Election Day Issue: The Soda Tax

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Nov 02, 2010 at 14:16:37 PM PDT

Today, citizens of Washington State are voting on Initiative 1107. It was written and put on the ballot by none other than the American Beverage Association (a.k.a. the soda lobby). All in all, the ABA is spending some $14 million to push Initiative 1107, setting a record in WA state for spending on a ballot initiative.

Initiative 1107 would repeal a tax on soda, bottled water, candy, and gum. It's a small tax - $.02 on a 12-oz soda. The money raised by the tax - over $100 million per year - funds "early childhood education, K-12, health care, protections for seniors and kids, and other important services." The ABA says it's unfair to tax food. Opponents of 1107 say that's not true, because the items taxed - junk and bottled water - are not food. And, they say, the state will suffer from the budget cuts that will result if the tax revenues from junk food go away.

Tonight when you are watching the election returns, keep an eye out for the results of this one.

Why the Soda Lobby Was Happy... They Helped Write the Nutrition Rules

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Mar 26, 2010 at 22:27:01 PM PDT

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, along with Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., today announced a major agreement between the food and beverage industry and public health and education groups on national school nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.

Why is the junk food lobby at the table to make rules about nutrition? Would you have a criminal at the table to make laws about crime? The American Beverage Association, Coca Cola, Mars, Nestle, and PepsiCo were all included in negotiations for the new school lunch nutrition standards in Lincoln's child nutrition bill. Under the bill, the USDA will set one set of nutrition standards for all food sold in schools during the school day (including vending machines). This is a change from current laws, which forbid the USDA from setting rules over most food sold in schools outside of the federally-reimbursable school lunch (i.e. the meal served to kids who receive free lunch).

So here's the question: What did public health groups give up by negotiating with the junk food lobby? What do public health experts think the school nutrition standards should be, and how far apart is that from the actual language of the bill?  

Why is the Soda Lobby Happy?

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Mar 24, 2010 at 15:50:32 PM PDT

I realize that much of their spending is related to defeating a soda tax, but some of it is for school lunch and child nutrition programs too. They are scared shitless that Congress will ban vending machines from schools (a great idea!). Thus, they are promoting their own, voluntary, "self-regulation:"

The beverage industry is committed to the health and wellness of its consumers, including America's schoolchildren. Just this month, we announced the remarkable results of the final progress report on the implementation of our School Beverage Guidelines. The report shows that, when it comes to beverages, it's a whole new day in America's schools. In fact, we've removed full-calorie soft drinks and slashed beverage calories available in schools by 88 percent!

They don't mind cutting the calories because the same companies that sell soda (and diet soda) also sell water, juice, and sports drinks. So long as schools have vending machines with ANYTHING in them, these companies make money. Removing the calories doesn't harm the bottom line, but removing the vending machines does.

What I want to know is: what's in the Senate bill that the ABA likes so much? I've emailed the Center for Science in the Public Interest to see if they know anything. Also, I've included more on the ABA's lobbying below.

American Beverage Association Lobbying

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 21:42:08 PM PST

Sodas & Advertising in Schools

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Apr 03, 2009 at 12:35:50 PM PDT

...in May 2006, the American Beverage Association, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Cadbury Schweppes (now the Dr Pepper/Snapple Group) teamed up with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association) to develop new School Beverage Guidelines that significantly reduce the calories available from beverages during the school day...

In just two years since we began implementing the national School Beverage Guidelines, there has been a 58 percent decrease in beverage calories shipped to schools and nearly 80 percent of schools under contract with bottlers are in full compliance - exceeding the 75 percent two-year standard called for in the MOU.

Is that better? Is that good enough? There are two questions that I think we need to address here: 1) Are their standards good enough based on the most up to date knowledge of nutrition and 2) What about the issue of commercialism and marketing within schools, which is entirely ignored by the agreement. (Perhaps three - the third being that there is no independent review of the ABA's own estimation of the job they are doing, nor any enforcement mechanism if they don't do what they have promised.)
 

Sen. Harkin Rocks My Socks! (Child Nutrition Hearing)

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 10:30:06 AM PDT

UPDATE: If you want to express your thoughts to the Senate Ag committee, the committee # is 202-224-2035.  

Childhood Obesity Hearing - Senate HELP Committee - July 23, 2008

by: OrangeClouds115

Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 01:00:00 AM PDT

So how do we do this? The American Beverage Association's bullshit is thick and bold like in real life, my words are in regular font. Actually - you know what - I'm just going to delete the stuff that's not relevant and give you your bullshit straight up. Karateexplosions, I promise to give you royalties, so long as you accept mojo from my tip jar.