McDonald's Nutrition Education Curriculum Endorsed by Maryland PTA? No Thanks!
- Healthy School Food Maryland
- Closed on
- Target:
- The Maryland PTA
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- healthyschoolfoodmd.org
This petition is now closed.
Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign to stop the Maryland PTA from supporting McDonald's Nutrition Education in schools.
The petition has been submitted to the Maryland PTA on 1/6/16 and we will share any response with you that we get.
A Washington Post article on October 29, 2015 (http://tinyurl.com/nk24ega) revealed that the Maryland PTA web site included a letter from a registered dietitian working for McDonald’s suggesting that teachers show a 20 minute documentary about how a teacher lost weight eating exclusively at McDonald’s for six months.
This documentary is misleading for many reasons, including the fact that anyone who significantly decreases their calorie intake and starts exercising will likely lose weight, no matter where they eat.
We believe that schools are a place for unbiased education on nutrition, not propaganda from a fast food chain. In the midst of efforts to bring healthier food and fundraisers to schools nationally, which are supported by the National PTA, the inclusion of these materials on the Maryland PTA web site are a step in the wrong direction. Rather, the Maryland PTA should be supportive of efforts to remove marketing of unhealthy foods in schools as well as fundraisers that promote unhealthy foods.
We the undersigned are asking the Maryland PTA to:
1. Sever its sponsorship links with McDonald’s if those links require it to in any way promote the McDonald's brand or materials from McDonald's to children, teachers, parents or PTA members.
2. Send a statement to local PTAs in Maryland acknowledging the error of including these materials on the web site and stating that the fundamental mission of McDonald’s runs counter to the fundamental mission of schools, which includes educating children about good nutrition. In addition, this statement should clearly state that the Maryland PTA does not recommend the use of materials or speakers from McDonald’s for discussions of nutrition, nor fundraisers that promote foods of minimal nutritional value, such as teacher’s nights at McDonald’s.
The McDonald's Nutrition Education Curriculum Endorsed by Maryland PTA? No Thanks! petition to The Maryland PTA was written by Healthy School Food Maryland and is in the category Education at GoPetition.