This week we had gum day at a local school here in my home town. After investigating and being given more information regarding gum day (and other theme days) I was told by a government official that these theme days were approved from higher ups in the school administrative hierarchy. I was also informed that gum day was connected to a cancer fund raising campaign (Terry Fox) and that parents had the choice of whether to participate or not in the event, as the chewing of gum wasn’t mandatory.

The concern I have is why are we not banding together and fortifying the school against foods or any other factor that is proven to harm the children? When the proof is there and it is concrete why are not acting on that proof? We not only have the proof, we have the sick children as a booming trend to add an exclamation point to the documented research that these choices are hurting our children’s ability to live satisfying and productive lives. Why are we feeding disease causing products to our children and then asking a disease charity to help remedy the diseases these choices are causing? Why are we not standing together against junk foods for the sake of the children, regardless of how the junk food is presented for entry into the school? Are the teachers nice people? Of course they are and I can say that because I know many personally and they are great people. I wish the issue was about how nice people were because this issue would be dead in the water if it was about that…….but it’s not. It’s about the kids and we need to be very careful when anyone tries to make this issue about something other than the kids.

Yes, there is a great push in our society to cloak junk food inside a charity based theme but should we as the parents and guardians turn a blind eye to how the junk food impacts the children just because it is wrapped up as something that will provide money for charity? If cancer is directly linked to sugar consumption (which is highlighted below) shouldn’t we find it irrational and illogical that we are raising money for cancer charities using products that are proven to cause cancer? When giving the money to the cancer charities, are the charities letting the public know that sugar causes cancer? Should the cancer charity not be using some of the charity money to prevent cancer by educating the general public of the well known fact that sugar causes cancer? Are the systems we’re protecting, protecting us and our children?

Is wrapping junk food consumption up in a charity theme a sort of Trojan horse affect that allows us to cheer the junk food into the school to the detriment of the children themselves? Are the children not counting on us as adults to protect them and if we let that responsibility fall by the way side for any reason, can we really look anywhere but in the mirror regarding the growing trend of learning disorders and neurologically damaged children that are now dominating this generation? Is our need to fit in and follow orders (regardless of what those orders are) hurting our children? Are the theme days were not having very odd compared to the theme days we are having at the schools? What about vegetable day? What about gardening day? What about yoga day? What about protect nature day? What about no junk food day? Do we see school theme days that are connected to respecting self and nature or are we seeing theme days that include some form of body attack and disrespecting treatment of self? How do these trends impact the children and their beliefs or actions in the future?

I often ask people in my seminars, “Do you remember that sick and overweight course you took in school?” and people obviously are aware that there was no course in school that taught anyone how to be sick and overweight yet 70% of people are overweight or on one medication or more in Canada and 30% are obese. The point is, although we’re not being taught directly about ill health, we are being taught indirectly how to be unhealthy because the human mind learns more from trends/patterns and actions more than direct teaching. The patterns, trends and actions involved with junk food inside our schools are reprogramming our children’s view on junk food without any direct teaching on the subject required. Our words mean little to the child mind. Our actions mean everything and impact their belief systems more than anything we do. Think about a parent who hugs and kisses their children every morning when the children get up from sleeping as opposed to a parent who just says, “I love you” as they run out the door to work. Actions teach and actions speak louder than any words. Why are placing so much effort into getting children next to junk food when we should be fighting to our deaths to protect our children from it? Has our views of junk food, as adults, come from something wrong we’ve learned as children? When we will it end? When will we take action?

During my experiences this week some officials seemed unaware of the detrimental affects of the common ingredients in gum and other junk foods. If you click here you can see the over 300 diseases that are directly linked to sugar consumption. So 300 diseases with medical references that sugar causes and this sugar is getting into our schools as theme days and in other ways as well. Yes parents may send their children with sugar anyway but the question is, “why is the medical and scientific fact of sugar’s determent to the children not handed out to the children or taught to the children or even handed out to the parents……?”.

We see in this video (click on these blue words) that the consumption of sugar grows cancer. Again we are causing cancer in someone (somewhere) by consuming all this sugar yet we say we need to do it because we need to help fight cancer. Wouldn’t it be better not to cause cancer in the first place? It doesn’t matter how much money we give to cancer research if we keep growing the cancer in the first place and keep acting disconnected from the very problem we are causing for ourselves and others.

We also see here medically referenced material that sugar consumption inhibits brain function and learning. If you watch this video for the full length you will see that the sugar being consumed at the schools not only causes drops in IQ but something much worse. Are parents aware of the real affects of sugar when their children bring back information about gum day or another processed food theme day at their local school?

It is understandable that many just want this issue to go away and it can indeed be ignored. People can just pretend that feeding the children junk food doesn’t really hurt the kids and that it’s “no big deal” because everyone is doing it…..or say, “I used to eat it when I was a kid” or “if it was that bad the higher ups in the government wouldn’t allow us to have gum day etc etc“. (all the ways someone can marginalize what is really happening) I ask people to look at the kids and know that they count on us as adults to make better decisions for them and not to be so easily lead astray by actions that have no benefit for the children. It doesn’t matter what occupation the school system grooms the children for. If the children are sick when they become adults and are too sick to work that job or career, nothing matters.