Big gulp
Coconut Point mall, Bonita Springs
Getting back to the subject of the obesity epidemic in the States...
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi distributors agreed to halt nearly all soda sales to public schools by the year 2009! According to the plan, the schools will only sell water, diet soda, unsweetened juice and sport drinks, as well as fat-free and low-fat milk.
Just this one policy can add years to the lives of 35 million young people!
17 comments:
I love the colors - beautiful pastels.
About 15 years ago (give or take), the only meal many kids got was a school breakfast & lunch.
Now we are battling obesity, go figure.
What a hideous sight. How did things come to this :)
Planet Earth Daily Photo.
i wish restaurants too will do something about free soda refills!!!
Nice photo. When you look at the machine it just looks out of place. But I bet they make lots of money from it.
My wife, Patty, and I have been married for 52 years today. Imagine that.
52 married years
Why will it take them until 2009 to halt sales?
If they know they should halt sales, why not do it now?
Money, money money money.....
The machine is just horrible in front of that pretty background. I read in the UK they are now talking about taxing food and drink that isn't healthy (that's a generalisation, of course) but that strikes me as a good idea. Hurt them in the pocket!
I wish I didn't like Diet Coke but I adore it. I drank it for breakfast for a while on hot summer mornings but have now broken myself of the habit. I do hate to see young children drinking soda. Who knows what it is doing to their bodies?
@frank - they need two years to think up another way...
@jill - if I was being cynical I would say that taxing was a way for the government to make money out of peoples weaknesses. I'm not sure that the duty on tobacco in the UK had as much an effect on improving health as it did on improving the exchequer's bank balance, which they could then spend on nuclear submarines and the Iraq war
perfect ;o]
Richard - raising the tobacco tax hurts the low income folks most. Smoking is very common in that group.
When you watch a sporting event in the US, the signs in the stadium & the commercials are overwhelmingly for alcohol - & drinking in the stadium is fine. I'd rather sit next to a smoker than a drunk.
Don't want to be cynical, but by 2009 they will have moved their soda sales elsewhere in the global village...
GMG is probably right, and who knows if any of us will still be here after The Shift which could happen at any time? Oh well, let's live it up while we're here by being healthy and promoting awareness. I'm not a soda drinker, but I like it that you're attempting to wake folks up.
Hi Isabella - I haven't been on here in awhile as we're in the states travelling around, but linked in through my brother's MN site tonight. I was interested in the obesity facts that you shared in both todays and July 2nds post, as that is nearly the first thing my husband and I notice when we come back each summer..."wow, everyone is so FAT." Sad, but true.
~Lisa in Quito, but really in Chicago right now ;)
It's the sugar and refined foods that we serve today. oh! And the inactivity of our lifestyle.
There needs to be more fresh veggies and more exercise...for ME. :-)
I agree with Ming -- all the sugars, fats and additives, combined with inactivity. As I commented on Abraham's blog, what's HFCS doing in potato chips with paprika flavor?
Anyway, regarding the smaller portions they tried at Ruby Tuesdays and faced a loss of customers: did they reduce the price of the food in proportion? I like the handful of restaurants in Switzerland (such as Tibits, the one Richard has featured on his blog) where you can buy by the kilo. I guess one can also do that at places like the Whole Foods Markets in the US, but they don't really have a restaurant set-up.
On this topic, I just recently heard an interview with Barbara Kingsolver about her new book where she writes about going back to the land. Almost made me interested in trying to find a copy of the book to read.
Z in Villigen, totally appreciating the fabulous water (near the sources) we have here. I don't know why the locals buy bottled water -- what a scam, if you ask me!
@nikon - exactly, that's what makes it even worse and hypocritical.
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