Mayor (of NYC) Bloomberg is looking to pass legislation that bans "big soft drinks" - sugary ones ? 16 oz. It has been the topic of much debate/sarcasm, etc.
One of the "arguments" is that people have a right to be unhealthy/fat, etc.
Like that's a good thing?
I for one, while I embrace personal freedoms, think this is a good thing on many levels
1 - so that kids don't get obese - which is a big problem - for their health and well being and happiness,etc.
2 - health care costs impact can be staggering
wondering what you all t
hink about this
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan...-on-sugary-drinks_b_1563108.html?ref=politics
Dear Gawd, where to start?
A snippet from the linked article above:
We have a responsibility as parents and advocates to keep our kids safe from things that harm them. If we aren't going to do that job, then the government has every right to protect future generations from an epidemic of obesity that could cause serious health problems and reduce the lifespan of our younger generations.
That's absurd! The Government is part of the problem.
For NYC Mayor Bloomberg to suggest that limiting sugaring drinks to 16oz, is like offering a bandaid for a severe mortal wound.
I work in the retail food industry, (
not fast food, there's a distinct difference), but in the industry that's involved with "feeding people," grocery stores, mega-marts, convenience store, and Corporate Agriculture/Food Industry is already stacking the deck against Americans, or anyone else who's desire it is to eat healthy.
Why is so much of what we eat made up of high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sodium, trans fats, partially hydrogenated soy, coconut, peanut, and milk solid fats?
Not because any of that stuff is actually good for us, nutritious, or low in calories, or hearth healthy, but because of "margin."
Not margarine, (another nasty corporate food product), but MARGIN.
Frankly, in my experience, mother nature couldn't possibly keep up with demands to produce any of the products that we eat so the "processed food industry" cuts corners by adding in a lot of scientific words, backed by corporately sponsored University Studies claiming that all of those ingredients are good for us.
Produced in mass volume, and sold to the consumer at an affordable price.
All the while those ingredients; soy beans, corn, and their byproducts; oils, sugars, wheat, grain, and so on, are subsidized commodities of the United States Federal Government.
Walk into any convenience store, or fast food chain and order a "soft drink."
Which ever flavor that you choose that comes out of that nozzle is instantly created by a system that's not directly visible to the public.
In the industry it's called a
Bag In A Box, or BIB for short.
At fast food establishments and your local convenience store, your favorite soft drink arrives in pure syrup form in a bag in a box.
Post-Mix BIB Dispensing systems describes the process better than I can.
A BIB of soft drinks (Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, or whatever) costs wholesale around $25 a box.
Each cup,
the smallest size at convenience stores stores begins as 32oz. and goes up from there, costs the convenience store roughly .04 cents a cup.
The ice making featuring of the dispenser has already been factored in to the cost, and at .96 a refill (if you provide your own container), or on average around $1.29 for a 32oz drink; cup, lid, straw, and plastic lid (compared to upwards of $2 or more for a single 2 liter bottle), the profit
margin, is really hard to beat!
Just drink one of these a day and according to
this website you've already consumed 272 empty calories.
Drink two or three of them a day, and you've already consumed close to half of the recommended daily calorie intake.
So in my view, NYC Mayor Bloomberg is just putting the cart before the horse.
And the argument could be made that he's anti-business, anti-free choice, and a socialist.
), Bloomberg isn't going to do much to solve this issue by limiting soft-drinks in NYC to 16oz other than to pollute your fine city with lots of empty 16oz plastic bottles, and by making the manufacturers of those 16oz drinks rich, while forcing the Mom and Pops who own grocery and convenience stores to send their fat kids to a community college in New Jersey.
