A Look At Teen Food Choices—

Area Students To Be Featured On

‘Good Morning America’

By Nancy K. Crevier

What started out as an ordinary day for four Newtown Middle School students and five students from Bethel High School quickly evolved into quite an extraordinary afternoon on Tuesday, May 30, when they met with Bill Weir, co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America, at the Danbury Fair Mall food court.

Sam Kent, Lauren Powers, Alex Israel, and Nate Crevier of Newtown were caught a little off-guard when Sam’s mother, Katie Kent, called them at school to tell them that ABC was requesting their presence at the mall that afternoon, but it was not a total surprise. The four eighth graders had been on pins and needles for two weeks awaiting the call.

“The segment was originally featuring Eric Scholosser’s book, Chew On This,” said segment producer Jason Stine. “We decided we wanted to do more than just an author interview. We wanted to do an experiment: What do kids eat on a regular basis?”

Chew On This: Everything You Don’t Want To Know About Fast Food by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson is a behind-the-scenes look at the fast food industry geared toward teenagers and based on Schlosser’s best-selling book, Fast Food Nation.

How many cows does it take to make a hamburger? It is not a joke; the answer to that question and many other not-so-savory secrets is revealed in Schlosser and Wilson’s book that they hope will open the eyes of many of the nation’s overindulging, pants-bulging youth.

So how do nine ordinary teens from Connecticut find themselves in the limelight? It’s show biz, kid. It’s who you know.

Myra Leuci lives across the street from the Kent family. Santina Leuci is Myra’s sister-in-law. She is also Diane Sawyer’s producer for Good Morning America. When ABC needed five young people to read the book and discuss it for the show, Ms Leuci knew that her sister-in-law, Myra, lived in a neighborhood ripe for the picking with teenagers. Myra Leuci passed the word along to Sam, and Sam rounded up four of her friends to read Chew On This. Ms Leuci then asked Bethel High School, her alma mater, to recommend five teenagers who would be willing to film a segment for the Good Morning America show.

Kellie Seiban, Emma Gallagher, Caitlyn Daly, Jake Minor, and James Hefner of Bethel stepped up to represent the eating habits of Newtown’s neighbors. What the Newtown students did not know was that the five teens from Bethel did not have to read the book. The Bethel students did not even know about the book. They were simply asked to keep food diaries of all that they ate and videotape their meals and snacks for two days.

“I just kept a video of what I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two days,” said Emma. “I felt weird telling people that I just had to record what I ate for the interview, but I was very excited. I assumed they would be asking about eating habits and what not, but I had no specifics,” she said.

Sam, Lauren, Alex, Nate, and Emily Anderson, who was out of town the day of filming, also kept food diaries and videotaped every bit of food they ate one weekend at the request of producer Jason Stine. Then they waited for the call that would hand them their 15 minutes of fame.

“We saw an interesting variety of what kids eat in the videos [that the kids made],” commented Mr Stine.  “Some had ice cream for dinner or cereal all day. It seems like kids are more conscious, though, about what they eat. But it doesn’t stop kids from having their guilty pleasures.”

Being filmed for a national television show did not faze the group of young people. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect when we got to the mall,” said Sam. “I was a little nervous because I didn’t know the other kids from Bethel.”

While the crew from ABC threaded microphones through their clothing — “That was a little uncomfortable,” commented Sam — the youngsters chatted with Bill Weir.

“He was really nice. I enjoyed [taping the show],” said Lauren.

Nate was not nervous, either. “It didn’t seem like you were on TV. It was fun. We were in a fenced off area of the food court and everyone was watching us. It was pretty cool,” he said.

Bethel students also found themselves fairly calm during the taping of the segment. “I felt very comfortable while they were filming. I’m looking forward to finding out when it will be airing. It was sure a great experience to be a part of,” said Kellie.

Said Emma, “There was a lot of effort put into the taping and people controlling all different aspects, like lighting, sound, and filming. I liked the taping. Bill was very nice and seemed concerned with what we had to say.”

Once the formalities were over, each teenager was given $10 and told to buy themselves something to eat in the food court. From fish and chips to sushi, more than a dozen options present themselves at the Danbury Fair Mall food court. Many of the offerings are fast food. The questions du jour were how much influence does news have on how teens eat and would Chew On This readers be influenced by their reading, said Mr Stine.

Having just finished reading Chew On This, Sam and Lauren steered clear of the Golden Arches and settled on Mexican fare. “Nate wanted a Big Mac, just because he had never had one, but Lauren and I talked him out of it,” said Sam.

Alex chose a plain piece of cheese pizza and a Sprite. “I don’t normally eat fast food anyway,” she confessed, but after reading the book, she is even less inclined to do so. “This generation of kids seems more aware of food choices, what’s good and what’s bad. Even the kids who didn’t read the book made pretty healthy choices,” she observed.

“I picked a slice of mushroom pizza, which is one of my favorites, and a peach Snapple, which I also adore,” commented Emma. “My diet is kind of a mix. I don’t eat a ton of fast food, but I have a weakness for chocolate. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables,” she said, so she simply went for the kinds of things in the food court that she would normally eat.

Lauren Powers definitely felt that reading the book influenced how she spent her $10. “I did not want to go near fast food or order meat. The book talked about how one hamburger could come from a hundred cows. It’s really processed and the animals are mistreated in the slaughterhouses.”

“I don’t eat meat anywhere except at home now,” agreed Sam.

Just hearing the Newtown students discuss points of the book that focused on animal treatment and food practices in the fast food industry was enough to change Emma’s mind about the food she eats. “After hearing about all the facts from the book, I was totally grossed out. Not so much at what I picked, but things that I never really paid attention to [before hearing what the Newtown kids had read].”

Not everyone who read Chew On This was swayed by the startling facts contained in the book. Nate’s take on the book was a bit different from that of his friends’.

“My eating choices at fast food places will be a little influenced by the book, but it won’t stop me from getting something. At home, we are vegetarians, so I don’t eat any red meat at home. But when I’m not [at home] I try to get as much meat as I can because I really like it.”

He admitted, however, that he will stop and think before he orders meat at a fast food place. “I read in the book that they feed cows leftover cow pieces from other dead cows and the slaughterhouses are really cruel. It’s pretty gross.”

Nate’s $10 went for fries and pretzel dogs at Nathan’s Famous. “I chose it because Nathan’s has the best fries. And it has the same name as me,” he explained.

“Bill Weir seemed surprised by the choices we all made,” said Alex. “I think he expected to see more bad choices.”

Mr Schlosser and Mr Wilson can rest assured, however, that some kids will Chew On This.

“After hearing all of the facts from the book, I was totally grossed out,” said Emma. “I haven’t bought lunch at my school since [we filmed the segment]. I remember being in line and going to get a cheeseburger and then backing off after what I learned. I am interested in reading the book, but I’m also a little scared at what I’ll find out!”

An airtime for the segment had not been announced by the time The Bee went to press. Program schedules for Good Morning America are listed at www.wchstv.com/schedule/schedule04.shtml.