Working with young consumers

Bharath Jairaj, CAG, India

Protecting Children from Food Marketing

Background School going children and adolescents form an

important vulnerable segment of a nation’s population.

Changing socio-economic conditions, work time pressures as well as the availability of convenience foods and fast-food restaurants inhibit parents’ monitoring of their children’s eating habits.

Today’s children frequently decide what to eat with little supervision - vulnerable to television and other advertisements for foods low in nutritional values.

Today’s marketing is highly effective - encourages brand loyalty and regular consumption

“Advertising has invaded the judgment of children… it has also forced its way into the family, an insolent usurper of parental function, degrading parents to mere intermediaries between their children and the market. This indeed is a social revolution in our time!” - Jules Henry, Culture against Man (1963), New York: Random House, p. 76.

Revolution in Unhealthy Food Marketing

Highly effective Unhealthy Food promotion using:

free toys and collectibles contests advertising and packaging featuring

bollywood and cricket celebrities, and cartoon characters

food shaped and coloured to appeal to children, etc.

Background 2000-03, during CAG’s consumer education

programme in schools, teachers complained of increase in marketing of unhealthy food in schools – appealing directly to the children.

2003 onwards, CAG began working on a campaign to eliminate junk food from school campuses.

Why target schools?

Schools in a unique position to influence and improve child nutrition

Children spend substantial time in schools – eat one of their three major meals here

School Canteen Survey Findings

Children taught about good nutrition and the value of healthy food choices in the classroom

But in canteens / cafeterias of schools, children surrounded by ‘junk food’ - soft drinks, chips, fries, chocolates, pizza, sweets – food that contains little, if any, nutritive value.

Also on-campus marketing and other commercial persuasion techniques rampant

Canteens, refrigerator, display boards, compound walls, etc. – carried brands and products

School events - Sports day, Annual day, etc. - sponsored Plenty of freebies, gift coupons, contests, exchange offers,

etc. - effectively sabotaged any effort made by parents / educators to teach healthy eating habits.

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort Developing an education pack for students:

Consumer Education Programmes (interactive workshops, painting and poster competitions, etc.) for students, teachers and parents to discuss link between junk food consumption and childhood health disorders

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort

Introduced “Carrotoon” – the mascot of the programme

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort Posters and leaflets on junk food and its health

impacts

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort

A parent’s guide to healthy eating for the family

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort

Activity booklets for teachers to use for creating awareness on food advertisements

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort

Educational food games

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort CAG also lobbied principals and

management of schools to eliminate sale of junk food and to protect children from corporate influence and misleading advertisements within the school campuses.

The overall purpose was to establish a coordinated school nutrition policy that promotes healthy eating not only through classroom lessons, but within the total school environment.

The lead taken by PTA’s (Parent-Teachers Association) in assisting CAG with the lobbying efforts became the most crucial factor for the success of this effort.

Improving Nutrition in Schools – CAG effort Repeated lobbying and campaigning by CAG led

to one PTA, then several PTA’s speaking to their schools to re-negotiate the contract with the canteen contractor

Several schools have since banned junk food products - replaced them with more nutritious alternatives

Also formed a smaller ‘menu planning’ committee to monitor the canteen

These committees include PTA members, nutritionists and student representatives and some have developed a ‘School Food and Nutrition Policy’.

CAG helped provide wide publicity to these efforts and lobbied government to bring out similar policy

Scaling up…Junk food ban in schools urged

Responding to CAG’s demand – on June 22, 2006, the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Department issued a directive calling for drafting of a common Food and Nutrition Policy for all schools receiving government aid.

This Policy includes a ban on promotion and sale of ‘junk food’ in school canteens and on school premises.

Other cities and States in India have also begun similar initiatives – including in Mumbai and Delhi

December 2006, Indian Health Minister initiated discussions with Human Resources (Education) Minister to ban junk food in all central government schools in the country

What can consumers do? Lobby school managements to phase out junk

food from their campuses Write to schools that sell junk food, remind them

they have a responsibility towards health of their students

Meet with the PTA of the schools, sensitise them on the issue and work with the PTA to urge the school to take immediate action

Campaign for improving nutrition of children in schools through awareness programmes such as public debates, educational exhibitions etc.

Work with schools in conducting nutrition education for students and parents

Provide assistance to schools in drafting the FNP Assist the Nutrition Task Force in the implementation

of the policy and the monitoring of its implementation

Document and give wide publicity to model school canteens

THANK YOU!

For more information contact:

cag.india@gmail.com

A journey begins with a single step…