The idea of "personal responsibility" and willpower

[Second Summer]

If I owned a store, I wouldn't think it was fair to be told where I could and couldn't place things because some people wanted to avoid certain items.

We can hope that shop owners (corporations in most cases) are socially responsible despite the extra buck they can squeeze out of their customers with checkout aisle temptation tactics and despite the competition and sometimes tight profit margins in this sector. Or we can be a bit more realistic and admit that reasonable regulation is necessary and fair.

No one is required to go into places that carry things or have policies they disagree with.

Easy to say, but more difficult to live by.

 

[Calliegirl]

Also what bothers me about it is it is uncreative, mass produced junk food. Why not little handmade bags of fudge, old fashioned boiled sweets, taffy, turkish delight, handmade chocolate,... at least we will be eating more worthwhile sweets...

The stores actually make very little profit on the candy, it's the floor space rental that brings in the money. Whichever company is willing to pay the most, gets a contract to display their items at the register. Candy sells well, so the candy companies are usually the ones bidding for that space. It is slightly more complicated than that, but basically it comes down to the highest bidder with the best selling items.
The companies that make the stuff you mentioned usually can't compete for that space, it goes for quite a bit of money. Smaller, independent stores with limited foot traffic are more likely to display those items, as the bigger candy companies won't pay for shelf space in a store that doesn't meet their minimum traffic and income requirements.

I've done merchandising for years, and it's all about the floor space rental. In supermarkets, shelf space at eye level cost the most, the highest and lowest shelves cost the least.

 

[Mischief]

I don't think it would be worse.

The rate of smoking in the U.S. is currently the lowest it's been since the numbers started being tracked.

 

[Freesia]

That is why I like to go to fancy food stores, even if i cant afford to shop there, it often gives me good cooking ideas.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I think it is a good idea if the amount of hidden sugar is gradually reduced in processed foods but I think at some point adults have to take some responsibility for their own behaviour.

One of my friend's mothers had type 2 diabetes and she was always ordering white rice in restaurants which she wasn't supposed to eat and my friend was always lecturing her about it. Should rice be restricted in restaurants just in case the person has type 2 diabetes?

 

[Mischief]

So, how does everyone feel about the banning of vending machines selling candy and soft drinks in schools?

 

[KLS52]

So, how does everyone feel about the banning of vending machines selling candy and soft drinks in schools?

I think it's reasonable to do so.

 

[Amy SF]

I'm fine with that. Some people will say that kids can get that stuff elsewhere, but since they spend about 8 hours a day, five days a week in school, and they're not always allowed to leave the campus during school hours, they're less likely to get that stuff when they're in school. BUT - there have to be healthier alternatives available so the kids know they exist.

 

[ledboots]

So, how does everyone feel about the banning of vending machines selling candy and soft drinks in schools?

Definitely for elementary and middle schools, banning soda and candy machines is fine. I think high schoolers should begin to make their own decisions about these matters.

 

[PTree15]

I don't even think vending machines should be in elementary or middle schools. I never saw a vending machine in a school until I got to high school. The only thing for sale at my elementary school was milk.

 

[shyvas]

I don't even think vending machines should be in elementary or middle schools. I never saw a vending machine in a school until I got to high school. The only thing for sale at my elementary school was milk.

We used to have a tuck shop at secondary school. There was no food on sale at primary schools.

 

[ledboots]

They sell junk at all levels here. (Florida USA). Soda machines in middle schools were recently removed, but had been there for years. And in the lunchroom, all kinds of unhealthy foods for sale,
even at the elementary level. The standard lunches are an abomination, and the extras for sale are horrible as well.

 

[Andy_T]

For example, as Freesia points out, it has been debated whether gas/petrol stations should sell liquor considering the hazards of drunk driving.

Well, you can certainly even top that....

 

[Second Summer]

I don't even think vending machines should be in elementary or middle schools. I never saw a vending machine in a school until I got to high school. The only thing for sale at my elementary school was milk.

Same! In elementary school we could buy milk by signing up to some scheme at the start of every school year. In high school there was a vending machine, and there was a shop near the school. We had to bring our own lunches.

 

[Andy_T]

Same! In elementary school we could buy milk by signing up to some scheme at the start of every school year.

Same in my home country.

And, of course, we were made to believe that this is for the sake of our health, and not so much for the sake of the health of the dairy industry

(I understand that the prime motivation might even have been the sake of school children, when it was originally introduced in the 1940's, but not so much today)

 

[ledboots]

Same in my home country.

And, of course, we were made to believe that this is for the sake of our health, and not so much for the sake of the health of the dairy industry

(I understand that the prime motivation might even have been the sake of school children, when it was originally introduced in the 1940's, but not so much today)

The dairy stranglehold is so ridiculous, the school actually required a doctor's note re: my daughter's lactose intolerance so she could have apple juice instead of milk. She always brought her own lunch, but liked getting the juice.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I'm still scarred from having to drink those disgusting little bottles of milk at primary school.

 

[shyvas]

I'm still scarred from having to drink those disgusting little bottles of milk at primary school.

I must say that I enjoyed drinking our daily small bottle of milk. Taking turns, every pupil used to have the task to stick a skewer onto the metal top so that a straw could be introduced.

 

[Katrina]

I think they should remove the candy from the checkouts. I am able to ignore that stuff quite easily, but I can see why it might be tempting to other people. If they really want to sell candy, they could have a shelf NEAR the checkouts, but not so close that you have no choice but to stare at it while waiting in line. And they should have something at least semi-healthy like packets of trail mix, banana chips. People complain about the rise in obesity rates, yet continue to make junk food more easily accessible than healthy food.

 

[Freesia]

I think that in supermarkets, there should be things at the checkouts like jars of pickles and vegan jerky and toothpaste... in vending machine, there should only be pickles in there.

Or if they are liquid machines, have them with bottled water.