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“…by 2004, total advertising and marketing expenditures directed at children reached $15 billion, a stunning rise from the mere $100 million in television advertising spent in 1983.”    Juliet B. Schor, Born to Buy

That number has reached at least $17 billion today;  a figure with little meaning to me.  Of greater significance is that dollars targeted at influencing children for the sake of profit are 170 times more today than they were in 1983.  For the benefit of redundancy:   If you are the 27 year old parent of a new baby, your child is being influenced by voices whose only concern is their own financial gain at a rate 170 times greater than you had to deal with.  In view of  this tremendous growth, one can surmise that the investment has paid off handsomely for the investor and that, therefore, the escalating trend is likely to continue.  Parents are in need of all the help they can get to nurture that unique individual which is their child.

Sometimes all you see are knees.

Like e.e. cummings said:

“To be nobody but yourself, in a world which is doing its best night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight– and never stop fighting.”

Sometimes you're the only one.

To that end, we have a large wooden box at KidsCooK, on which are woodburned  the names of KidsCooK graduates.  This box exists so that kids can “speak their piece”,  “have a voice”, “stake their claim” and get their head up “above the herd”.  It takes practice to find your own voice, especially with your peers.

It's good to stand up together.

It’s a little scary sometimes to get up on that box by yourself, so it can help to go with a friend.  We’re maybe not accustomed to hearing our own voice speaking our own thoughts.  The person you hear is a bit of a stranger, but a stranger well worth getting to know and to love.   Nobody at KidscooK is pressured to get on top of the box, but it’s quite a wonderful sight to see the pride that ensues upon taking such a bold step.

The resources and confidence required to read a food label and make good choices about selecting food that will benefit our bodies, are very much the same qualities required to make good choices that will benefit the whole of our person.

Ideas are better when they're shared.

We will not be able to change the way America eats without, at the same time, building up the whole person who is able to make clear headed choices, independent from the pressures of social and economic conformity.  The health of a generation is counting on it.  Our health care system requires it.  The thoughtful, well informed choice maker we call Citizen is an absolute must for the functioning of our democracy.  It all happens around real food.

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“All food additives are carefully regulated by federal authorities and various international organizations to ensure that foods are safe to eat and are accurately labeled.”

This is a quote from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website, the top authority in our government regulating food safety.  Watch out!  There’s another opinion on the subject.

Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, the three most widely used dyes, have known carcinogens, according to a new report by the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest).  In a letter, CSPI   urged the FDA to ban all dyes.    The British government has already asked companies to phase out most dyes by the end of 2009, and the European Union is requiring a warning notice on most dyed foods by the end of July 2010.  There is a lot of anecdotal evidence as well as scientific studies linking hyperactivity in young people to artificial colorants in their food and medicines.

Well now, I’m just downright bumfuzzled.  Should I eat the  Screaming Electric Blue Zonkers or not?

That's his real tongue color!

“Dyes add no benefits whatsoever to foods, other than making them more ‘eye-catching’ to increase sales,” said James Huff, the associate director for chemical carcinogenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ National Toxicology Program.

Yeah, but are the food colorants bad for me?  I love to eat electric blue food.

This is NOT her real tongue color.

Some pretty big authorities in the world on the subject of what’s safe to eat are giving you completely opposite answers to your question.  So…What to do?  I think you already know.  Having a blue tongue is cool an’ all, but if the people who have nothing to gain are saying the colorants are bad for you and the only one’s who are saying they’re healthy to eat are the ones who stand to make a lot of money,  you’d clearly be better off eating a bowl full of blueberries instead of an electric blue roll of oddly plasticky stuff trying to pass itself off as a distant relative of a blueberry.

When you have to take some medicine, is it really easier to swallow because it’s bright blue or fire engine red?  The adults who make this stuff occasionally have a low expectation about young people’s intelligence.  Sometimes our government is a little slow to catch on.  They’ll catch up.  You let them know what you think.

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Cooking Up a Healthy New Generation of Leaders

The day before fifth graders at Carnation Elementary were to complete their final year of elementary school, a fellowship of nine completed an extracurricular course in cooking. KidsCooK, a newly forming nonprofit developed by Terrie Irish and in partnership with Hopelink and Full Circle Farms, sought to instill in the leaders of tomorrow a love and appreciation for healthy, home cooked food. “I try not to use [the phrase] ‘healthy food,’ but rather food that tastes good and that is fun to eat,” Terrie explained, “‘Healthy food’ doesn’t need to be something kids have to eat because their parents tell them to.”

The course was laid out in six sessions over seven weeks, meeting Tuesdays after school in the Hopelink kitchen in Carnation, WA. The lessons covered everything from knife safety and meal planning and preparation, to the benefits of eating locally grown food rather than dining on industrially manufactured processed meals. The most memorable lesson, according to the enthusiastic fifth graders, involved a cow tongue and hot wax and depicted the detrimental effects of eating processed food on the ability to taste distinct flavors. “It was really gross,” Morgan Roe, one of the students said enthusiastically, but obviously very memorable.

In response to why the class focuses specifically on fifth graders, Terrie explained that, “by the time kids are 12, their eating habits are set, fifth graders are fun and inquisitive, but are not yet set in their ways.” The hope is that by encouraging students in this active and inquisitive age group to enjoy good food, they will spread their enthusiasm to their peers. When asked if they were going to tell their friends about what they were doing in KidsCooK, the response was an energetic yes; “I already have,” Max Ballard chimed in.

While the lessons brought smiles and joy to all involved, the need for the change in eating habits encouraged by KidsCooK was soberly outlined by Terrie in her speech to parents and students at the final meal prepared by students. Among the poignant statistics was a report by the US Center for Disease Control and prevention which stipulated that Type II Diabetes, a disease formerly associated with the elderly, will plague one-third of children born in the year 2000. Furthermore, according to Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA, “obesity is such that this generation of children could be the first in the history of the United States to live less healthful and shorter lives than their parents.” Such evidence painted a vivid explanation of the importance of KidsCooK in “developing young leadership to change the way America eats.

As with all complex and multifaceted problems such as obesity and diabetes in children which are culturally systemic and not single solution problems, KidsCooK approached the issue by not only teaching kids how to cook home made food, but by encouraging an open minded approach to viewing the world. Students in KidsCooK were invited, but by no means required, to participate in “soap box sharing,” also known as “brag time.” Standing atop an overly large fruit crate, created by Ken Irish and emblazoned with each of the kid’s names, students could share what they learned about cooking, good eating or anything else they were proud of at the time. “The purpose of the exercise is to try to teach the kids how to see above the herd,” Terrie said in reference to the barrage of advertisements about nutrient enriched processed food which kids today are exposed to on a daily basis. By teaching kids to “see above the herd” of advertisements, Terrie hoped to teach them to make their own decisions about healthy eating rather than being overcome by processed food advertisements. So on the final night, after serving their parents a scratch made meal of mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken and steamed vegetables, with rhubarb cobbler as dessert, students were invited to share what they learned or had found particularly interesting.

Despite the complexities of the issues addressed by KidsCooK and the attempt to develop young leadership as well as healthy eaters, the simple pleasure of the experience was evident on the faces of every person involved, from Terrie Irish and Mary Griffin who organized and taught the classes, to the smiling and excited group of students eager to share their creations. The very process of creating a meal was a source of enjoyment as well; beyond the crowd of milling parents and shepherding children, Ashley and Ana, who stood studious guard over steaming pans on the stovetop, when asked what their favorite part of the class was responded in perfect, smiling unison, “cooking.”

The parents of the students also were eager to note changes in habits at home. “She’s starting to cook at home, to practice knife skills and to be excited about it,” Cathy and Michael Roe commented about their daughter Morgan’s attitude toward cooking after beginning to take classes at KidsCooK. “She learns all this new stuff,” smiled Jack Ballard, referring to his daughter Nicole, “and I get to be the beneficiary.”

With the conclusion of the class, each student received a certificate of completion and a heartfelt thanks from Terrie for taking part in the first of what is hoped to be many KidsCooK courses.

Currently KidsCooK is applying for status as a nonprofit organization and is looking for both future fifth graders interested in classes and a kitchen in which to teach those classes. If you would like to get involved in KidsCooK, more information is available at www.kids-cook.org ,by contacting Terrie Irish at terrie@kids-cook.org or by calling (425)788-5696.

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