Pepsi, Coke support health, lobby against it
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have given millions to prominent health groups in recent years while spending millions to defeat legislation to reduce soda intake, reports the New York Times. According to a new medical journal study, the beverage industry has built deep financial ties to the health community as part of a strategy to silence critics and build allies against soda regulations.
The American Beverage Association said its actions "are contributing to addressing the complex challenge of obesity." PepsiCo complains that it has been "incorrectly painted as a 'soda company'" when three-quarters of its revenue come from other products, including wholesome, heart-healthy breakfast foods made at its Cedar Rapids Quaker Oats plant.
So here's my opinion about sugary drinks and taxing them. It's dumb. Seriously. And, on top of that, it's hypocritical to jump and down and scream about how "bad" sugary drinks are and do nothing about beer. Does not the majority of beers have calories? Oh, but kids don't drink beer - they drink pop and that's what causes obesity.
No.
You know what causes obesity among kids?
Parents giving their kids sugary drinks.
This is the beginning of a nanny state - where I am penalized for my choice. If you want to be really serious about all of this, make cigarettes illegal. Make booze illegal.
Oh, wait. America tried that. And how did that go... Ah, it was repealed because American wanted to allow us to have the right to choose whether we wanted a drop of booze. To me, and not just because I drink too much Mountain Dew, it's the same type of thing. I don't need "someone" to tell me what I'm doing is unhealthy. That is on me - my responsibility - to know what I put into my body. I've seen the little Ziploc bags of how much sugar is in a can of Pepsi & Mountain Dew. I know what I'm doing. I may not be doing "healthy" but I really do know - at some level - what I am putting in my body. I don't have to have someone else tell me what I'm doing is legal, but unhealthy, and so I must pay more for it. If it's so damn bad for me, why not outlaw it?
Oh, yes, again, that was tried and it failed.
Let me choose and don't penalize me.
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