Lobbyist Run Non-Profit Scams

Rachel Maddow is pretty awesome.  She tells it like it is.  Listen to her dish it out against the Center for Consumer Freedom.  Really, that should be “consumer freedom“:

If you are further interested in what a crackpot Richard Berman is, you can find out about him and his expertise at bermanexposed.com.  Essentially, there are a [...]

October 5, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health, Politics  No Comments

Soda Taxes Part Two – The Industry Creates A Citizens Coalition

Does the potential revenue from soda taxes persuade anyone to give anyone a second thought?

Not a chance, says the group Americans Against Food Taxes.  Americans Against Food Taxes is a “coalition of concerned citizens” that is strictly opposed to the sweetened beverage taxes.  However, on more than cursory view, you find that it is actually [...]

September 30, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics, Science & Technology  No Comments

Soda Tax Revenue Projections

I’m not advocating for or against soda taxes at this point (though, earlier I was definitely against the idea).  There are many pros and cons to this issue that need to be studied further before any actual implementation.  Plus, there are other avenues of curbing soda consumption that should be considered.  For instance, ending subsidies [...]

September 28, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health  One Comment

Stop Picking On Soda, Says American Beverage Association

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene started its new campaign against sweetened beverages.  In an effort to curb obesity by getting people to think about their caloric intake, posters ask “Are you pouring on the pounds?”

To many public health officials, soda and other sweetened beverages are the scourge of obesity.  They [...]

September 2, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics  5 Comments

Soda Tax, An Idea That’s Bubbling All Over

Everyone is excited about soda taxes, except for the soda companies and me. Kelly Brownell, a longtime obesity researcher at Yale, and Thomas Frieden, the New York City health commissioner wrote a persuasive argument (pdf) for the imposition of soda taxes in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that has [...]

May 22, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics, Science & Technology  2 Comments

Water Water Everywhere, But Everyone’s Drinking Soda

This is a second inquiry into the links between drinking soda and obesity rates.  It follows High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Its Place in the Obesity Epidemic:
Consumption of sugary drinks has been on the rise since the 1970’s and it is though to be a key factor in the simultaneous rise in obesity rates.  Frighteningly, soda and [...]

May 13, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Science & Technology  No Comments

Soda Taxes, In Review

The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has just published its analysis of the debate surrounding soda taxes.  Policy makers in at least 40 states have already implemented such measures in order to curb obesity and related health problems. The Rudd Report (pdf) is an easy to read, objective review of the health and [...]

March 4, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics  One Comment

Pepsi To Begin Using Actual Sugar In Their “Throwback” Campaign

Beginning in April, PepsiCo is introducing Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, “which features those brands formulated with sugar” (link). I love how using actual sugar is considered a “throwback” by the Pepsi Beverage Venders (PBV). Using the term throwback implies that we are technologically regressing. It’s as though using real sugar [...]

February 18, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Health, Science & Technology  4 Comments

Mexican Coke: Taste the Sugar Cane

A friend recently purchased an illicit bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola in these very United States.  Since distributing Mexican versions of soft drinks in the US can bring about severe litigation, I should not like to take chances with his liberty (link).  Thus, in order to protect his identity, he shall be named only by [...]

February 6, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Fun Food Facts  3 Comments

Coke Gets Sued for Advertising VitaminWater as Healthy

Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a class-action lawsuit against Coca-Cola, the parent company of Glaceau Vitamin Water. Vitamin Water, says CSPI, makes sugary drinks that promote obesity but positions these products as healthful because they contain added vitamins and herbs. Does this make them healthier? No, but [...]

January 20, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics  No Comments