Milling & Baking News - March 29, 2005 - 18

B U S I N E S S

Harkin: Stop the junk food ads
children and easing the obesity epidemic.
An excerpt from the letter follows:
"The food industry spent $15 billion
last year alone in direct marketing to
children - bombarding kids with ads
on television and the Internet, in movies
and magazines, and even in schools, and
through promotional materials such as
kids clubs, toys and books. This largely
unchecked system promotes junk food
and indirectly promotes overeating by
'Although parents may want their
tying food sales with
children's
favorite
kids to eat healthy, they often
cartoon characters and
lose out because SpongeBob
superheroes. Last year,
SquarePants, Shrek and cartoon
a landmark study conducted by the Institute
superheroes entice kids to eat
of Medicine, Preventfast food and sugar snacks. The
ing Childhood Obesity,
childhood obesity epidemic is real,
concluded that food
marketing directed at
and the time to act is now.'
- Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa children likely contributes to the rising
rates of childhood obesity. The report recomtry group, claims that within 50 years mended stricter industry standards and
obesity likely will shorten the average federal regulation of those standards.
life span of 77.6 years by at least two to
"Unfortunately, the Federal Trade
five years.
Commission has limited authority to
The study's authors include S. Jay regulate advertising to children. In fact,
Olshansky, a researcher at the University the F.T.C. has more authority to regulate
of Illinois at Chicago, and David Lud- ads directed to adults than to children.
wig, director of the obesity program at This, despite mounting evidence that
Children's Hospital Boston.
marketing to children has a detrimental
Dr. Olshansky said that if the calcula- effect. In fact, the American Psychotions come to pass it could reverse the logical Association found last year that
mostly steady increase in American life children under the age of nine cannot
expectancy and have tremendous social understand persuasive intent - making
and economic consequences.
advertising to children inherently decep"We think today's younger generation tive. The A.P.A. has called for an immewill have shorter and less healthy lives diate ban on marketing to children.
than their parents for the first time in
"Parents' choices about their children's
modern history unless we intervene," eating habits are undermined by this delDr. Olshansky said.
uge of advertising. Though parents may
For his part, Mr. Harkin submitted a let- want their children to eat a healthy lunch,
ter to the food industry, broadcasters and SpongeBob SquarePants sits atop Burger
others calling for a new meaningful, uni- King begging kids to eat fast food, Coke
form and system-wide set of age-appropri- ads in schools entice children to purchase
ate guidelines for marketing junk food to a soda instead of milk in the lunch line,
Continued from Page 1
entice kids to eat fast food and sugar
snacks. The childhood obesity epidemic
is real, and the time to act is now."
In making his case for change, Mr.
Harkin pointed to a recent study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine showing that childhood obesity
may cut years off of one's life. The study,
which has been challenged by an indus-

Natural Ovens owners hand off
duties to management team
MANITOWOC, WIS. - Paul and Barbara
Stitt, owners of Natural Ovens Bakery, will
stop overseeing the operations portion of
the business and let the senior management team handle day-to-day management
responsibilities.
The Stitts in the immediate future plan
to hire a general manager/chief executive
officer to work with the senior manage12 / Milling & Baking News, March 29, 2005

ment team. The Stitts will stay active in the
company by offering perspective, promoting
products and speaking about healthy food
choices.
Paul Stitt started the company, based in
Manitowoc, in 1976 because he saw an opportunity to market preservative-free whole
grain food in the Midwest.
The operation in Manitowoc remains

and Oreo cookie counting books teach
cookie brand loyalty at an early age. Parents and public health groups are calling
out for limits to direct marketing to their
children. Yet despite mounting pressure
on the food industry to reduce junk food
marketing directed at kids, most in the
industry have done little to address it."
Mr. Harkin, who secured $1 million
in federal funding in 2004 for a Centers
for Disease Control study on the impact
of food marketing on children's health,
said he will unveil two legislative measures to regulate and limit the amount of
junk food marketing to children.
First, he said he would attempt to
restore the F.T.C. authority to regulate
marketing directed at children. In doing so, Mr. Harkin said he would look
to give the F.T.C. the power to restrict
the advertising of junk food to children
under the age of 18.
Second, Mr. Harkin plans to address the
marketing of junk food in schools by giving the Secretary of Agriculture the power
to prohibit all junk food advertising in
schools where parents are not present.
Mr. Harkin's comments were not universally embraced.
The Center for Consumer Freedom
(C.C.F.) said Mr. Harkin's efforts to ban
food advertising to children are a "misguided approach to address obesity."
"There is simply no scientific evidence
providing that food advertisements contribute to childhood obesity, but there is an
abundance of research showing that a lack
of physical activity does, and this is where
our efforts should be focused," said Dan
Mindus, senior analyst for the C.C.F.
The C.C.F. also said findings in the
NEJM report were exaggerated and should
be discredited because one of the co-authors, David Allison, has done consulting
for makers of weight-loss products.
In January, Northfield, Ill-based Kraft
Foods Inc. announced it would stop
television advertising of certain products
deemed unhealthy to children under the
age of 12, but the company did not reduce
its advertising budget, instead shifting its
spending to other products. MBN

open, but the company recently shut down
the plant and bakery in Valparaiso, Ind., because of financial conditions. The company
hopes to open the Valparaiso plant back up
at the earliest opportunity.
Getting out of the day-to-day business
will allow the Stitts to devote more time
to such areas as the Nutritional Resource
Foundation and nutrition in school lunch
programs.
The documentary "Supersize Me" featured the work the Stitts have done with a
school lunch program in Appleton, Wis. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - March 29, 2005

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