Part of GDPR’s mission is to promote progressive activist causes and amplify the voices and views of people and organizations committed to positive change. So we are thrilled to get great news from family issues group Moms Rising, which powers the show Breaking Through with Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner.
Thanks to the good work and diligence of the folks at Moms Rising, the Jack in the Box fast food eateries you see all around Nashville are taking a positive step to promote kids’ health and to combat obesity and diabetes.
We’ll let the group tell you all about the victory:
Finally, after years of pressure from MomsRising.org, parents and nutrition advocates, Jack in the Box has announced that it will drop sugary sodas as the default from their kids meals and menus.
We’re on a roll! Not only has Jack in the Box changed their menu, we’ve made a huge impact in many areas recently. In 2015 not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE major national restaurant chains: Wendy’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Applebee’s, and IHOP dropped soda from kids’ meals after pressure from our members.
Tens of thousands of moms and dads asked the chains to work with parents to improve child nutrition and take steps to reduce serious illnesses like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease in kids. At the same time, MomsRising members also successfully supported a rule to get rid of junk food ads in schools, by making sure that anything advertised in schools on bulletin boards, textbooks, websites, or vending machines meets the Smart Snacks rule, new national nutrition standards.
The voices of moms and parents were heard! MomsRising members joined together with other strong allies to urge the chains to remove soda as the default from the kids menu because sugar sweetened beverages—like soda—uniquely promote type 2 diabetes in children!
This is important. This is about the health of our children and making sure all children have healthy choices. Did you know that sugary drinks are the number one source of calories in children’s diets and uniquely increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. Mothers across the country work hard day-in and day-out to protect their kids in hopes of watching them grow into happy and healthy individuals. Sometimes though, parents aren’t around when their children make decisions about the kinds of foods and drinks they consume.
That’s why we are so glad that after years of pressuring restaurant giants to stop marketing sugary sodas to children, Jack-in-the-Box will join industry giants iHop, Applebee’s, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonalds, Subway, and others in the pledge to market healthier food and beverage options to children. Talk about #MomPower!
But our work isn’t done. We know that much more needs to be done to increase healthier food options for kids. Every day children are bombarded with unhealthy options on billboards, TV ads, online, radio, smart phones, and menus for kids. In fact, junk food marketing to kids continues to be a $2 BILLION dollar business.
And while we are fighting nutrition related diseases we also fight hunger! We mobilized your voices to help protect 21 million working moms and millions of families from losing critical food programs that lift families and the economy!
We try our best to teach our children to make good choices, but the influence of junk food marketing to our kids stacks the deck against us! According to the American Psychological Association, “Most children under age six cannot distinguish between programming and advertising and children under age eight do not understand the persuasive intent of advertising.”
Parents must hold big business accountable for their marketing and menu practices. Our kids should not be marketing targets for foods and beverages that we know cause major health issues like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
When moms and dads join their voices together, companies and leaders listen!
The group reports that the fight continues. As we know here in Music City, there are a lot of junk food purveyors, and most of them do not offer healthy alternatives for kids. If you’d like to donate to Moms Rising’s valiant effort, you can do so here.
And you can keep up with the group’s work on a host of progressive family issues and hear action alerts and compelling interviews with newsmakers by listening each week to Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner on Breaking Through. Listen, be inspired, and get active!
Breaking Through airs on GDPR Thursdays at 1pm and Saturdays at 8am Central Time.