Phipps conservatory is banning soda pop because it makes kids fat. Here is the press release they sent out today.
Phipps Takes Firm Stand against Childhood Obesity and Boldly Eliminates Soda from its Cafe
Pittsburgh’s premier public garden “walks the walk” when it comes to healthy foods.Pittsburgh, Pa. – In a bold move, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens announced that as of Sept. 30, 2011, it will no longer sell soda in its café. This decision, made in the wake of the public garden’s involvement in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to curb childhood obesity, aligns perfectly with its mission, which encompasses concern for both people and the planet.
While soda turns a good profit, it does so at the expense of our children who, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, can take in about 150 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugar from just 12 ounces of cola. With childhood obesity rates on the rise—and one third of all children born in or after the year 2000 facing diabetes, while others will struggle with heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma according to Let’s Move!—Phipps saw an opportunity to make a difference by eliminating these unhealthy beverages from its café.
“Our mission at Phipps is to connect people to the important role that plants play in our lives and to promote environmentally-responsible lifestyles and practices,” says Phipps Executive Director Richard Piacentini. “The most important ways that people and plants interact is through the food we eat and the biggest impact on our health and the environment is made through the way that interaction is currently taking place. Our industrialized, factory farm food system and highly-processed products are destructive to the environment and our bodies, and disconnect us from nature. In this respect, promoting healthy and responsibly-produced foods is right up our alley and ties in seamlessly with all of our other greening efforts up to, and including, our construction of a living building.”
In addition to eliminating soda, and replacing it with refreshing drinks made with filtered seltzer water and freshly-squeezed fruit juice, and containing less than 40 calories, Café Phipps operates with visitor health in mind in other ways, too. Dedicated to offering meals for adults and children alike that are centered on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other minimally processed foods, Café Phipps does not offer the typical fried fare found at many attractions, but rather ingredients that were grown with care for the environment and contribute to the health of the community. Café Phipps’ commitment to sustainable practices has also led to its certification by the Green Restaurant Association in 2009.
Another expression of the organization’s commitment to healthy choices, Phipps will host two upcoming symposia: Let’s Move Pittsburgh: Leading the Way to Healthy Lifestyles for Children on Oct. 12, and Feeding the Spirit: Museums, Food and Community on Oct.13, 2011. Let’s Move Pittsburgh, a regional event made possible by Phipps, UPMC Health Plan and the Heinz Endowments, will bring change-makers together to discuss best practices for and barriers to making Southwestern Pa. one of the healthiest places in the nation for children to live. Similarly, Feeding the Spirit—a national symposium of the American Public Gardens Association; Association of African American Museums; Association of Children’s Museums; and the Center for the Future of Museums, an initiative of the American Association of Museums—will bring together food and policy experts with U.S. museum and public garden leaders to strategize and identify ways to tackle community food issues.
To learn more about Café Phipps and its mission, please visit www.phipps.conservatory.org . More information about Let’s Move Pittsburgh and Feeding the Spirit can also be found at www.letsmovepittsburgh.organd www.aam-us.org respectively. ABOUT PHIPPSBuilt by Henry W. Phipps in 1893 at the height of Pittsburgh’s industrial prowess, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has evolved from the nation’s first teaching conservatory to a distinguished eco-champion among America’s 500 public gardens.Phipps’ mission is to inspire and educate visitors with the beauty and importance of plants; to advance sustainability and worldwide biodiversity through action and research; and to celebrate its historic glasshouse.Phipps is open daily from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fridays until 10 p.m. Adults, $12; Seniors 62 and older and students with valid ID, $11; children 2-18, $9; children under 2, free.For more information, call 412/622-6914 or visit phipps.conservatory.org.###
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