Steve Chapman on San Francisco's Silly Soda Labeling Mandate
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has something it wants to say: Fizzy sugar water can make you fat and rot your teeth.
We'll pause while you pick yourself off the floor, where you landed in shock at this blinding revelation. Until now, you have probably been pouring Mountain Dew on your organic hemp granola in the belief that it contains only nutrients that are vital to your health. So processing the news may take a minute.
Actually, the supervisors don't so much want to say that as they want to make someone else say it—namely, the companies that make these products. Under an ordinance approved by the board and awaiting action by the mayor, billboards and other ads for most beverages with added sugar would have to carry a large, ominous message: "WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay." Steve Chapman explains the absurdity of this new law.