The War on Soda Begins...

[the iron horse]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050300319_pf.html





"Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.”

~Barry Goldwater

 

[U2democrat]

*reads while chugging a dr. pepper*

 

[DrTeeth]

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

good, it's about time.

 

[Harry Vest]

To blame soda pop for child obesity is not only absurd but just plain wrong. How about trans fats, french fries, LACK OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION. To allow a poison like aspartame to remain in schools and label sugar as the enemy is ridiculous. The dangers of aspartame far outweigh the dangers of sugar (unless you're a diabetic). This is just another perfect example of the "politically correct" with the right intentions doing the wrong thing.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

What are the documented dangers of consuming aspartame?

 

[the iron horse]

Three topics worth sipping a few Cokes over and adding to
the discussion:

-Lack of physical activity (among the young and all of us)
(Recess in some schools has been cut to ten minutes
or none)

-The use of high frutose corn syrup(instead of real sugar) by the soda campanies.
(it is cheaper than sugar and if you do a google search.....
it's not a good thing) This happened in the late 70s when sugar prices went up, the soda companies have never gone back.

Cheerwine, a U.S. soda, still uses real sugar.


-The documented dangers of all these artificial sweetners

 

[nbcrusader]

Isn't drinking a soda a personal decision? Where are all the pro choice people???

 

[BVS]

We never had soda in our schools, except in high school.

And this was well before any "war".

I can't believe anyone would even put soda in an elementary school.

As far as choice, you really think a first grader knows or cares about what the consequences are? They'll eat candy till they pass out if you let them.

 

[nbcrusader]

What passing out? It is available for purchase.

Are we now suggesting that the government needs to protect the children instead of the parents (like what they watch on television)? Even those in high school?

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

in loco parentis. Choice is limited at school.

 

[BVS]

What passing out? It is available for purchase.

Figure of speech, but you know what I'm saying, a young kid on halloween would eat the whole bucket if you weren't watching them...

Are we now suggesting that the government needs to protect the children instead of the parents (like what they watch on television)? Even those in high school?

Last time I looked, parents are walking the halls of elementary schools.

And I never mentioned high school...

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

If this would've happened in my school I would've been so mad. What ever happened to warning labels? If I want to ingest a few - quite the understatement when referring to Coke - extra calories than that's me. I don't need anybody "regulating" that.

Sucks to be in high school.

 

[BVS]

Well if we put cigarette machines in the schools in may help them with the weight gain from the sodas...

 

[anitram]

Most kids will probably just switch over to the diet versions of the drinks.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Why not just ban diet and sugared soft drinks. That way you can piss everyone off, but at least the kiddlies wont be dying of obesity related health complaints or suffering the effects of cancerous aspartame.

 

[Kristie]

To blame soda pop for child obesity is not only absurd but just plain wrong. How about trans fats, french fries, LACK OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION. To allow a poison like aspartame to remain in schools and label sugar as the enemy is ridiculous. The dangers of aspartame far outweigh the dangers of sugar (unless you're a diabetic). This is just another perfect example of the "politically correct" with the right intentions doing the wrong thing.

Aspartame is not going to hurt you.
Yes, it breaks down into methanol and formeldahyde in your body, both of which are toxic in high doses, but you'd have to drink 600 cans of diet soda to get as much of either substance as there is in one orange.

the rats got cancer because they fed them so much of it that it crystallized in their stomach and THAT gave them cancer. Like eating sand.

The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Cancer Institute, and the FDA all say it's not going to hurt you. Of course, some other people I've never heard of say otherwise... but aspartame is the most-studied substance in FDA history and has been consistently declared safe.

Aspartame rant aside, I think if they want to make school lunches healthier they need to make the lunch healthier. In high school the only "healthy" food available was warm milk and a slimy, highly unappetizing deli sandwich. Nobody's going to eat that. Other options were Arby's sandwiches, nachos, chicken nuggets, or pizza.

 

[anitram]

The hysteria surrounding aspartame (or more accurately, phenylalanine) and brain tumors is completely out of control.

Maybe if people actually went and read the studies done on rats and understood what they meant we could tone down.

Next time you eat 2 eggs, you've just consumed more phenylalanine than is present in a can of Diet Coke.

 

[blueyedpoet]

honestly, after you study what is in soda you understand that some of those ingredients can be addictive. Corn syrup (I learned this on Boston Legal last night...googled it to be sure) blocks the hormone that tells the brain you're full.
Researchers have placed a pound of red meat (essentially what human muscle is) in a container of soda and the meat desintegrated.

 

[Kristie]

honestly, after you study what is in soda you understand that some of those ingredients can be addictive. Corn syrup (I learned this on Boston Legal last night...googled it to be sure) blocks the hormone that tells the brain you're full.
Researchers have placed a pound of red meat (essentially what human muscle is) in a container of soda and the meat desintegrated.

They did that on mythbusters and nothing happened. Not that mythbusters is scientific research, but I think a couple of guys putting a steak in cola for 48 hours and nothing happening is good enough for me.
They also put a tooth in soda for 24 hours (the myth is that the tooth will dissolve) and nothing happened to it, either... other than it turned brown.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Orange juice will dissolve a tooth faster than a Coke.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Aspartame is not going to hurt you.
Yes, it breaks down into methanol and formeldahyde in your body, both of which are toxic in high doses, but you'd have to drink 600 cans of diet soda to get as much of either substance as there is in one orange.

the rats got cancer because they fed them so much of it that it crystallized in their stomach and THAT gave them cancer. Like eating sand.

The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Cancer Institute, and the FDA all say it's not going to hurt you. Of course, some other people I've never heard of say otherwise... but aspartame is the most-studied substance in FDA history and has been consistently declared safe.

Aspartame rant aside, I think if they want to make school lunches healthier they need to make the lunch healthier. In high school the only "healthy" food available was warm milk and a slimy, highly unappetizing deli sandwich. Nobody's going to eat that. Other options were Arby's sandwiches, nachos, chicken nuggets, or pizza.

Mmm'yes. If I come back in my next life as a rat, I'll be sure to avoid Diet Coke.


Methinks the concept of pizza and nachos and chicken nuggets being 'healthy' is the problem with many of our Western diets.

 

[blueyedpoet]

my brother's nutrition text book wouldn't lie would it?

 

[Angela Harlem]

my brother's nutrition text book wouldn't lie would it?

that depends. did bush write it?

 

[blueyedpoet]

ha...that's funny. I just responded to Sting2's statement that if Bush really did lie there would be clear evidence and he would be convicted.

 

[Angela Harlem]

i'd better go derail something else now lol

 

[melon]

As a bitchy nun once told me, the Constitution stops at the front door of the school.

Melon

 

[Liesje]

As a bitchy nun once told me, the Constitution stops at the front door of the school.

Melon

Unless, ironically, you go to a private school. We can pray to whomever we want to (or not at all), teach whatever sex ed curr. we feel like, AND I guess my HS can keep their Pepsi contract and 20-some soda machines

 

[Dreadsox]

I can't believe anyone would even put soda in an elementary school.

My first act as VP....got rid of the soda machine.

 

[blueyedpoet]

If people are going to take this stand that we have the right to kill ourselves, then fine argue that the government doesn't have to right to make you drive with a seat-belt too. Yet in both instances, tax dollars are used to either treat the person for obesity related diseases or to help clean a dead body off the street. I don't want my tax dollars paying for things that can be avoided.