Illogical Campaigns Against Vending Machines

Vending machines are ingenious inventions that come in all sizes and shapes giving customized and quick services in efficient manner at a cheap cost. In recent times, there has been a rigorous campaign to kick soda vending machines out of schools in the US owing to the perceived problem of increment of obesity among many American children.

Soda vending machines should be included in schools but in the teachers lounge because for them (teachers), are mature enough to make decisions about their health. Contained therein in this paper are arguments in favor of this proposition and misconception of the same through facts that are present and are hard to ignore.

For starters, these vending machines generate a lot of income for student organizations. A survey released at Roosevelt showed that these machines raked in about $40,000 in a recent year. Elimination of the machines from schools may result in the bankruptcy of student programs that depended on revenues from the vending machines.

Closely related to this is the fact that these machines might be supplying less than par calories but this can not possibly eliminate obesity in the American society. Vending machines might be a part of the problem, but their contribution is negligible because obesity problems start at home with unhealthy eating habits of living on fast foods only.

These campaigns are about patronizing students by parents and school administration in their thinking that they know what is best for them and forgetting that these students can choose for themselves from a rich menu of drinks that is offered by these machines.

These students are aware of the side effects that are associated with consumption of sodas and many parents think that the machines only sell drinks that contain over added artificial sugars. In these same machines, you get sugar free diet sodas with no calories, bottled water, juices and even milk which are as popular as any other carbonated drink.

Another baseless argument for banning vending machines in schools is to rid our schools of commercialism claiming that this is detrimental to students learning. This is a very interesting argument that borders absurdity and ridicule. US is a capitalist country and the current culture trend supports this idealism through splashing of the whole country with advertisements from our TVs in our living rooms to erection of billboards on every available space in out cities.

Soda companies are not the only companies that have their advertisement in our school but we have other companies erecting their billboards in schools like Nike cloth line labels. Most of the materials that we use in classes come with signatures of the manufacturing companies which then defeat the nonsensical idea of routing commercialism from our schools.

Conclusion

Important and vital concerns have been raised about the influence of unhealthy sodas in our schools which might be contributing to the glide into abyss of obesity of obesity by the American society.

Sodas are healthier compared to plain water available in taps and therefore it is better to take a soda than nothing. About riding commercialism from our schools, this is an argument that neglects to address other commercialism through advertisements that surround students around school and at home.

The bid to kick vending machines from our schools is a campaign that tackles real concerns about obesity and commercialism in our society but from the wrong angle. This will only result in failure of the noble cause and therefore there is no point of denying our students much needed services of the machines and also the revenues associated with them.