A newly created New Yorkers for Beverage Choices have began their campaign to halt New York City's proposed restrictions on large servings of sugary drinks.
Canvassers hired by the beverage industry are stopping their fellow New Yorkers on the street to sign petitions, and to Facebook and tweet their followers "say no to a #sodaban."
The New Yorkers for Beverage Choices are urging that the real issue is freedom, not fatness. In their first radio spot out this week the ad starts "This is New York City; no one tells us what neighborhood to live in or what team to root for, so are we going to let our mayor tell us what size beverage to buy? It's unbelievable!"
The soda industry faces a tough battle as more and more elected officials are citing sugary beverages as a key component to the obesity epidemic in the United States. Plus, with federal funding, like the $2.8 million campaign that already blankets New York on the health risks of consuming sugary beverages, the battle will only get harder.
Soda executives are vague about their long-term strategy plan, but they are staying focused for now on recruiting local businesses, unions, and lawmakers to join their cause, but currently the City Council wishes not to get involved. While the American Beverage Association has said that "it's important, regardless of the endgame here, to make sure people understand the impact of this thing, to let them know how will impact their daily lives."
In the end - regardless of outcome of the proposed soda ban in New York City, this is definitely not the end of discussion. This issue will most likely trickle through major cities, most recently the issue has come up in Boston and Los Angeles.
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| New Yorkers collecting petition signatures in Brooklyn for New Yorkers for Beverage Choice, a grassroots-style coalition created by the beverage industry. |
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