Food Trust Blog

Coca-Cola recently announced a new product, which is supposed to actually have negative calories. Three envigas a day are supposed to "gently boost" your metabolism to allow you to burn an extra 60 to 100 calories a day. The Food Trust pitched an op ed, which wasn't picked up, but which sums up our basic feeling about a supposed calorie burning beverage.


Enviga: Diet pills in a can

The Coca-Cola Company recently unveiled Enviga– a new beverage that much like the mystical snake oils and magical elixirs of days gone by promises the seemingly impossible. Not only does Enviga have minimal calories, but Coca-Cola promises that three Envigas a day will burn up to 100 calories! Who needs to eat less and exercise more when a few cans of Enviga will burn off those extra pounds while relaxing in front of the TV?

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. There is nothing new about a soft drink that promises more energy - remember Jolt cola? And burning calories? Diet pill companies have been selling this on the airwaves for years, sometimes with disastrous results such as the Fen-phen debacle. The only difference is that Enviga comes in a can and not a pill. While Coke is not specifically claiming that Enviga can help you lose weight or avoid diseases like heart disease and diabetes, which would require FDA approval, the message is clear: soft drinks can promote health and well being. The soft drink industry is struggling mightily to avoid becoming labeled as “hazardous to your health” like the cigarette industry. Across the nation, the food industry is working to develop healthier alternatives to foods like soda and junk food that have been identified as prime culprits in the obesity epidemic. But Coke has really missed the mark with Enviga.

One thing is clear: Enviga should not be in our schools. The American Beverage Association in partnership with the American Heart Association recently launched new voluntary guidelines for what kinds of beverages may be sold in schools. These guidelines allow for low-calorie beverages including diet soda and minimally sweetened teas to be sold in high schools, while disallowing soft drinks in elementary and middle schools. Enviga could potentially slip through these guidelines, but schools should make sure it does not. We don’t sell coffee in our schools and we should not have Enviga in school vending machines. The Philadelphia School District is ahead of the curve on this one: no caffeinated beverages are allowed.

Coca-Cola suggests that three Envigas a day can burn up to 100 calories. Coca-Cola also acknowledges that the average Enviga contains as much caffeine as an average cup of drip coffee. But would anyone suggest that drinking three cups of coffee a day is a smart way to lose weight, particularly for young people? What is particularly troubling is that recent research suggests that sleep helps our bodies regulate the hormones that control appetite. The more sleep we get, the less cravings we tend to have. Using caffeine to burn more calories is at odds with our bodies’ natural appetite regulation mechanism. Furthermore, caffeine may also increase behavior problems for children in school.

America is realizing the soda is not a smart beverage to drink with every meal. It is really just liquid candy, more appropriate for an occasional treat. We should also recognize that Enviga is nothing more than diet pills in a can. Let’s keep our nation’s youth on track with physical activity, fruits, vegetables, milk, water and juice, and leave the quick fixes out of the picture.

Junk Food in School Undermines Parents

8 out of 10 Pennsylvanians want soda and junk food eliminated from all schools – so why are 99% of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts still selling the stuff? In response to this conundrum, The Food Trust and the Pennsylvania PTA have partnered on a campaign to ask school board members to take the “No Soda in Our Schools!” pledge.

The Federal School Lunch act provides strict standards whereby every school in the country must provide a well-balanced nutritious meal. However over the last few decades, soda and junk food have crept into our schools through a “school nutrition loophole,” – namely vending machines, ala carte offerings, and school stores. The current system is undermining parental authority and is a primary culprit in the childhood obesity epidemic.

Our school board members and superintendents should implement strong standards today. In our region, Philadelphia and Downingtown School Districts have already given soda the boot. Every parent can get involved today. Ask your school board members and candidates to take the “No Soda in Our Schools!” pledge. You can download a copy at www.TheFoodTrust.org. Let’s make our schools safe and healthy and ensure our children get the best.

The Food Trust is partnering with the Pennsylvania PTA and other groups on a statewide campaign to end the sale of soda and junk food in schools. The campaign will be asking school board members and candidates to take a “No Soda in Our Schools!” pledge stating that they will work to eliminate the sale of soda and junk food in their district.

Get involved! Download the pledge and contact your school board candidates in advance of this November’s election. To obtain their contact info, try your local school district or your county board of elections.

Soda and junk food in school have been strongly linked to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity that is plaguing our nation, and according to a statewide poll, 8 out of 10 Pennsylvanians want soda and junk food out of schools. In addition, increases in spending on healthcare related to diet-related diseases are squeezing state budgets, leaving less for education and other critical needs. From an economic standpoint, soda in schools just doesn’t make sense. The upcoming elections for school board this fall offer a terrific opportunity to raise awareness and hold local elected officials accountable on this issue.

The Governator gets it. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recognizes the importance of nutrition in schools. Yesterday, he signed a groundbreaking bill banning soda and junk food in the state’s schools, developing nutritional standards for vending machine items and bringing more fruits and vegetables into school cafeterias. "California is facing an obesity epidemic," Schwarzenegger said at a conference on childhood obesity. "And more and more, children are becoming part of the problem." By signing this legislation into law, Governor Schwarzenegger became a real-life action hero in the lives of California children for years to come.

Welcome to The Food Trust Blog. We hope that this page will create a forum to discuss school nutrition and other related issues. The Food Trust led the successful effort in Philadelphia to ban soda and replace it with milk, water, and 100% fruit juice. Last year, we partnered with the PTA, PANA, Action for Healthy Kids, the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, Project PA, the PA Department of Agriculture, the PA Dept of Education, the PA Nutrition Education Network and the School District of Philadelphia to create the Healthy Beverage Toolkit – a package of materials to help other school districts in their efforts to get soda out of schools.

Please use the comments section below to share your thoughts, experiences, and frustrations over the problem of junk food in our schools.