The Big Deal

If junk food and soda machines really aren't so bad, then why don't districts allow them in elementary schools? And why does every educator asked about junk food in schools go out of his or her way to point out there's none of this trash at the elementary level?

You really can't have it both ways. If educators are doing a good thing by not letting the youngest kids have this stuff, how are they doing a good thing by letting kids age 11 on up have it once they hit middle school?

J.ro

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• Debbie Ratcliffe
• Dan Siegel
• Coca-Cola Classic
• Soft Drinks
• Food and Cooking

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"I'm convinced that selling sodas to kids at lunch is just about as bad as selling them beer, cigarettes or marijuana, and we wouldn't think of doing that," Oakland's Siegel says. As he sees it, junk food and sodas lead to "obesity, hyperactivity, which impairs learning, tooth decay and a whole set of illnesses caused by excessive consumption."

Maybe we need less of our Texas pragmatism and a little more idealism and concern that perhaps having junk food and soda pop isn't the right thing to do. No matter how much we're paid to soothe our consciences.