May 4, 2006 -- Bottlers Agree to Limit Soft Drinks in Schools

In an agreement with organizations committed to reducing childhood obesity, three beverage companies that supply 95 percent of the soft drinks now sold in schools said May 3 that they will remove sweetened beverages such as Coke and Pepsi from school cafeterias and vending machines and will reduce serving sizes of lower-calorie and nutritional beverages. The bottlers said, however, that their initiative depends on the willingness of school boards to amend existing contracts with soft drink manufacturers and distributors, some of which extend for five years or more. A coalition of the William J. Clinton Foundation, the American Heart Association, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation noted that the voluntary guidelines now adopted by the bottlers will affect at least 35 million students across the country. Former President Clinton said the coalition, called "Alliance for a Healthier Generation," has been talking to the beverage companies for months to gain their cooperation. Other groups active in the beverage-reform movement note that the bottlers may also have been motivated by the threat of litigation by a group of lawyers who succeeded in obtaining a settlement with tobacco companies several years ago. A public interest attorney warned school boards that they may be subject, as a group and individually, to liability if they fail to go along with the industry’s proposals. Noting that the agreement represents the first "clear consensus" that sale of sugary soft drinks in schools is a health hazard to children, Professor John Banzhaf of George Washington University cautioned school boards and attorneys that, if they fail to take action, "the lawyers committed to ending the sale of such beverages—previously by suing the bottlers—will now be free to turn their attention and legal actions to any recalcitrant school boards and their members."