What with all the turmoil occurring in the U.S. this past week, smaller news events are bound to have less of an impact on the public.
While I am shaken by our foreign affairs and the hasty remarks made by government officials, there is an event of an entirely different nature that has me ready to take up my pitchfork. On Thursday, the New York City Board of Health voted to limit the amount of sugared beverages served in restaurants to 16 ounces.
After reading this in The Dallas Morning News, my initial reaction was to make sure I hadn’t picked up the National Enquirer. I mean, really? In the United States of America? The land of the free? This law is appalling on so many levels. For starters, I could probably buy a car with the money I’ve spent on Route 44 Vanilla Dr Peppers.
I fully understand that nobody needs that much soda, but that’s the beauty of it. I am a human being with a brain and if I decide that I want to poison my body with 44 ounces of sweet artificially colored caramel goodness then I will. At least I finish my drink with the satisfaction that I was able to spend my money on what I wanted without having Big Brother breathing down my neck in the same fashion that my mother would if she had any idea I was consuming that much soda. But enough about me.
Let’s put this in perspective. The government is just looking out for us, right? I can just hear Uncle Sam saying “you don’t know what’s best for you, child.” To which I would respond “you’re not my real dad!” in a fourteen-year-old manner. The truth of the matter is that we do know what’s best for us. I’ve never met a person who was under the impression that liquefied sugar had any health benefits. There are just times that we really don’t care if it’s healthy or not.
The government may believe this is a step in fighting obesity, but there would have to be a million other steps taken to actually make an impact. Do they not realize that the 16 ounces of soda is likely to be accompanied by a burger and fries? Or that the obese soda drinker may not even know what a treadmill looks like? The real kicker is that anyone can get a 2-liter bottle of Coke from the grocery store and drink the entire thing while sitting on the couch with a large pizza.
Essentially, all the City of New York has done is thrown its weight around and harmed businesses that capitalize on selling industrial sized tubs of soda and venti soy lattes. That’s right, coffee lovers. I hope the grande is enough to feed your addiction.
On a more serious note, it is important to realize that we have given our government the right to regulate our daily affairs by accepting universal health care with open arms. We are on a very slippery slope. We accept its health care and it has access to how we maintain our health. A smaller portion of soda is really not a huge deal, but whatever happens next might be.
There is no way that reducing the serving sizes of soda is going to make an impact on the obesity epidemic considering all of the other factors. If you want to go home and drink a melted stick of butter, you better do it while you can. Who knows how long it will be before we’re all on the same meal plan.
Thrall is a sophomore majoring in journalism.
