Blog for all health-conscious: Fooducate Blog - New York Pushes Envelope With XL Soft Drink Ban

Thursday 31 May 2012

Fooducate Blog - New York Pushes Envelope With XL Soft Drink Ban

New York Pushes Envelope With XL Soft Drink Ban

Posted: 31 May 2012 05:15 AM PDT

photo: NY Times

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New York mayor Bloomberg is not giving up on his fight to combat obesity. After failed attempts to impose a soda tax (shot down by the state legislature) and restricting sugary beverage purchase with food stamps (killed by the FDA), it seems the mayor has found a way.

In a groundbreaking move announced yesterday, New York will ban the sale of large sugary drinks (over 16 fluid ounces) in food establishments such as restaurants, movie theaters, delis, food trucks, and street carts. The ban will not affect fruit juice or diet drinks. It will not affect bottled drinks sold in supermarkets and bodegas.

From the New York Times:

"Obesity is a nationwide problem, and all over the United States, public health officials are wringing their hands saying, 'Oh, this is terrible,' " Mr. Bloomberg said in an interview on Wednesday in the Governor's Room at City Hall. "New York City is not about wringing your hands; it's about doing something," he said. "I think that's what the public wants the mayor to do." read more…

The beverage industry is obviously livid and will do everything it can to overturn this ruling:

"The New York City health department's unhealthy obsession with attacking soft drinks is again pushing them over the top," the industry spokesman, Stefan Friedman, said. "It's time for serious health professionals to move on and seek solutions that are going to actually curb obesity. These zealous proposals just distract from the hard work that needs to be done on this front."

Our thoughts:

1. Sugary drinks have zero nutritional benefit. Overconsumption has been associated with obesity. But there are so many other factors that come into play, that the beverage industry can claim that there is not one single cause for this country’s weight gain, and therefore it is not fair to attack soda makers.

2. Sugary soft drinks have become a symbol of obesity caused through excess empty calorie consumption. This move is more symbolic than anything else. But never underestimate the ability of symbols to inspire much more substantial change.

3. We hope this ban, whether it succeeds or not, can snowball into a more systematic approach to solving our obesity epidemic.

Curiously, PepsiCo yesterday announced a new advertising deal with Twitter.

What do you think about the ban?

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