The New York City Soda Debate

coconut strawberry healthy smoothie 

The proposed Bloomberg soda ban on sodas larger than 16 ounces will unduly affect the poorest and least healthy in the city and even if it is meant to help them, won't they just haul those big bodies up and, as Bill Maher said "waddle" to the counter for another one?  And, presumably the price of two 16 ounce sodas is greater than the 7-11 Big Gulp and other fast food supersaver priced extremely large drinks, so basically the sellers of the crappy drinks will get even more profits at the expense of our poorest least healthy residents. It may seem ludicrous that anyone would want such a thing as 32 ounces of soda (McDonald's large with 86 grams of sugar) or even more but, let's face it, only the addicted and the less educated New Yorkers buy these drinks. Frankly, of my neighborhood friends, not a single one buys big sodas. It is a socioeconomic thing; not only because the soda is cheap, but there is a group (millions strong) already addicted to the cheap soda and more of those who do not know better continue to fall into that trap every day. The pleasure trap of a sugary drink can get anyone to develop an addiction.

whisking matcha powder

matcha (green tea) with raw buckwheat honey, 4 grams of sugar

The bargain of the huge drinks makes people think they are getting a deal. If healthcare costs in any way reflected dumb things people do this problem would quickly be eradicated. But our healthcare system (probably rightfully) places no responsibility on the consumer of the healthcare. Thin vegans who exercise and pay more for food pay the same insurance premiums as their fat coworkers who fall asleep at their desk with a doughnut in their hand and a Starbucks drink with 500 calories on their desk. They may have markers for serious disease, be "prediabetic", etc. We tend to view point systems as unfair; we do not reward the person who never needs a doctor visit. And as a result, we view healthcare as free, for most people it is either a benefit (and a person can not say no and take the cash instead normally although they may choose among plan options) or they rely on medicare / medicaid programs. If we had to pay for the doctor when the sickness is a lifestyle based sickness we might treat health differently. I am all for universal coverage for sickness, catastrophic illnesses and even other things people choose like immunizations. I would be incredibly in favor of healthcare coverage for PREVENTION EDUCATION (nutrition).  But aren't most of our premiums just paying for the fat people at this point? 4 billion dollars in healthcare for overweight New Yorkers! I do see the public health issue and I want to help them, and I think I have helped quite a few.  No one wants to be overweight.  But I think I value freedom and individual civil liberties more in this case. If it were proven that smaller drinks would mean they take in less in a day, if they were forbidden to buy another or forbidden to stop by McDonald's for an angus bacon and cheese (790 calories, 13 grams of sugar and 2070 mg of sodium...wow, I see why one would want a big drink) on the way home, great. But wow, the restriction on freedom and they are already addicts.  


Making drugs illegal seems not to have cured drug addiction.  People will always find their fix.  The answer to obesity lies in each person's relationship with food, what they know about it, what they let themselves taste and buy, what they can afford and how their taste buds cause reactions in their brain.  Aaahh, the pleasure trap.  Really, read the book. (Lisle & Goldhamer, The Pleasure Trap).  Addiction that causes obesity (adipose tumor if you want to think of it as such) is a disease in itself whether the obesity has appeared yet or not.

Furthermore, the soda ban would not be necessary if the Farm Bill and other federal laws did not so explicitly favor large agribusinesses that market commodities for digestion. Cheap corn, soy, milk and meat are the bread and butter of the Farm Bill. Small farms lose out, can not compete and struggle while huge corporations grow corn for corn syrup, basically they grow your soda. The people eating at fast food restaurants can afford those foods because they are cheap and they are cheap because they are subsidized. For example, it is really quite costly to raise livestock, or it would be without the bill.  So, yes, my tax money goes toward the system that makes antibiotic drugged animals into fatty cheeseburgers and makes corn into corn syrup, two of the most unhealthy foods in existence.

A better policy would be better education.  Programs everywhere are encouraging healthy eating and they are working.  They just need to reach the mainstream average working class American.  What if the Farm Bill money (and it is a boatload) went to education not to growing commodities. Instead of giving poor small and organic farmers the money, just make it a level playing field.  Let big agribusiness lose all of its subsidies, benefits, tax cuts, political power and see if maybe smaller farms can have a chance.  An education push creates demand for organics, produce and diversified offerings...the success in the New York City schools exposed to healthy lunches is amazing.  Where I worked last year, kids went home and asked for black bean and chick pea dishes with kale and salad because through education and a vegetarian lunch option the kids were exposed to better food.  Once I was in a nutrition lecture and the doctor speaking had met a boy who had never had a grape and was shocked to hear they could be purchased at some grocery stores.  The bodega corner stores have lacked fresh food for a long time but they are trying to remedy the problem.  And the Farm Bill undermines their purchasing power.


So, while public health is so incredibly important, especially for me who celebrates events with kale chips for everyone, it is a free country with rights to sell, eat and drink whatever.  If we are so concerned about our obesity crisis why make foods that cause obesity a bargain? So hats off to anyone who does decrease his soda intake to 16 ounces, it is a step in the right direction.  However, since we can not bank on eventually outlawing all junk food, I think we can EDUCATE and LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD.  


Farm Bill info:
http://agriculture.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=1227&LSBID=1271
http://www.farmbillfacts.org/
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/farm-bill-2012/