SpongeBob Loves Cheese!

News EditorCheese, Dairy Checkoff, Government, Health

spongebobOk readers, this story just plain makes me mad. Banning cheese ads from children’s programming? Shouldn’t we be more worried about fries, chips and candy? What do you think of this activist group’s tactics?

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which encourages a vegetarian diet, is taking aim this time at cheese — and SpongeBob SquarePants. The group has asked the Federal Trade Commission to follow the lead of the U.K. and ban ads for cheese and other foods high in fat, salt and sugar during kids’ TV shows.

“A similar ban in the United States would prevent pizza companies, candy companies, and other makers of unhealthy food from advertising on SpongeBob SquarePants and similar shows,” PCRM said. “One serving of cheddar cheese gets a whopping 73% of its calories from fat, which is more fat than children would get from a 3 Musketeers candy bar,” PCRM nutritionist Dulcie Ward said in a statement.

Greg Miller of the National Dairy Council countered that “Cheese is a nutritious food that kids love.” With “nine out of 10 girls and seven out of 10 boys failing to meet current nutrition recommendations for calcium,” it would be a big mistake to remove cheese from youngsters’ diets, he said. More pointedly, he added: “We need to get our nutrition guidance from professional groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics… and not from an animal-rights group.”

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