I happen to overhear recently that SF is proposing a tax on businesses that carry and sell sodas. More precisely, Mayor Newsom has proposed the tax and hoping the Board of Sups. will run with it.
On the surface, I don’t really agree with it but after further thought, I’m not so sure. Soda (made w/corn syrup, the high fructose kind) is one of the top contributors to obesity in this country. I challenge you to find a person severely obese who doesn’t drink sugared sodas. [1]I know I’ve never found one High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS as a simple sugar that is absorbed very easily by the body. What many people don’t know is that it actually reduces the insulin receptors response. Translated, it means a person is more prone to developing diabetes. HFCS has also been shown to interfere with the hearts ability to process vital minerals. I could go on and on but you get the point. [2]I actually stopped drinking sugared sodas during my EMT training. We got the full laundry list of damages. The irony is HFCS is much more expensive to make however, because of government contracts and subsidies on corn in the US it becomes more profitable than regular cane sugar.
Soda is also NOT a necessity. It is a luxury item. I have no problem with SF taxing luxury items to help offset the growing medical burdens of society. I can’t really see equating corn syrup to carcinogens in cigarettes however, the mounting evidence against HFCS doesn’t lie. I guess here I’d fall back on the old adage, "everything in moderation." The problem is we have become a society of excess. We do almost nothing in moderation.
I don’t really know if Newsom’s idea will succeed or not. I applaud him for attempting to do something rather than nothing. However, his measure is a tiny band-aid on a sore the size of Texas. Until we educate our children on the value of good nutrition, [3]when was the last time you saw a school curriculum that included more than a passing stab at nutrition? and the dangers of sugared sodas, the problem will continue to grow. (pun intended)