From Candy to Cali

It's been an absolutely gorgeous week in Seattle. Yesterday was so clear that I got caught in traffic leaving my house and was late for school. As I inched up the block I wondered what the deal was - an accident? a stalled car? As I inched along toward the top of the street I saw what it was that was distracting drivers - a perfect view of Mt. Rainier surrounded by the rainbow hues cast by the rising sun along the horizon. A very good reason to take pause.

The view of Rainier from Tolmie Peak, July 2010.

On days like this I am grateful to be in Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest, nestled between the Cascades and the Olympics, Mt. Baker to the north, Rainier to the south. I try to remember this when the rain is cold and relentless, the sky gray and unforgiving. I also try to remember this when stupid things happen, like the passage of Initiative 1107: the repeal of the soda-candy tax this past week. The tax, which was implemented this past June, taxed soft drinks and candy produced by Washington state companies in the amount of about two cents per can of soda. The revenue was deposited into a general fund, intended for no specific programs, but to generate funds for education, human services and corrections, areas at risk for budget cuts. The groups rallying against this tax found enough signatures to make its way to the ballot and, with the financial support of the American Beverage Association, created an apparently effective tv ad campaign making outrageous claims about the tax raising prices of groceries and affecting local growers. For my first time voting in a Washington state election it was a bit of a letdown.

Meanwhile the city of San Francisco made news with it "ban" on the Happy Meal. Technically the meal itself wasn't banned, but specific nutritional guidelines were voted into place for meals that offer an "incentive item" to children and not surprisingly the signature McDonald's meal does not meet them. They could theoretically reformulate the meal to adhere to the guidelines, which require that the meal have less than 600 calories (!!!) but NPR reports that: The fast-food chain says research shows the proposal is "unrealistic" because kids aren't likely to eat the sorts of meals stipulated by the ordinance.

Inspired by San Francisco's initiative I've decided to abandon Seattle and head south for the weekend..off to Cali!

Even Better Than the Real Thing

I grew up during the 1980's. I would later learn that this was a time of war - the Cold War, the Iran-Iraq War, the Lebanon War, but back then I only knew the Cola Wars between Coca Cola and Pepsi. And while the Cola Wars may have ended, with Coke going on to become one of the most widely recognized brands worldwide, the number of casualties continues to grow as the American public's waistlines expand and grow with increased consumption of empty liquid calories.

I am one of the lucky survivors; I don't like soda.When I was eight or nine I had the flu and stayed home from school, slurping chicken soup and noodles. After a day or two I got bored of this and decided to introduce some sweet variety into my diet. I went straight for Coca Cola and chocolate ice cream, but my immune system was in overdrive, affecting my sense of smell and taste and these favorite foods tasted awful. Eventually I learned to once again enjoy chocolate ice cream, but had developed a lifelong aversion to Coke. Over the years I would on rare occasion drink diet soda, but for the most part I lost my desire for soda before the age of ten. Today it doesn't even cross my mind to buy it for guests. The proposed soda tax, then, would not affect my life at all. I'm going to talk about it anyway.

The issue first attracted my attention last year when I was visiting New York and noticed the anti-soda ad campaigns. Mayor Bloomberg's health crusades had already changed the face of New York in so many ways. First he banned smoking in bars, which not only reduced secondhand smoke but saved New Yorkers countless dollars on dry cleaning bills (if dry cleaners were unionized they might have fought this proposal). Then he banned the use of trans fats in restaurants. Finally, he launched ad campaigns against soda citywide and proposed that the state impose a tax on soda - an idea that is being taken seriously by Governor Patterson.

There are many sides to this debate, but here's how I see it: not everyone who drinks soda will become obese and diabetic just like not everyone who smokes will develop lung cancer or emphysema. The arguments then for obesity, diabetes, rising health care costs, etc may not be universally applicable. However, we can all agree that soda has no nutritional value whatsoever. It should therefore be a luxury - an item that you can purchase if you enjoy it, albeit at a higher cost, with the additional tax money funding an improved health care system. Foods that we need in order to subsist and live healthfully should be more affordable, not less, than cans of soda that temporarily quench our thirst but leave us hungry for actual nutrients. When a can of Coke is cheaper than a piece of fruit, it's time to reassess our food system. I hope that one day this will mean that quality fruits and vegetables, free of chemical toxins, can be available for less. Until then, we should be willing to pay more for soda.