Dear Mr. Selig:
A question: How can you allow a growing number (16 at last count) of your Major League Baseball teams to promote all-you-can-eat tickets at their stadiums while simultaneously claiming "the health and welfare of the country's youth is a top priority for Major League Baseball?"
A little over two years ago, you made that statement while making a big splash by announcing that Major League Baseball (MLB) was supporting First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! fitness and nutrition campaign to attack childhood obesity.
Since that time, you and the majority of MLB teams have become junk food pushers of the worst kind.
The "all-you-can-eat" deals your teams typically offer include hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, nachos, soda, ice cream and popcorn. Some of these promotions have the audacity to emphasize the family-friendly atmosphere in these sections.
For example, the Arizona Diamondbacks' ad copy for these seats of gluttony reads "Family-friendly section features its own private lounge with plenty of space to move around. Conveniently positioned one level below the Sandlot kids area."
It goes on to say that there are "extra-wide seats with added leg room" in these sections. One can only imagine the extra room would be needed if fans regularly attended games in these sections and consumed vast quantities of junk food while cheering on their D-Backs.
As a whole, ballpark food epitomizes the worst of the Standard American Diet (SAD), which has led to our country's obesity epidemic.
The grim reality is we've never been fatter as a country. More than 65 percent of adults in the United States are either overweight or obese.
That's sad. But what's even sadder is our children are on pace to be significantly fatter than we are by the time they reach adulthood. Over the last three decades, the number of overweight adolescents has quadrupled. As a result, children today have a shorter life expectancy than their parents for the first time in 100 years, according to William J. Klish, professor of pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine.
''We are in the middle of an epidemic that may have profound health effects for our children,'' Klish said. ''If society doesn't act now to implement preventative measures, the increase of obesity will not stop.''
We don't think Klish had the all-you-can-eat family junk food sections at MLB ballparks in mind when he mentioned "preventative measures."
Mr. Selig, given your public appearance with Michelle Obama, and your pledge of MLB's support for her Let's Move! campaign's efforts to make better nutrition and increased physical activity a reality for our young people, it would seem you have two choices. One, you could remind your franchise owners of MLB's support of the Let's Move! campaign and ask them to stop the all-you-can-eat sections at their stadiums because they are a threat to public health. Or, two, you could sit back and continue to allow these sections to proliferate.
If you choose number two, you risk being viewed as hypocritical, one who professes to care about our children's welfare but whose actions endanger their health instead.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader, Founder, League of Fans
Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
Cc: Michelle Obama
Office of the First Lady
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
