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Carbonated Tears: Soda Companies Keep Crying About NYC's New Law
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 3, 2013
Modified Mar 3, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 3, 2013
Modified Mar 3, 2013
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In just nine days our sodas will be smaller, but that doesn't mean that beverage companies have given up the fight against Mayor Bloomberg's ban on sugary drink sizes. Today, a soft drink "insider" complains in the Post that soda companies "spent huge sums" to alter their manufacturing process so that the bottle sizes would comply with the city's 16 ounce cap in food service establishments. "We have to make capital investments to make a different size in order that retailers have a product within the guidelines," the source said. No price tag was cited, but we're confident that companies like Coca-Cola found the money in the cushions of their $48 billion-dollar couch.
“It’s kind of a silly point to say 16 ounces," the source continues. "There are products that are below that [size] that have a lot more calories.” Maybe! And the law is too porous for our taste. But multiple studies have shown that soda intake is directly linked to obesity, and that calories from sugary drinks like soda are absorbed into the body differently than those we eat. Big Soda should lay off the PR campaign and save their scratch for the courtroom.
Tagged
calories
coke
nanny bloomberg
obesity epidemic
soda ban
sugary drinks
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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