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Mom taking junk food fight to court; Fed up with ads aimed at kids, she spearheads suit against Kellogg, Nickelodeon
She has tried banning junk food and Nickelodeon, and finally stopped taking her children on shopping trips. But nothing seemed to help, Sherri Carlson said. "They will reach for the junk food any time they are given the chance, which unfortunately happens a lot," said the Massachusetts mother of three. Carlson blames kid-friendly TV commercials and marketing campaigns for making her children want unhealthy foods. It's difficult to compete with cartoon images like SpongeBob SquarePants, who pitches Pop-Tarts with bright-blue frosting, she said. Carlson said Wednesday she is poised to sue Viacom, the owners of the Nickelodeon cable channel, and the cereal-maker Kellogg. With help from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy group, and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, she and another Massachusetts parent plan to sue under a state law that bans deceptive or unfair advertising. "Parents do bear the primary responsibility to ensure their kids eat a healthy diet," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the center. "But the food industry is making their jobs nearly impossible. The industry needs to accept its fair share of the responsibility." … Increasingly, attention has turned toward the advertising and marketing of food to children. Richard A. Daynard, an associate dean at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, is preparing legal action against beverage companies for targeting teens. A recent Institute of Medicine study highlighted the billions of dollars spent on junk-food advertising each year, saying the food preferences of even toddlers can be influenced.
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