Judge stops NYC large soda ban one day before it takes effect: Jeff Bogle argues that regulation can’t curb our dumbness
I just ate a rich, buttery coffee cake from a convenience store. This food consumption decision was a mistake, and I knew it from the moment I grabbed the rectangular piece of wax paper required to airlift the crumbly breakfast treat out of its well-lit case. I will pay for this AM error in a couple of hours, if you know what I mean. Yet I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I applaud the noble intention behind Michael Bloomberg’s failed-for-now push to rid New York City of gigantic sodas. I successfully gave up soda three years ago, and my throat and digestive system continue to thank me. No one should ingest any of that swill, let alone 32 or 64 ounces of it at a time. But then again, no one should probably be eating Cheetos or Double Stuff Oreos either. That said; don’t argue that the mayor’s ambitious efforts aren’t good-natured. Wanting people to be healthier isn’t the work of an evil man. The problem is, Mayor Bloomberg’s focus is misplaced. It is not the movie theaters and food carts of Manhattan that need to fight obesity on our behalf. It is we, the fat idiots who continue lining up to throw down what the soft drink and snack food industry is selling us, who must take up the cause. We the informed people of the 21st century need to demand better of ourselves and of the food and drink marketplace.
We are dumb, and there is no amount of regulation that will help with that problem.
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With an internet connection in our pockets, we are seconds away from breaking news on uprisings in Mali, black smoke from the papal conclave, and knowing in real time which gas station along a route is offering the cheapest rate on unleaded fuel. Neither government nor industry should be charged with protecting adults living in the information age from damaging themselves with their poor food choices. There is simply no longer an excuse for not knowing what is inside the food and drinks we buy, devour, and provide to our families, because we are all two clicks away from the ugly truth behind the foods and beverages on our tables, and their impact on our bodies. Yet many of us still order 64 ounces of Pepsi and eat convenience store coffee cakes. And many more of us are not having the essential discussions about food, drinks, and nutrition with our children.
We are dumb, and there is no amount of regulation that will help with that problem.
Let me be clear right here that my stance on this issue isn’t informed by a political party affiliation. I am a personal responsibility liberal, a fictional paradox party if ever there was one. And yes, it is often confusing being me.
Food education instead of mandated elimination is a potential option, albeit a more nebulous one that is admittedly difficult to quantify the success of. Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to assist his city in being less obese now and in the future might be better spent by finding new ways of informing residents about the short and long term impacts of their food consumption habits. For example, in my grade school health class, I saw images of what lungs looked like after years of cigarette smoking. The result: I’ve never smoked, not one single cig. Maybe if there was also slide on what my stomach and digestive system would look like after a lifetime of soda drinking or coffee cake munching, I’d have steered clear of those as well and I wouldn’t need to write TUMS on my weekly shopping lists.
The point is, we adults need to care more about what is in the food we eat, demand with our purchasing power less processed and artificial junk from the corporations providing us with that food, and make better food and drink choices for ourselves and our families every single day. And our kids need to learn from a young age to take care of themselves, by having good conversations with us, the informed adults in their life, and maybe sitting down for a 4th grade slideshow presentation with graphic images of our insides after years of neglect. Like cigarettes and me, that alone might positively impact some children for life.
To only limit the ounces of soda folks are permitted to have in a single serving will just have people making multiple trips to the snack counter, thus missing key parts of their movie. And the exercise involved with those extra steps won’t nearly counterbalance the empty calories consumed.
—photo credit: neomodernist via photopin cc
I do not drink soda , in fact, no alcohol either. My favorite drink is water.
Having said that , it is not my personal business if someone wants to drink 1 trillion sodas an hour.
Too much government telling people what to do or not to do is SUPER SIZED problems.
Great stuff, Rachel. Worth looking in to. Thank you, sincerely. I think your entire argument is framed around the poorest of the poor though, and not to say that they are not worth discussion here, but this issue is larger than just them. There are millions of middle class families buying and eating and drinking pure shit too. I reckon you’d agree that they don’t suffer from the same lack of access to better quality food, drinks, and information. I usually hate the slippery slope tact in debates, but today big soda, then what? The Cheetos and Oreos I mention?… Read more »
I appreciate the back and forth. What I’m really arguing is that individual choices are constrained by systems and structures. The attempt at curbing choice with 64 oz drinks is an attempt to change structures and institutions that allow corporations to sell whatever they want even if it contributes—essentially to death–with hypertension, blood pressure etc this argument isn’t too far fetched. For me it is the exact opposite question to your how do we make health profitable–but how to do we make poor health un-profitable. I’m not really referring to the poorest of the poor, almost every high density community… Read more »
It’s called a food desert. Its well documented in Academia, it is not a crutch or a fallacy– words often spoken by people who don’t live in these places. But the cost is not the only factor- the proximity to your house, even the privilege to spend time cooking for your family- all of these are factors. You can even look at Cory Booker’s journey on food stamps and his inability to access properly nutritious and filling foods. Or you can read… Cultivating Food Justice- maybe just the book for you– talks about the food justice movements, accessibility, affordability, food… Read more »
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for this info. I looked for Cultivating Food Justice on my library’s system but no results. Is it “Weighing in : obesity, food justice, and the limits of capitalism” by Julie Guthman ?? I put that on hold as it sounds intriguing as well.
I left a longer comment in reply but it was awaiting moderation and has no vanished. Damn.
Rachel, the ‘people cannot afford better food’ argument is an absolute fallacy. It is an excuse and a crutch. There are farmer’s markets in inner cities selling apples and carrots that cost less than cookies and potato chips. There are grocery stores, real ones selling real food, in inner cities and also in rural parts of America. A typical grocery store rotisserie chicken, 1 jar of gravy, 4 baking potatoes, and a bag of frozen peas costs WAY less than a fast food meal for a family of 4. My wife’s family lived in a super terrible part of South… Read more »
If a government wants to intervene to promote healthy habits, it has proven most effective on the supply side ie taxing the ingredients that make it unhealthy, high fat, high sugar products. For instance:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/world/europe/hungary-experiments-with-food-tax-to-coax-healthier-habits.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
A typical grocery store rotisserie chicken, 1 jar of gravy, 4 baking potatoes, and a bag of frozen peas costs WAY less than a fast food meal for a family of 4. I think the “people can’t afford better food” argument can be a fallacy or crutch, but I don’t think it’s as absolute as you do. In the above example, you’re comparing cost of raw ingredients to cost of a ready-made meal with very few strings attached. I bet that fast food meal for 4 would be cheaper if you just totalled the cost of the raw ingredients to… Read more »
Hi Marcus, I was actually comparing the cost of a cooked chicken which my local discount grocer sells for $4.99. Then, to cook potatoes and frozen peas, you’d need a microwave, a pot and some water. And a working stove or at least electricity to run the microwave. And maybe 5-7 minutes. True, some may not have even that, but I have to imagine that is a rather small % of even those below the poverty line. I could put together lots of other low-cost, quick-to-no-prep healthier meals for families too. That is just the easiest example I came up… Read more »
I agree with your main point. It was mainly the “absolute” think I was nitpicking, but I agree those most dire of circumstances probably aren’t so common as to cancel out your point that in many cases, there are affordable healthier options if people have the eduction and drive to look for them. While I have no problem seeing why massive sugary drinks are bad for people, it’s hard to get behind legislating against them when cigarettes and other harmful substances remain legal and usually easy to get.
This is a horribly misinformed article about food and food access. The privilege of your life is clearly apparent in the words you speak. The reality of food consumption in the U.S is some people aren’t given healthy options, neither in their neighborhoods nor in the amount they are paid- limiting their access and choice in what they buy. Corporations that make profit from selling these huge drinks, at the expense of peoples health are in the wrong. Having a government that limits corporate profit in making us sick, is a step in the right direction, even if it is… Read more »
I agree with most of the things you said. Education is the key, not limitations on choice. The U.S.A. was founded on liberty and the freedom to choose what is right for us. A conflict arises when those freedoms infringe upon the happiness and well-being of other people. Take the smoking ban for example. I am, to my chagrin, still a smoker. I smoked a pack a day for half of my life. When my son was young, I smoked in the car with him in his car seat, smoked in our home and even smoked at his bedside while… Read more »