Last Updated on February 5, 2022 by Ellen Christian
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Ban on Soda in New York
You may have heard that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to propose a ban on the sale of large sugary beverages like soda at restaurants, mobile food carts, movie theaters and delis. He is proposing this ban to help fight the rising epidemic of obesity in New York. I totally agree with Mayor Bloomberg that super sized sodas are not healthy and can be a contributing factor in weight gain. I’m really not sure that this is a statement that anyone would argue with. It’s sort of common sense that drinking a whole bunch of sugar can cause you to gain weight.
Do we really need the state to ban large sugary beverages? Let’s consider a few things:
1. I’m a big girl. If I really want to purchase a large sugary beverage I’m going to. There are many other places I can purchase these from like grocery stores, mass retailers, drug stores, office supply stores, etc. A ban on soda won’t stop me.
2. People are not stupid. They really do understand that super sized sodas can make you gain weight. We honestly don’t need the government to enact a ban on soda to save us from ourselves.
3. If I’m at a restaurant and purchase a small or medium sugary beverage, there is nothing stopping me from getting a free refill if availalable or from purchasing two or three or six if I want to. One large or two mediums… is there really a difference?
4. This law won’t have any effect on the purchase of diet beverages. So you cannot have an extra large soda sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. However, feel free to drink as many extra large diet sodas with artificial sweeteners and the chemical phenylalanine. They won’t make you gain weight so there are obviously no health concerns to worry about.
5. The ban on soda has no bearing on anything else that we eat or drink. Feel free to buy all the super sized burgers, extra large French fries, and hot fudge sundaes you’d like. Just make sure you drink diet soda or water with them.
6. This is the big one. The government is not my babysitter. Nowhere in the powers that were given to our government when the Declaration of Independence was signed have we given the government the authority to decide what we can and cannot eat. The Declaration of Independence gave the federal and state governments specific powers. These powers were not only limited but a set of checks and balances were set up to prevent the abuse of power. In simple terms, if the Declaration did not give the government the power to control what we do and do not eat, then the government does not have the power or authority to make laws that do that. If you’d like to read more about the concept, check out the principal of limited government.
This ban on soda won’t have any immediate effect on me. I don’t live in New York and I don’t drink large sugary beverages to begin with. However, that one right we allow the government to take from us is one step toward the second right and the third. Then what do we have? We have a government that is so intrusive and so over reaching that we have no more rights at all. What do you think? Do we really need a ban on soda?
Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
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