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Outlaw Coke — And Pepsi, Sprite, and Orange Crush Too
"Consumer groups" on five continents are launching a global "Dump Soda" campaign as a way to fight the war on fat. The health nannies, uh, consumer advocates, are not only informing consumers about the dangers lurking in a can of Coke, but want government action as well. According the environmentalist group, the Worldwatch Institute:
The groups launched the Global Dump Soft Drinks Campaign at the Consumers International World Congress in Sydney, Australia, in late October. Their demands include asking governments to require soft-drink producers to stop advertising sugar-laden beverages to children under 16 and to impose a modest tax on soft drinks to fund nutrition and fitness programs. The campaign also promotes the marketing of lower-sugar products, selling existing products in smaller portions, and stopping sales of sweetened beverages in all public and private schools, from elementary to high school.
Can a global campaign for mandatory daily calisthenics in front of everyone's dwelling be far behind?
Whole Worldwatch article here.
|11.15.07 @ 4:29PM|#
Aren't they overreaching a bit? If they can't get pop machines out of schools, what business do they have imposing all these measures?
|11.15.07 @ 4:33PM|#
do these people actually grocery shop? they already DO sell soda (or "pop" north of Peoria) in smaller cans than the normal size. the strange thing is, they're usually more expensive than the larger cans of soda - which is baffling to me. but they're there if you want them.
|11.15.07 @ 4:33PM|#
...impose a modest tax on soft drinks to fund nutrition and
fitness programs
Does this mean I get a tax paid membership at LA Fitness?
|11.15.07 @ 4:34PM|#
Who was saying that the fat war was not perpetrated by the
left?
Oh ya joe did.
Hey joe, you sir are full of shit.
Joe\'s Clone|11.15.07 @ 4:38PM|#
On a daily basis, I make accurate, truthful claims that
people respond to with ad homenim attacks about how I must be
wrong, because I'm a partisan. You can tell that what I write is
nonsense, you see, because it tends to make the Democrats look
better.
And that's a quote, Corning!
Abdul|11.15.07 @ 4:42PM|#
I see a lot of movies where powerful industries hire contract
killers to take out annoying activists like this (Michael Clayton,
etc.).
Where are those hitmen? C'mon, CEO's! Step up to the plate
already!
jimmydageek|11.15.07 @ 4:47PM|#
do these people actually grocery shop? they already DO sell soda (or "pop" north of Peoria) in smaller cans than the normal size. the strange thing is, they're usually more expensive than the larger cans of soda - which is baffling to me. but they're there if you want them.
They're more expensive because of the lower demand. It's not as cost efficient to make the smaller cans as it is to make the "standard" ones.
|11.15.07 @ 4:50PM|#
J sub D, stop ripping off my schtick!
My apologies for not attributing that line to you, Episiarch. But
you did neglect to add the ©. ;-)
Episiarch|11.15.07 @ 4:52PM|#
It's OK, somebody had to say it. So I'll reiterate: suck it up, smoke-hating fatties!
Reinmoose|11.15.07 @ 4:54PM|#
We smokers told you who'd be next. Suck it up,
fatboys!
HA! I'm affected by neither!
I just have to wait until they finish with the fatboys and start
ragging on us Tennis enthusiasts.
I can't wait for the day I hear something about how all the use of
rubber is harming...someone.
Chuck|11.15.07 @ 4:55PM|#
What? Coke not healthy? Holy crap, why didn't somebody tell me? I'm gonna sue!!!!
|11.15.07 @ 5:04PM|#
I can't wait for the day I hear something about how all the
use of rubber is harming...someone.
The natives indigenous to the Amazon Basin. Rubber plantations are
destroying the ecological diversity down there! Too fuckin' late,
Reinmoose, you're on the list!
|11.15.07 @ 5:09PM|#
What? Coke not healthy? Holy crap, why didn't somebody tell
me? I'm gonna sue!!!!
Yeah, my wife fed our babies Coke instead of breast-feeding. Now we
hear this?...
|11.15.07 @ 5:14PM|#
Tennis players often suffer from tendonitis and a variety of debilitating lower-leg injuries. We must put a stop to the carnage caused by this thrill-seeker's sport!
|11.15.07 @ 5:17PM|#
Captain Chaos, you neglected to mention the health care burden
they impose on the rest of society.
Let's vote, should tennis players be the next smokers?
Personal Trainer to the WEIBSK|11.15.07 @ 5:18PM|#
TENNIS ELBOW INTERFERES WITH BATIN. WE MUST PUT
A STOP TO IT.
AND THE STOOPID KLAY KOURT SEASON.
Reinmoose|11.15.07 @ 5:20PM|#
AND THE STOOPID KLAY KOURT SEASON.
AMEN!
(Since I am in the demographic being attacked, I will divert the
attention to a specific segment of my demographic that I don't
particularly care for.)
Episiarch|11.15.07 @ 5:22PM|#
Let's vote, should tennis players be the next
smokers?
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the nannies'
next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
|11.15.07 @ 5:23PM|#
JC (not you, Joe's clone), where did Joe say that? Not
doubting, just curious.
IDK like a 2-3 months ago...i think it was about some lady trying
to ban trans fat.
Joe said something about how I could kiss his elastic waist panted
ass.
Episiarch|11.15.07 @ 5:25PM|#
So search the archives, joshua. Gotta back up your statements, and that's a good one.
|11.15.07 @ 5:29PM|#
If their activism reaches the point in which everybody knows
about these health effects, they'd need not outlaw it.
ps holy shit coke-cola is bad omg i never knew that!!!!11
pps making coke illegal? isn't it already lolz?!!?!?!?
|11.15.07 @ 5:29PM|#
So search the archives, joshua. Gotta back up your
statements, and that's a good one.
Jesus fucking christ...are you serious?!?!
Fuck an a...i will see you guys in like 3 weeks.
*walks off to the hell known as Reason archives
|11.15.07 @ 5:30PM|#
Yeah, my wife fed our babies Coke instead of breast-feeding.
Now we hear this?...
Yeah, because Coke has what babies want: electrolytes!
|11.15.07 @ 5:31PM|#
"Tennis players often suffer from tendonitis and a variety of
debilitating lower-leg injuries. We must put a stop to the carnage
caused by this thrill-seeker's sport!"
Heh. And all sorts of other injuries. I'm a tennis player and have
a shoulder injury. Many of us are hooked on NSAIDs and all sorts of
pain meds.
I guess it wont be long before they come for us.... Well, la
Revolucion is coming for us.
But dammit, nothing will keep me from playing this
Imperialist/Oligarch sport!!!
|11.15.07 @ 5:31PM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
Let me go fire up the crystal ball (I really do have one, 10"
diameter, it's a heckuva conversation starting knick knack)....
Kolohe|11.15.07 @ 5:36PM|#
Can a global campaign for mandatory daily calisthenics in
front of everyone's dwelling be far behind.
If these
girls show up in front of my doorstep, I would deign to go
outside to participate in some exercise.
After that, I'll be in my bunk.
|11.15.07 @ 5:47PM|#
Continuing my 5:31pm post -
... I see, it's getting clearer now, yes, the owners of cars with
"oversized" engines.
|11.15.07 @ 5:52PM|#
Found it
joshua corning | May 25, 2007, 1:27pm | #
This is of interest to libertarians...why?
Cuz the left wants to use the government to dictate what we eat,
when we eat and how much we eat...much of this is predicated on the
communal costs of health care.
joe | May 25, 2007, 1:29pm | #
"Cuz the left wants to use the government to dictate what we eat,
when we eat and how much we eat"
Uh huh, "the left."
Think I can get Mike Huckabee to sign my tie-dyed fat
pants?
The funny thing is at the time i had no idea who Huckabee
was...now...well I still don't.
Comments can be found at this post:
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120397.html
|11.15.07 @ 5:59PM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
Magic 8-ball says: "Alcohol"
Specifically, malt beverages that aren't beer. And possibly 2-buck
chuck wine. Can't have good, cheap booze. It robs the treasury and
makes people drive drunk.
And good tastin' liquor makes the youngin' get drunk and have
monkey sex.
Anonymo the Anonymous|11.15.07 @ 6:03PM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
I'll take a shot: video games. Yeah, they've been targeted before,
but I'll postulate that they will draw the ire of a new coalition
between the health nannies, moralists and the "Buy Nothing"
crowd.
The most effective moral panics are those that piss off several
different groups of annoying busybodies. Video games contribute to
a sedentary lifestyle, which should bring in the obesity tyrants;
there's the sex and violence for the traditionalists; they're a
fantastic target for the lefty corporate consumer culture
protesters. Some shady "doctor" can probably use dubious statistics
to link them to an epidemic of repetitive stress injuries and eye
problems.
MattXIV|11.15.07 @ 6:15PM|#
WHO HAS THE POWER OF PRECOGNITION?
No precognition, but I do have the lesser power of groundless
speculation. The hardest part is that they're already going after
most obvious stuff.
1) Headphones. Already some rumbles about this in the past, but
with the increasing popularity of digital music players, this one
could take off.
2) Model rockets. The engines contain explosive compounds and are
probably carcinogenic if you eat them. Kids may huff the spray
paints and modelling glue they use to make them. We're probably one
dumbass kid making the national news by leaning over the launch pad
from these going the way of decent chemistry kits.
3) MMOGs. Look forward to these getting tagged with causing video
game addiction and blamed for people not exercising as much as more
games reach audiences beyond the traditional fans of dungeon
crawlers. This will take off when some more
unfit parents use video game addiction as an excuse for not
taking care of their kids.
|11.15.07 @ 6:22PM|#
So Bailey is now a soda denier?
It's well established science that soda causes people to be fat.
The shill for Big Soda wants us to ignore it and let people drink
their gut busting Coke despite the science.
|11.15.07 @ 6:22PM|#
Specifically, malt beverages that aren't beer. And possibly
2-buck chuck wine. Can't have good, cheap booze.
Plus they're marketed at poor minorities. We have a moral
obligation to protect those too stupid conned by
corporate drug dealers to think for themselves.
This is sooo easy, no wonder the nanny staters love it.
technomist|11.15.07 @ 6:50PM|#
If this will teach people to stop putting soda into good single malt scotch when they grow up, I'm all for it. But we'll still need the coke to hide the taste of Mekong whiskey and Old Arrak.
Mike Laursen|11.15.07 @ 7:08PM|#
Can a global campaign for mandatory daily calisthenics in
front of everyone's dwelling be far behind?
That's just silly. With modern webcams, there's no reason a
citizen's behavior can't be monitored in the comfort of his own
home.
Joe\'s Clone|11.15.07 @ 7:21PM|#
Lamar, I make those claims and others right here on the Bolton
thread:
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123460.html#comments
Scroll down toward the bottom after you ROTFLYAO at the Blah,
Blah, Blah, I await your response, Joe gag. Ha Ha. Not
funny.
I have plenty to say about pride, truth, accuracy, and my
reputation, which remains unsullied despite the best efforts of
people like Corning!
Caseworker Alice Pitney|11.15.07 @ 7:33PM|#
Can a global campaign for mandatory daily calisthenics in
front of everyone's dwelling be far behind?
Actually, I have a meeting scheduled with the governor next Tuesday
to discuss adding this very item to his platform. But our program
isn't global just yet.
Cassandra|11.15.07 @ 7:41PM|#
The only way to help keep this assault on freedom from reaching our shores is join us in convincing this man to run for President before it's too late.
|11.15.07 @ 8:53PM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
They will have to pry my BACON from my cold, dead hands.
recovered sucroholic|11.15.07 @ 11:09PM|#
One of the ways to help induce foolish behavior that, no, shouldn't be outlawed, but neither should it be subsidized by corporate welfare.
justinhahn|11.15.07 @ 11:32PM|#
i think having government work (modestly) to repeal the soda
empire the US government helped set up after WWII (every GI should
be able to get a Coke for a nickel) wouldn't be too bad an idea. i
mean, soda is so pervasive because of government intervention in
the market so...
but then again, the government can't do anything right ever. so
screw that
lurker|11.16.07 @ 1:28AM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
Competitive youth sports.
|11.16.07 @ 2:05AM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting. WHO HAS THE POWER OF
PRECOGNITION?
Internet usage
|11.16.07 @ 2:31AM|#
Yup something has to been done.
It's called getting out and about with a push bike and water
bottle.
It's called exercise and who knows you might even get to meet other
fit people.
|11.16.07 @ 4:46AM|#
"asking governments to require soft-drink producers to stop
advertising sugar-laden beverages to children under 16"
I, for one, welcome our new minor overlords.
|11.16.07 @ 9:31AM|#
Hey, I'm a celebrity!
Too bad the "gotcha" quote doesn't actually say anything
untrue.
But keep trying, joshua! It's clearly something that matters a
great deal to you.
|11.16.07 @ 10:05AM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting.
Guns. Not in the "gun control" sense of supposed crime reduction,
but in the "doctors have to report parents who have guns in the
house for 'health' reasons" sense.
They'll claim your gun raises their healthcare taxes so they have
to take it, even if you aren't a criminal and they can't paint you
as a would-be one.
R C Dean|11.16.07 @ 12:28PM|#
Actually, serious (or not) predictions on what will be the
nannies' next target would be interesting.
I think they's continue to work the fat angle. After soda pop,
maybe sugar more generally, or maybe fat.
Now that everyone's getting nice and comfy with the concept of
taxing substances that supposedly impose costs on the commons
(carbon tax, anyone), I think the next move from the nannies will
be to start trying to put sugar and fat taxes on foods.
|11.16.07 @ 1:32PM|#
Unable to rely on their own governments to nanny them effectively, the world's fat stupid unwashed cried with relief upon learning that an international coalition of nannies had intervened on their behalf. Help was on its way.
Paul|11.16.07 @ 1:41PM|#
expensive than the larger cans of soda - which is baffling
to me. but they're there if you want them.
I'm no expert on the issues of cost-to-market issues of major soda
manufacturers, but I strongly suspect that the difference in the
amount of soda is miniscule in the cost of the product. You're
mostly paying for distribution, packaging, and the manufacture of
those tiny little cans, which probably required a newly tooled set
of machines at a bunch of bottling plants.
Given that the smaller cans also have a slightly lower demand, the
whole thing probably adds up to more cost for Coke to produce the
smaller can than it does to produce the normal can- which can
ubiquitously be placed on store shelves and dispensing machines--
the latter of which probably haven't been universally adapted to
dispense those tiny, but totally cute little cans.
Paul|11.16.07 @ 1:46PM|#
Guns. Not in the "gun control" sense of supposed crime
reduction, but in the "doctors have to report parents who have guns
in the house for 'health' reasons" sense
Too late. They started this in the late nineties. A few
over-active, "activist" doctors started pushing healthcare
providers to ask the question about whether or not guns were in the
home, even if you were there for say, Oh, I dunno, getting your
baby to breastfeed more effectively*.
The idea is that they were taking a "hollistic" view of health, and
since guns cause-- I hesitate to even say it-- a "public health"
concern, they should be included in statisitcs regarding your sore
throat, lumbago, or diabetes.
* - this actually happened to my wife and me during a breastfeeding
consult. I shit you not. Guess what my answer was?
Jennifer|11.16.07 @ 2:00PM|#
TENNIS ELBOW INTERFERES WITH BATIN. WE MUST PUT A STOP TO
IT.
Or tax tennis rackets, with the excuse that the money raised will
be spent on subsidized whores for those unable to pleasure
themselves. The whores, meanwhile, will be taxed to subsidize the
purchase of condoms for those too poor to buy their own. The
condoms will be taxed to subsidize the social security program
that's going bankrupt because people irresponsibly persist in
having sexual relations that do NOT lead to the creation of new
taxpayers because those selfish people worry that having kids will
cut into their tennis time, and thus we come (ha!) full circle.
Paul|11.16.07 @ 2:04PM|#
Or tax tennis rackets, with the excuse that the money raised
will be spent on subsidized whores for those unable to pleasure
themselves.
Wouldn't that be tennis racketeering?
Paul|11.16.07 @ 2:36PM|#
Not when the government does it, no.
Hmph, I would argue especially when the government does
it.
Jennifer|11.16.07 @ 2:42PM|#
No, anything the government does is just fine. Gambling, for example, is evil when you do it with your friends, but Good For The Children when you play the government-approved lottery.
|11.18.07 @ 4:32PM|#
And consumers dont need these food scolds telling them what they can or cant eat or drink its time to tell the wheat grm inhaling wackos to TAKE A HIKE and STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES and OUR REFRIGERATOR
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