"Sugar Wars": Mayor Bloombergs 'Ban on Soda'
Majerol, Veronica. "Sugar Wars." Upfront 17 Sept. 2012, 145 : 6-7http://search.proquest.com/docview/1040714528/13BA6098859103DF35C/2?accountid=14875
For this blog post I read the article 'Sugar Wars' by Veronica Majerol from the magazine Upfront. The article is about how in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg is taking action against the always rising obesity rates. He proposes that by no longer allowing private restaurants or places serving people food, like McDonalds, they no longer can serve sodas that are more than 16 ounces. Places like grocery stores would not have to follow this law. In the US, one in three adults in obese. In New York City, one in two adults are obese. Fast food chains now offer a 42 ounce soda. 42 ounces is about a liter and a half. They make the prices only slightly higher than those of the smaller drinks, which incentivises the costumer to just buy the larger one. Then they figure that because they have it, they may as well drink it, which plays a huge role in whats causing obesity.
I think that in the article the author supports Bloomberg's ban and is passionate about ending the obesity epidemic. I believe that throughout the article they were trying to make me, the reader, agree with them, and I definitely do agree with Majerol. She used many techniques and craft moves in her writing to convince the reader of what she believes. "The proposed ban is intended to help fight obesity, which has reached nationwide epidemic proportions. According to health agencies, more than one third of Americans are obese; in New York City, more than half of adults are either overweight or obese. High consumption of sugary drinks is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and long-term weight gain" says Majerol. Whether you agree or disagree with Bloombergs proposal, these facts are shocking! Majerol uses these statistics because it is apparent that they will be heard by both sides of the argument, and because they prove her point, they may convince many to feel the same way. The way she states facts plainly like this leaves no room for argument or opposition, which really proves her point.
In my opinion, I think that Bloomberg definitely should go through with the ban on sugary drinks. Basically these fast food restaurants are tricking the public. They know many people think it is smarter to buy what you can get more from, for the same or a similar price and the large size is so accessible. When companies add 50 cents to a drink thats much larger than the last size down, they're not trying to give you a great deal, they're trying to get money. When everyone uses the same logic, all those extra 50 cents add up, it can be a large amount of money. They are not concerned about your health, and are aware it will hurt you. I don't think people consider obesity dangerous, because the effects cannot necessarily be seen directly, yet they're HUGE. If these drinks are banned then they are no longer acessible and Americans aren't going to want to go to 'all the trouble' of finding a drink as big. Instead they'll just go for the smaller size, just because it's whats there. This way, even the people who do not car enough to make healthy choices, wind up being forced into making them.
I guess I agree with the ban on drinks more than 16oz, but at the same time I feel like it's mostly the consumer's choice if they're drinking the product. It's not like they're being forced to order the largest size, or even get a soft drink at all. Obesity is an epidemic in America, and while having smaller sizes may aid its demise, the only thing that will totally stop our nation from being so fat is the personal decisions of people to not take the opportunity to eat fast food.
ReplyDeleteHey Maddy! Great post, and I agree with you and the author. It's good that Bloomberg posted this ban, and I think that it will really help obesity rates. Those are really shocking facts, and I think that it really helped that she included them in her article. I know that I always buy the bigger sizes (but not 42 oz!), so I can really relate to that. Awesome response!
ReplyDeleteHey Maddy. This is great! I definitely support the ban. I have to say that I kind of disagree with Sophie about it being the consumer's choice. <3 Even though maybe they should have the power over what size drink they order, most of America is not as educated as we are about fast food and soda's danger, and as isolated from the obesity epidemic. I think that because most Americans do not know the awful ingredients that soda contains, we should help them out by eliminating the unhealthy choices.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you maddy! I do think that such large amounts of sugary drinks are unnecessary and that they should be banned. But on the other hand, I also think that I would like to hear what a consumer who does buy those large drinks so often thinks! What would they say about the idea of banning? What do they have to say about the size of the drinks? If they thought about it would they realize the craziness of these drinks?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! I think that this ban should be done especially since obesity is literally a "pandemic" now. Since some people obviously can't make the right choices I think the government should make those choices for them. If they don't like it, it's kind of their problem since they're the ones who most likely are obese because of junk food and drinks like these. Anyway, fantastic post!
ReplyDeleteSo true, Maddy, I agree. If you think about it, yes we Americans do want our freedom to do whatever we want without people stopping us, but what is the worse thing that could come from banning super sugary sodas? It really wouldn't be that bad. It would contribute to stopping obesity in America, it would generally make people more healthy, and be better for the environment to begin the banning of huge factory made sodas. So many will complain and protest but they really don't have that much of a leg to stand on since over all it would be better for our country to lessen the amount of bad sodas sold and consumed.
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