2008 Woodie Awards
Pizza Hut is not the problem
My View
Eric Strand
Issue date: 3/6/07 Section: Viewpoint
Remember Book It?
It was that Pizza Hut-sponsored program that encouraged you to read books in grade school in exchange for a free personal pan pizza.
Remember the personal pan pizza?
It was about the size of a CD, impossibly gooey and was the only thing at the time which adequately rivaled a Happy Meal.
But in case you were unaware, or happen to be lucky enough not to have liberal friends, Book It encourages childhood obesity and epitomizes everything that's wrong with corporate-sponsored programs in schools.
This comes to us thanks to the brilliant analysis of psychologist Susan Linn from the always impressive Harvard University, where God Himself would have gone had He needed a college education.
Linn, who is also the co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, informs us that programs like Book It exploit education by promoting "junk food consumption to a captive audience," as well as "undermines parents by positioning family visits to Pizza Hut as an integral component of raising literate children."
Okay. I suppose you can't argue that Book It doesn't promote junk food consumption or that Pizza Hut's sponsorship isn't blatant corporate intrusion on the classroom. Absolutely, Linn is right.
But here is why Book It shouldn't be blamed. First of all, to even imply that Pizza Hut alone is somehow responsible for childhood obesity is an outrageous accusation.
Just because Pizza Hut sponsors a reading program in schools does not make them any more responsible for childhood obesity than the corn dog served in the school cafeteria or the video game which never gets turned off. To imply this is to make an error in logic and attack Pizza Hut simply because it is convenient.
Furthermore, I am a firm believer that childhood obesity is directly related to methods of parenting. In the case of the infamous "fat" gene there is not much to be said. However, no matter what the shared chromosome, it is the parents' responsibility to instill good eating habits in their children.
It was that Pizza Hut-sponsored program that encouraged you to read books in grade school in exchange for a free personal pan pizza.
Remember the personal pan pizza?
It was about the size of a CD, impossibly gooey and was the only thing at the time which adequately rivaled a Happy Meal.
But in case you were unaware, or happen to be lucky enough not to have liberal friends, Book It encourages childhood obesity and epitomizes everything that's wrong with corporate-sponsored programs in schools.
This comes to us thanks to the brilliant analysis of psychologist Susan Linn from the always impressive Harvard University, where God Himself would have gone had He needed a college education.
Linn, who is also the co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, informs us that programs like Book It exploit education by promoting "junk food consumption to a captive audience," as well as "undermines parents by positioning family visits to Pizza Hut as an integral component of raising literate children."
Okay. I suppose you can't argue that Book It doesn't promote junk food consumption or that Pizza Hut's sponsorship isn't blatant corporate intrusion on the classroom. Absolutely, Linn is right.
But here is why Book It shouldn't be blamed. First of all, to even imply that Pizza Hut alone is somehow responsible for childhood obesity is an outrageous accusation.
Just because Pizza Hut sponsors a reading program in schools does not make them any more responsible for childhood obesity than the corn dog served in the school cafeteria or the video game which never gets turned off. To imply this is to make an error in logic and attack Pizza Hut simply because it is convenient.
Furthermore, I am a firm believer that childhood obesity is directly related to methods of parenting. In the case of the infamous "fat" gene there is not much to be said. However, no matter what the shared chromosome, it is the parents' responsibility to instill good eating habits in their children.
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