Connecticut governor slammed for "siding with soda companies"
bill will keep the state's school-aged children at increased risk
of tooth decay, obesity, and diabetes, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
The bill, which would have outlawed soft drinks and junk food in schools, became a fight between those who prioritized healthier food in schools and those who prioritized local control.
And governor Jodi Rell, who had the final say, decided to throw the bill out.
"We are extremely disappointed that Governor Jodi Rell vetoed the school nutrition bill," said CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan.
"By siding with soda companies, Governor Rell has undermined parents' ability to feed their children healthful diets.
"Perhaps this is not surprising, given that Coca-Cola's fight against this bill was led by a former top campaign advisor to Governor Rell. But it is a shame nevertheless."
State Senate president Pro Tem Donald Williams, who sponsored the legislation, estimated that soft drink and vending companies spent more than $250,000 lobbying against the bill out of concern that it would set a national precedent.
Under the law, schools would not have been able to sell snacks deemed unhealthy by the state education department. Experts said the legislation would have been the strictest school nutrition bill in the country.
But it was this loss of local control that tipped the balance.
In her veto message, Governor Rell claimed the bill's efforts to impose state standards on local school districts for nutrition and physical education "undermines the control and responsibility of parents with school-aged children."
"While it is undeniable that more needs to be done to encourage school nutrition, initiatives should be taken on the local level by locally elected school boards, in cooperation with parents and students," the Governor said. "The task of determining and meeting the health and dietary needs of children should, first and foremost, be undertaken by parents."
The CPSI and others however are furious. Adolescent obesity is a burgeoning problem, in Connecticut and in the rest of the Union.
The Legislature's Commission on Children claims that nearly 1 in 10 of Connecticut's high school students is overweight.
And Rell's veto comes at a time when there is increasingly evidence that excessive soft drink consumption can contribute to obesity. A new study from Tufts University's Dr Odilia Bermudez suggests that sweet drinks have now overtaken white bread as the leading source of calories in the American diet.
He found that 67 percent of respondents reported drinking as much as three servings of soda or sweet drinks each day, a point picked up by the CPSI.
"Soda is already the single biggest source of calories for many kids and today Governor Rell has pretty much guaranteed that that will remain the case in Connecticut," said Wootan.
"Governor Rell's veto has little to do with 'local control' of school foods."
