Should Beyoncé Knowles Either Rescind Her Pepsi Deal or Donate the Proceeds to Charity?

[N'Zinga Shani]

Below are several links to information about obesity, nutrition and health.  Given all the information provided here:

1) Should Beyoncé Knowles rethink her $50 million deal with Pepsi as the soft drink's "brand ambassador?" 

2) Should she go ahead with the agreement she made and then donate the $50 million to fighting obesity and diabetes? or,

3) Should she ignore the call from the nutrition watchdog and go ahead with her Pepsi contract as it is and keep the money?

4) As a celebrity, and an African-American, does Ms. Knowles has any greater responsibility than others to act more responsibly?

Nutrition Watchdog Urges Beyoncé to Drop Pepsi Deal; Or donate proc...
Ad Week, Katy Bachman, 12/18/2012
A nutrition watchdog urged Beyoncé Knowles to rethink her $50 million deal with Pepsi as the soft drink's "brand ambassador." In a letter to the pop star, the Center for Science in the Public Interest told Beyoncé that by lending her name and image to the product, she is linking her "positive attributes with a product that is quite literally sickening Americans" and is associated with weight gain, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/nutrition-watchdog-...

Child Obesity Finally Moving in the Right Direction (Editorial)  

Denver Post, 12/16/2012
California, Mississippi, New York City and Philadelphia are all reporting small decreases in childhood obesity — drops that are attributed, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to "taking comprehensive action" to address the issue. "No single intervention is going to turn us around. It really takes a lot of the changes like Philadelphia has made," Dr. Giridhar Mallya of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, told the foundation. The news serves as a reminder that the message — and action — must come from across our communities. Government and individuals must play a role if we are to make greater strides at addressing this national health issue.

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_22188134/child-obesity-finally...

Containing obesity – Good Information

The Last Course: What Will It Take to Make The World Less Round? (E...  The Economist, 12/15/2012
The unfortunate truth is that no single policy will bring down obesity rates on its own. Societies got fat for a variety of reasons, and individuals, companies and governments must come to grips with all of them to reverse the process.

In Los Angeles the Unified School District Board of Directors are trying to answer that question by including students in the nutrition decision-making process.  Read more at Expanding Young Students’ Role in Nutrition

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21568067-what-will-it-...

 Expanding Young Students' Role in Nutrition
Los Angeles Times, Teresa Watanabe, 12/15/2012
L.A. Unified seeks to add nutrition education to the curriculum, give students more of a voice in what's served and more time to eat.

At Mark Twain Middle School in Los Angeles, a blooming garden serves as a classroom. Students learn math by measuring the growth of wheat, ancient history by building a Mesopotamian-style irrigation system and the science of evaporation, evolution and genetics by watching their garden grow.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-food-lausd-20121215,0,27248...