Dubious sponsorship in education

The last couple of years have seen a lot of attention given to the standard of meals in British schools, with Jamie Oliver, a popular celebrity chef, leading the line in the battle against the fatty, unhealthy food traditionally served up for school dinners. It has now rather worrying emerged though that not only are kids given too many portions of chips (french fries to those on the other side of the Atlantic), but in fact many of them aren't even aware of the origins of what is on their plate.

A study by the British Heart Foundation suggests that as many as one in three schoolchildren do not know that chips come from potatoes. In response, the frozen-food firm McCain has nobly stepped into the breach with an interactive teaching campaign to educate youngsters about the origin of the humble chip (and no doubt bring up a new generation of McCain customers in the process). 'The Potato Story' encourages kids to plant potatoes, learn about how the seasons affect their growth, and finally how the vegetables become chips - although whether or not this involves getting the kids to add their very own 'raising agents' E450 and E500, found in McCain's 'Chippy Chips', is at present unclear.

While one can understand the sentiment behind the desire of Wanda Noakes, head teacher of one of the participating schools, to bring 'innovative ways to engage and entertain the children and learn where their food comes from,' it seems somewhat dubious to allow junk-food companies such open access to easily influenced children who are already bombarded with advertising from an early age. Simon Eyles of McCain proudly proclaims that the company 'has an obligation to educate children who are perhaps confused about where their food comes from and teach them the basic principles of enjoying a healthy and balanced diet.' It seems debatable whether such a diet should include McCain's range of chips and microwavable pizzas and snacks, which are mostly high in fat and salt content.

It is laudable that the authorities want to involve junk-food and alcoholic-beverage companies in campaigns to promote healthier lifestyles, but one must question whether these firms should be allowed to reap such positive publicity despite still producing the same unhealthy goods, and it is particularly questionable whether they should be allowed access to programmes involving children. In fact The Simpsons provides us with the most fitting, and amusing, warning against the dangers of allowing corporate sponsorship in schools. A class at Spring Elementary is being taught from a periodic table sponsored by the food company Oscar Mayer, with the long-suffering teacher informing the class that the element 'Bolognium' has an atomic weight of 'Snacktacular'.