Anyone who stumbles upon the li'l ol' blog here this week could be forgiven for assuming that we're all NYC, all the time here at Cynical Nymph headquarters.
But I figured this is on-topic, so it bears opining over. Today NYC's Board of Health passed our mayor's proposed ban on "sugary drinks" over 16 ounces
You already know how I feel about Bloomberg's "let's post all the calories at chain restaurants!" rule, which effectively prevents me from eating at any kind of chain unless I'm having a really super great day. (Refresher: I think it sucks.)
Let's take a look at some of the specifics of the ban's coverages and exemptions:
- LOL. "The restrictions would not affect... alcoholic beverages." Well, fantastic then, I can definitely see that this is about health if I can still go down to the German biergarten and order a boot of beer. Everyone needs boots of beer. Thank goodness I can still buy it in two-litre servings.
- You'll still be able to buy Big Gulps the size of an infant's torso at 7-Eleven. DOUBLE LOL. Also exempt are fruit juices, dairy-based drinks (including milkshakes), and one presumes malts, egg cremes, etc. So go on and get ya that extra large milkshake at McDonald's (assuming those are dairy-based?) or Frappuccino, because if it's 50% dairy, you're good.
- This article does answer one of the questions that the husband and I covered earlier this month: The movie theater (or Subway, etc.) won't be able to sell over 16 ounces of any fountain soda, even if sugar-free. ... But I can still go right to a vending machine just down the stairs from my movie theater's concession stand, and buy numerous full-sugar sodas from THAT. (Who drinks that much soda at the movies? It's the people I glare daggers at when they get up to pee in the middle of a compelling scene, isn't it?)
Which leads me to my knee-jerk reactions to the passage of this ban:
Personally, I don't get the appeal of a ginormous drink, sugary or not. So this one, unlike the calorie-posting one, doesn't affect me much. But that's just me.
I would not presume to tell someone what to consume or not consume, unless it were putting someone other than them in danger. (See: NYC's ban on smoking in bars/restaurants, which is just dandy in my opinion.)
However, it's not the "freedom of choice" angle that I take issue with here. I find the collective freakout of the soft drink industry silly, and transparent in its motivations. I mean, come on.
It's that the Bloomberg administration plays into "health, health, health!" in such limited, shame-based ways.
I'd have so much more respect for something like this ban if it went hand in hand with honest-to-goodness prioritizing of public health insofar as things like access to safe and healthy food and body spaces, quality healthcare, solid and up-to-date education, are concerned.
Especially that last part. Especially.
Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh ugh UGH. It makes me sick. Not so much the ban - I think its dumb, and a complete waste of... everything.
ReplyDeleteBut that MILKSHAKES and BEER would be exempt. It is ALCOHOL consumption that (in my opinion) needs to be curtailed. But it never, ever will be. And that makes me sick.
This makes NO sense.
"I'd have so much more respect for something like this ban if it went hand in hand with honest-to-goodness prioritizing of public health insofar as things like access to safe and healthy food and body spaces, quality healthcare, solid and up-to-date education, are concerned." <- Yes, THIS.
I'm just glad I live in Alaska - they would never, EVER pass any of that here. Alaskans hate restrictions on anything! :-P So I don't need to worry about posted calorie counts. Though chain restaurants put them on their foods - which is why I can't go into a fast food restaurant anymore, and am so horrified that I ever did. If that was on EVERYTHING, it would make things so much worse.
My issue with it isn't truly what is or isn't curtailed, except for that the selection signifies. The "debate" over sugary soda consumption is so charged with classism (and in NYC racism to a certain extent, at least in my opinion, though I'm hardly a lived expert on that). Whereas alcohol or dessert is acceptable across social and racial lines (though dessert perhaps to a lesser extent, depending on context).
ReplyDeleteIs it a great idea health-wise to drink 20 ounces of sugar water on a regular basis? I mean, generally speaking, probably not. But bans like this one take what is really a structural problem and make it an individual problem, which a healthy dose of shaming and bootstrap worship to boot (ha). Bleh.