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NYC Soda Ban May Widen to Popcorn and Milk

  • Spence Cooper
  • June 14, 2012

Virtually everyone knows by now of a proposed soft drink ban by New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg. The Mayor’s ban would prohibit the sale of large sugared drinks over 16-ounces at most public venues.

Reactions have been swift and spirited. Officials representing New York’s 7-Eleven stores effectively made it clear in a statement that their 44-ounce Super Big Gulp is exempt from Bloomberg’s soda ban.

Steve Cahillane, president and CEO of Coca-Cola’s Refreshments unit, has suggested that Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York may face a lawsuit. And according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, the majority of New York City voters oppose (51 – 46 percent) Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed soda ban.

Many people, myself included, thought the Mayor had stepped way beyond the bounds of credibility, and into the realm of surreal, when he began touting his plan to ban the sale of large soft drinks while promoting National Donut Day at the same time.

I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but the surrealism has just been bumped up several notches, as a recent Fox News report illustrates.

At the New York City Board of Health meeting where Bloomberg’s appointed sycophantic members agreed to start the process to formalize the large-drink ban, some members of the health board said they should consider other limits on high-calorie foods such as popcorn and even milk.

One member, Bruce Vladeck, thinks limiting the sizes for movie theater popcorn should be considered. “The popcorn isn’t a whole lot better than the soda,” Vladeck said.

Another board member believes all milk drinks should be restricted by size limits like soda. “There are certainly milkshakes and milk-coffee beverages that have monstrous amounts of calories,” said board member Dr. Joel Forman.

NYC Soda Ban May Widen to Popcorn and MilkIn 2010, Mayor Bloomberg’s less salt initiative created a tumultuous uproar with New York City chefs. “I’m all for trying to make New Yorkers healthier people,”said acclaimed chef Ed Brown, owner of Eighty One on the Upper West Side.

“But when it comes to him telling me how much salt to put in food, I have a problem with it”

Noted chef David Chang, owner of the Momofuku Noodle Bar, said cooks have been using salt with food almost as long as they have been using fire.

“You need salt to draw flavor out of food,”Chang said. For that to be regulated by the government is just stupid and foolish”

Recent research from studies published over the past two years suggests that restricting how much salt we eat can increase the likelihood of dying prematurely.

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