Tell Health and Human Services: Fire Shrek

November 20, 2009 Subject: Dear Secretary Leavitt, I am writing to urge you to remove Shrek from his role as spokescharacter for the Department of Health and Human Services' healthy lifestyles and childhood obesity campaign. For the upcoming movie Shrek the Third, there are seventeen separate food promotions featuring seventy-five different products, including McDonald's Happy Meals, Kellogg's Marshmallow Froot Loops cereal, Keebler E.L. FudgeDouble Stuffed cookies, "ogre-sized" Peanut Butter M&M's, Cheetos, and Kellogg's Frosted S'Mores Pop Tarts. Many of the promotions are targeted directly to preschoolers and children as young as two. There is a conflict of interest inherent in simultaneously promoting junk food and public health. Why would young children follow Shrek's advice about healthy living and ignore his entreaties to eat Happy Meals and Pop Tarts? Surely HHS can find a better spokesperson for healthy living than a character that is a walking advertisement for McDonald?s, sugary cereals, cookies, and candy. I urge you to stop partnering with the purveyors of junk food and start advocating for policies that protect children from commercial exploitation. We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code* Send an Email