPORATE AMERICA'S MARKETING TO CHILDREN

Tonight (Friday, October 18) on PBS, NOW with Bill Moyers examines the implications of exclusive marketing contracts between corporations and America's Schools (see www.pbs.org/now/sched.html for your local listing). In "Schools Incorporated," airing Friday, October 18, 2002, Bill Moyers presents an in-depth look at the reasons these contracts are in place and the potential consequences, both good and bad, for one school at the forefront of commercial contracts and illuminates the national implications for the commercialization" of schools. On Friday, October 24th, NOW with Bill Moyers examines the relationship between kids, advertising, and the media. The government recently unveiled VERB, a five-year, $190 million media campaign to get kids exercising. The government's big plan to fight fat is to advertise to kids between the ages of 9 and 13 and that means partnering up with the couch potato industry - Nickelodeon, AOL Time Warner, and Disney, to name a few. Strange bedfellows? It gets even stranger as NOW examines the relationship between kids and the media.

CALIFORNIA CANDIDATE'S QUESTIONNAIRE

Questions about physical activity and nutrition issues were sent to the California candidates for governor, attorney general, and state superintendent of instruction. Their responses will be posted on the Strategic Alliance website. The template questions can be found below. We modified or omitted some questions to make the surveys more relevant to the position. We hope members will pose these or similar questions to their local officials and candidates to help clarify their positions on nutrition and physical activity.

1. Do you see obesity as a problem that government needs to address?

2. Would you support legislation that would promote working water fountains in all schools, ensuring a source of fresh, clean water for all children?

3. Do you support full funding of SB19 (bill that sets nutrition standards on competitive food sold at elementary, middle, and high schools)? Would you support expanding SB19 to include preschool and afterschool?

4. Do you support full funding of AB1793 (Migden) and SB1868 (Torlakson) (bills that would improve the quantity and quality of school physical education)?

5. Would you support legislation that would limit the marketing of junk foods to young children?

6. Do you support legislation that would limit or modify the use of the Segway motorized vehicle on sidewalks?

7. Would you encourage and/or support the development and implementation of model policies in government facilities (e.g. serve healthful foods in cafeterias and vending machines and facilitate exercise through bike racks, well-lit, inviting stairwells, and showers)?

8. Would you support legislation that would implement nutrition labeling on countertops, menu boards and/or food packaging at fast food restaurants?

9. Would you support moving funds away from roads and freeways and towards projects that improve mass transportation and encourage bicycle and pedestrian traffic?

10. Are there any other actions that you would propose to address nutrition and physical activity?

Three recent news items reflect the fact that nutrition and physical activity are on American's minds and is getting a lot of media attention. The items below refer to nutrition, our next newsletter will discuss the Segway motorized device.

PepsiCo decision to make at least 50% of their products healthier

From the front page of the September 23 Wall Street Journal was a lengthy article on how PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, has vowed to make at least half of its products "nutritious." PepsiCo has enlisted the aid of Kenneth Cooper and Dean Ornish as advisors. PepsiCo's definition of a nutritious snack is one that contains fewer than 150 calories, 5 grams of fat (including 1 g. saturated fat), and 250mg of sodium per serving. The company also plans to remove transhydrogenated fatty acids from some of their snacks. PepsiCo's principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods.

McTeacher's Night

The days of the innocent "bake sale" to raise money for schools may be over. To raise money for their school, teachers at a South San Francisco school are being asked to volunteer for three hours at McDonald's and some are not happy about it. McDonald's calls it "McTeacher's Night," a fund-raiser set up by the fast- food chain that gives 20 percent of the profits for teachers who volunteer in food preparation. In the past two years, the fast-food giant has expanded its McTeacher's Night event to 2,500 schools in 14 western states. In response to the negative reaction to this event, the principal of the school is quoted as saying, "We teach about nutrition at this school, but honestly we can't tell people to stop going to fast food restaurants. It's their choice."
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/10/15/MN171577.DTL&type=printable

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson urges restaurants to be "part of the solution"

The Washington Post reported that HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman met with representatives of the fast-food industry and encouraged them to "aggressively advertise" more fruits and vegetables, reexamine their "supersize" portions sizes and "generally offer more healthy food": www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32277-2002Oct15.html. Thompson said fast-food chains need to "find ways to merchandise healthier food." Veneman asked restaurants to promote fruit and vegetable consumption and examine new technology that would allow some fruits and vegetables, such as apples and carrots, to remain fresh longer.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES WITH SA MEMBERS

Strategic Alliance members will be at several conferences in the next few months.

Dairy Council/USDA Healthy Schools Summit: Oct 2002
Community Food Security Coalition: Oct 2002
American Public Health Association: Nov 2002
California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) Program Conference: Nov 20-22, 2002
California Public Health Association North: Dec 6, 2002
California Dept of Health Services Obesity Conference: Jan 2003
Project LEAN: Spring, 2003
California WIC Association: April 14-16, 2003

We are already working on the next edition of the newsletter which will include the Segway motorized device. We hope you find this newsletter useful.

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity, away from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle, towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy, California Food Policy Advocates, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Project LEAN, California WIC Association, Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Prevention Institute, and Samuels & Associates.

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER

The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership. To join or for more information, please visit us on the Web, or contact Michele Simon at Michele@preventioninstitute.org or call 510.444.7738.

And even if you're already a member, please forward this message on to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition. Thank you!

The Strategic Alliance is supported by funding from The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation.

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