http://harkin.senate.gov (202) 224-3254

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Contact: Allison Dobson / Maureen Knightly


REMARKS BY SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA) AT THE FTC/HHS WORKSHOP ON MARKETING, SELF-REGULATION, AND CHILDHOOD OBESITY

As Prepared for Delivery
“As most of you know, I have been highly critical of the advertising industry’s marketing of junk food to children. That said, I appreciated the opportunity, several months ago, to speak to the major advertising associations. And I am eager to maintain a constructive dialogue. Many in the industry have spoken frankly to me about the need for change. And they agree with me that the issue is not what is in the best interest of Tom Harkin, or the advertising industry, or the food industry. There is one issue: What is in the best interest of children – period.

“I hope that this is the starting point – the premise -- for our deliberations, here, today and tomorrow. We are not here to go through the motions, or for purposes of window-dressing and public relations. We are here to make a difference for the children of this country, who face a clear and present danger from an epidemic of overweight and obesity.

“My counsel to you is to seize the day – to do what is right for our children. I urge you to use this workshop to formulate and implement a truly independent, rigorous system of self-regulation for food advertising to children.

“If you move ahead boldly with such a system, I will applaud you, parents will applaud you, and the American public will applaud you. But if you fail to do so, you will have missed a tremendous opportunity. The result, I predict, will be a public backlash.

“According to Yale University polling, in 2001, 57 percent of Americans favored restricting children’s food advertising. In 2004, 73 percent of Americans favored such restrictions. The backlash is building steam. And it’s not just that more and more parents favor restrictions on food advertising. More to the point, they are ready to vote with their pocketbooks.

“So the choice is in your hands. And the stakes could not be higher for the work you are doing here over the next two days.

“Let me be clear: half measures are not acceptable. The hour is too late. Children are at risk. The time to act is now.

“I understand that the Grocery Manufacturers of America is set to unveil new, supposedly tougher proposals for voluntary restrictions. Based on a story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, GMA will offer many perfectly fine ideas. For instance, it would limit product placements in TV shows, and the use of licensed characters in ads and food packaging. I’m all for it.

“I have not seen details of the GMA proposals, so I will withhold any final judgment. But based on what I have read so far, there appears to be no meaningful enforcement mechanism . . . no truly independent body with the will and the power to crack down on offenders.

“If CARU is the model, that is a non-starter. CARU, frankly, has become a poster child for how not to conduct self-regulation. Time and again, it has shown itself to be a captive of the industry. It has no real independence. No sanction authority. No teeth.

“The current situation is like a game with a rule book, but no real referee. CARU is a tiny group tasked with oversight of a multibillion-dollar industry. To me, the deck seems a bit stacked.

“And the proof is in the pudding. Look at the deluge of junk food advertising aimed at kids that we see today. CARU has given the green light to all of it!

“My understanding is that GMA apparently will propose to give CARU more resources and staff, and to make its process more transparent. But a bigger, more transparent CARU means nothing if it lacks true independence, and if it lacks teeth.

“I respect GMA’s efforts. But I believe that we must be much more ambitious, especially when it comes to enforcement. For my part, I believe that a meaningful system of self-regulation should include at least four elements:

“First, it must encourage, invite, and utilize stakeholder input. And by stakeholder, I do not mean industry stakeholders alone. I also include parents, public-health experts, child development experts, and others. These people need to play a meaningful role in creating the system of self-regulation – and they need to have ongoing opportunities for input and participation.

“Second, there must be a clear action plan both for implementing the self-regulation system and for ensuring compliance. The system needs independent monitors. It needs to promulgate enforceable regulations and requirements. And it needs an independent oversight body with teeth – with the power to punish bad actors that violate the agreed-to standards.

“Third, a serious system of self-regulation must look at the cumulative effect of food advertisements directed at children. Currently, CARU looks at each advertisement in isolation, determining whether that ad meets certain standards. We need to consider the cumulative effect on children of seeing many thousands of ads each year.

“Fourth, a system of self-regulation must have purview over the whole range of vehicles by which food and beverages are marketed to children – not just television and print media. Marketing has grown incredibly sophisticated and diverse. It has spread to the Internet, to products placements and tie-ins, to adver-gaming, and much more. So an effective system of self-regulation cannot be static. It must adapt and evolve to keep up with rapid changes in advertising and marketing.

“I am interested in carefully reviewing GMA’s proposals – and any others put forward by the food industry. And I am keenly interested in proposals that you will hammer out today and tomorrow. But let me be clear, my evaluation will be based on the parameters I have set forth here.

“The stakes are high for your industries. But the stakes are far higher for our children. Poor nutrition and childhood obesity are not just “problems” – they represent a public health crisis of the first order. Twenty-five percent of children between the ages of 5 and 10 already show the early-warning signs of heart disease. We are seeing more and more cases of adult-onset diabetes in children, something that used to be extraordinarily rare.

“As a Senator I cannot stand idly by as obesity-related health care costs explode federal and state budgets, and wreak havoc on corporate and family budgets. As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently put it: “Fat is a fiscal issue.”

“Why are children consuming more calories and more foods high in sugar, fat, and salt? We don’t need a Harvard study to tell us the answer. Kids are eating more junk food for at least three reasons: One, because it tastes good. Two, because it is available everywhere – including in schools. And three, because it is being aggressively advertised and marketed.

“Some in the food industry insist that there is no evidence that food marketing is responsible for kids eating junk food and consuming more calories. But corporate America doesn’t spend $12 billion a year on advertising aimed at children because it likes to waste money!

“No, corporate America spends $12 billion because that advertising works brilliantly. . . . because it persuades children to demand – to the point of throwing temper tantrums, if necessary – a regular diet of candy, cookies, sugary cereal, sodas, and all manner of junk food. No wonder parents are so exasperated.

“Young kids are totally vulnerable and exploitable. Studies show that children do not understand that commercials are designed to sell products, because they don’t yet possess the cognitive ability to evaluate advertising. It’s not until age 7 or 8 that children even begin to distinguish between the show they are watching and the commercials that are trying to sell them something. So it is absurd to say that young kids have a personal responsibility to resist the lures of junk-food advertising. They can’t -- and they don’t – with disastrous consequences.

“No question, many parents need to make better choices for their children. They need to say no. But there are practical limits on what we can expect. It is just not realistic to think that most parents are going to deny their children access to TV on Saturday morning and after school. And, for goodness sake, why do we have a situation where conscientious parents have to protect their children from the ads on Saturday morning TV?

“Food advertising should not be undermining the lessons that responsible parents are teaching their children. It should not be undermining parents’ authority.

“If you hear impatience in my voice, I am expressing what I hear from parents all across this country. They come up to me in airports or shopping malls. They tell me that they are angry. They feel that their parental authority is being undermined by the sheer pervasiveness of junk-food advertising and marketing to their kids.

“A senior brand manager at Heinz was quoted in the Wall Street Journal. He said: ‘All of our advertising is targeted to kids. You want that nag factor so that seven-year-old Sarah is nagging mom in the grocery store to buy funky purple. We’re not sure mom would reach out for it on her own.’

“Is it any wonder why a backlash is brewing? A Wall Street Journal poll in February found that 68 percent of American adults believe that advertising to kids is a major contributor to the rising tide poor nutrition and overweight among American children. In the same poll, a clear majority said government should do more to regulate food ads directed at children.

“I believe strongly that when private interests conflict with the public good, government has a responsibility to act. And where corporate responsibility is absent, federal regulation of food marketing directed at children will be necessary.

“As you know, I have a bill that would take us in that direction. But it is still my hope that real restraint will come from within the food and advertising industries. Many stakeholders in the food industry have, in fact, shown a willingness to look at their own marketing practices and to make changes in order to protect children’s health. I have publicly applauded this. At the same time, I have also been deeply disappointed by actions of others in the food and advertising industries who actively – aggressively -- target impressionable children with junk-food advertising.

“My friends, you have a big job ahead of you today and tomorrow. But there is no question in my mind that, in this room, you have the knowledge, expertise, skills, and will to succeed. Likewise – based on my talks with all the major groups represented here -- I am hopeful that there is a sincere will and determination to put the interests of children first, and to hammer out a meaningful, effective approach to self-regulation.

“In particular, I am convinced that the food and advertising industries – with all your resourcefulness and creativity – can be a powerful force for change . . . and for doing good.

“So I wish you all the best. I will be following your deliberations today very closely. And I look forward to working closely with all of you as we go forward.”