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December 07, 2005
Study: junk food 'threat' aimed at kids (Hollywood Reporter)
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who secured the $1 million funding for the report, said the findings shouldn't come as a shock as he accused high-profile Hollywood characters of turning children into junk-food addicts.
"This report proves that the onslaught of junk food marketing is endangering the health of our children," he said. "We would like to think that SpongeBob SquarePants, Shrek and the Disney princesses are likable, kid-friendly characters, but they are being used to manipulate vulnerable children to make unhealthy choices. This must stop."
[And yet we bash Madonna for not letting her children eat a single french fry. Two things come to mind for me on this one. First, maybe practicing some moderation or plain common sense would not kill us. For example, eating fast food is acceptable but eating fast food daily is ridiculous. Second (and this is the big one), where are the parents? I said it before and I will say it again: Stories like this one scare me because good parenting seems rare when it should be the norm. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at December 7, 2005 03:31 PM