Halloween Candy: Spread the Wealth??

I must admit I had very mixed feelings when reading the article below. It discusses a program to collect the Halloween candy of American kids and ship it overseas as a sign of support for our troops. I believe it is important to remember, encourage, and pray for our men and women who are in the military, but doing this using toxic junk like candy poses a bit of a problem.

American kids certainly do not need more candy. I believe it is valuable to teach them about sacrificing in order to meet the needs of others, and in that sense this program has some merit. Sending candy may deliver a message of comfort to the troops, and I'm sure the children overseas who receive it will be happy about it, but nobody should be feeding on this junk. Foreign children will only develop a taste for sweets, and that is not helping them at all in the long run.

Consuming mass amount of sugar is never a good nutritional approach, but the concerns over candy are even greater now due to revelations that some Halloween candy dispersed this year may be contaminated with a chemical called melamine that can cause severe kidney and liver damage, and may potentially cause fatal reactions. It is most often found in candies made in China, and as more imports pour in from China, this is becoming a bigger problem. Please be aware of this potential hazard, and do not let your children consume Halloween candy. It is also advisable to warn others so that they and their children are not exposed. Unfortunately, even though they are aware of this issue, the FDA has chosen not to address it.


Dentists' candy buyback nets half-ton
By Cliff Radel
cradel@enquirer.com

The morning after the night before, hundreds of trick or treaters went to the dentist.

No cavities were filled Saturday at the Covedale office of Dr. Larry Hagen or the Blue Ash office of Dr. Eric Henize.

But bag after bag of candy -- weighing nearly half a ton -- was emptied into boxes bound for American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As part of Hagen's second annual day after Halloween Candy Buyback, the dentists offered to pay $1 per pound of candy.

"But, like last year," Hagen said, "most people just made a donation."

Most people acted like Kerri Kuhn of Loveland. When offered money for her 14-pound bag of sweets, she just gave Henize's staffers a wave of her hand."There is so little I can do for the troops," she said, "I can't take any money."

The dentists only paid out a combined $346 while collecting 964 pounds of candy. Henize received 588 pounds to Hagen's 376 pounds of candy bars and assorted lollipops and bags of pretzels.

The dentists also took in $665 in donations for shipping. Last year, Hagen spent $4,000 of his own money to send 5,940 pounds of candy overseas.

"It's wonderful Dr. Hagen's doing this," said Valerie Miller. She drove to Covedale from Fairfield Township with her children, 6-year-old Kayla and 4-year-old Sydney. They dropped off nine pounds of candy.

"We hope this brings joy to the troops," Miller said. "We know it's going to bring joy to the kids over there because the troops share."

Miller told her children it was better to give the candy than eat it. "This will help kids," she said, "who have a rough, tough life." Kayla and Sydney nodded. But they still eyed their candy as members of Hagen's staff used assembly line efficiency to box, seal and address their sweet gifts.

Each box included thank-you notes from donors to the troops.

After depositing the 14 pounds of Halloween candy her four children gathered in Delhi Township, Mary Meyer added her thanks.

"I thanked the troops and their families for their sacrifices," Meyer said as she sealed the note before it was placed in a box. "I told them to keep up the good work. They are in our prayers."

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081101/NEWS01/311010043