Conscious Choice: Healthy Vending Machines Come to Area Schools

December 2004 | Choice Feedback

Healthy Vending Machines Come to Area Schools

I AM WRITING to thank you for printing my letter, Healthy Junk Food, August 2004. I was looking for a vendor to supply healthy snack foods to my son’s middle school. You encouraged readers to respond.

To my delight you printed a letter from Wanda in the September issue. She directed me to the Web site of Stonyfield Farms. They have launched a pilot program with like-minded people in the organic food industry to supply colorful vending machines with a wide selection of healthy snacks and drinks. In many cases, costs have been discounted to meet an affordable price point for the school children.

As of October 21, (School) District 109 in Deerfield, and Francis Parker, in Chicago have new healthy vending machines. Kudos to our principal, Jay Monier, vice principal, John Mirretti, and vendor M&P Vending Co., Inc. for their immediate follow up to my presentation for this new concept. Congratulations to Stonyfield Farms for initiating change in the vending industry. It can only get better.

— Debbie Brown, Deerfield, Ill.

Editor’s Note: We are thrilled that we helped facilitate the correspondence between readers to help bring healthy food alternatives to children. To learn more about the Stonyfield vending machines program, phone 603-437-4040 or visit their Web site at: www.stonyfield.com. We are further encouraged by recent events that are a step in the right direction. The Chicago Board of Education has voted to remove soft drinks from school vending machines, but they need to take the concept further by stocking organic produce and beverages that are low in sugar. In addition, U.S. Sen.Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill to ban the sale of soda and junk food in schools nationwide as part of the “Prevention of Childhood Obesity Act. (SB2894).”

Chelation Therapy Requires Monitoring

Dr. Michael B. Schachter’s article in your October issue entitled “Chelation Therapy Gets to Prove Itself” calls out for a word of caution for your readers. As a recipient of over 100 chelation treats and a strong believer in holistic medicine, I tried over 75 chelation treatments before my heart attack. At no time did the doctor attempt to establish a bench mark, ordering a scan, etc., so we would be able to evaluate the efficacy of the treatments. After my heart attack I had an additional 25 chelation treatments with a Heart Check America test midway through the series. A change in doctors resulted in my first scan. Following the completion of the 25 chelation treatments I had an additional Heath Check America test and found that there had been no improvement in my test scores.

Again I would caution your readers to establish a benchmark before they start their Chelation treatments and then follow up with an additional scan to make sure that chelation is in fact delivering on the promises made by the doctor.

The doctor that administered my first 75 chelation treatments was a member of “The American College for the Advancement in Medicine.” His credentials stated that when was a diplomat but his protocol never called for establishing a benchmark regarding the need for chelation or a follow up scan to determine its efficacy. Let the buyer beware.

— Phil R. Dowd, Glenview, Ill.

Dr. Michael B. Schachter responds: I agree with Mr. Dowd that it is a good idea to monitor the progress of chelation therapy by doing baseline functional tests, such as a stress test with or without imaging, the length of time one is able to walk on a treadmill without having to stop as a result of pain in the legs (if being treated for blockage of arteries in the legs), the elasticity of the artery in the arm (brachial artery) or other functional tests. With chelation therapy, one may not see anatomical changes of improvement on an angiogram, but still benefit from improved blood flow as shown by reduction of symptoms or improvement in functional tests. Paying attention to changes of symptoms, such as improvement in memory, improved sense of well-being and similar checks are also important. Functional tests should be repeated during the course of treatment. It is difficult to monitor patients who have no symptoms and are undergoing chelation therapy for prevention, except by monitoring changes in levels of toxic metals in the body.

Pax World Funds Rebuts Critique

WE WERE disappointed with the errors in Paul Hawken’s article “Is Your Money Where Your Heart Is?” (October). Pax World Funds was not contacted about the article prior to its release, and we would like to set some of the facts straight.

Pax World has never owned General Motors. In the past, we held Hughes Electronics (consumers know it as DirecTV) which later was listed as a tracking stock of GM. Last year, Hughes was acquired by News Corp and has since been spun off as DirecTV.

In the article, the author’s approach is to isolate one aspect of socially responsible investing (SRI) and analyze it. Pax World and the other SRI mutual funds named in the article utilize screening and advocacy and community investing. These are irrevocably intertwined strategies — to examine one without the others is like critiquing a house’s architectural style when all you see is the basement. He condemns Pax World’s investment in Chesapeake Energy because Chesapeake has only white men on the board of directors. However, he omits the fact that we withheld our vote for every director candidate because of their lack of diversity.

Mr. Hawken also states that SRI portfolios use the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a performance benchmark. This is false. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires all mutual funds to compare their performance to a relevant benchmark, in order to help investors conduct apples-to-apples comparisons. Mutual funds have different strategies, and it would be meaningless to compare a bond fund or a conservative balanced fund to the DJIA. All annual reports must name the fund’s benchmark and show performance comparisons.

We agree with Mr. Hawken that the SRI industry is not perfect. SRI practitioners have been discussing our definition and our message for years.

This is not an easy task, because SRI is driven by the diverse values of its members. Our values are not better than yours; neither are Mr. Hawken’s. We encourage your readers to do their own research, analyze SRI’s integrated strategies of screening, advocacy, and community investing, and then decide for themselves.

— Pax World Funds

Correction: Pax is correct. The Pax World Balanced Fund held a General Motors tracking stock (GM “H” class) for Hughes Electronics as of June, 2003. We regret the error.

We want to hear from you. Send your letters to: Choice Feedback, Conscious Choice, 920 N. Franklin, Suite 202, Chicago, IL 60610. [click to e-mail]. Letters should include the writer’s name, address, and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity or space.

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