16 oz. Soda Ban Approved By NYC Board of Health

I only got that when I was being an ass about not eating veggies, and never got the starving kids in Africa garbage. We never minded having leftovers, so much as they were afraid I wasn't eating enough of the right things without prodding. Which, y'know, I wasn't.

edited 21st Sep '12 3:24:08 PM by Pykrete

I've never understood people who did not like vegetables. Unless they are boiled to within an inch of their lives most veggies are delicious. Of course, I grew up with a subsistence garden and an apple orchard so my views might be colored some. Pull a carrot out of the ground, give it a hose-off...that's way better than a Snickers bar.

Most of what we could afford at the time was canned stuff that did have the life boiled out of it. So go figure.

It took me until high school to figure out that spinach is actually really good fresh.

What's the big issue with this?

[1]:

I don't see the difference between banning this, and banning, let's say, cigarettes that are bigger than ten centimetres long, or something. (I know that the length of cigarettes does not affect your health, but lets assume that longer cigarettes cause more damage to your health )

Hi Hopey!

Replace "cigarettes" with "alcohol" and perhaps you will see more of a reaction. If the law started to restrict over 16 oz. of alcohol, then people wouldn't like it.

Hopelllly~

I never see you anymore...

Anyway, yeah, I don't see the problem with this either. It doesn't ban soda period, it restricts the size, and it only applies to out-door vendors.

Hi, Triv! I'm sneaking. Weekend, see.

Yack Fest! :D

In any case, people seem to be working on the assumption that government is out to get you. I, a European, am working for the assumption that government - generally - is just a bit clumsy (except when they're actually very very bad). Government isn't supposed to save people from themselves, but its supposed to help people make sustainable choices.

If people become slightly healthier because of this, then there is less strain on health services. People are healthier. So, people turn up for work. Economy moves. And so on, and so forth.

@Trivialis: Actually, there are already similar laws in regards to alcohol, at least in my state. You can't purchase stuff of a certain alcohol content or above here. 151 proof is the highest you can go.

Slightly veering off-topic; do certain states have alcohol-pricing legislation?

In Britain, set volumes of alcohol has to have a minimum price. For example, 500 ml must be sold at a price of £1 or above (random figures I made up).

Depends on the state. Some have state-operated liquor stores only, so the state sets the price on all alcohol. Also each state has slightly different taxing schemes.

State... owned... liquor... shops? 0_o

@DS: I believe a lot of what you find delicious is based on what your parents ate while you were in the womb, along with the first few years of your life.

So someone not exposed to vegetables often might end up finding a lot of them disgusting.

Yeah. Washington was one of them until just recently. Not to mention that there are areas where you're not legally allowed to buy alcohol at all.

edited 21st Sep '12 9:37:21 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

.... ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

State-owned alcohol shops? Places where alcohol is prohibited? 0_o

Yep. So really, the ban on sodas larger than 16 oz isn't so terrible, or unusual.

I never thought it unusual in the first place, but in context, it doesn't seem very controversial.

Really, I think it's because people only get outraged when it's something that applies to them. Not everybody smokes or drinks, but just about everyone drinks soda.

I think that people will just get used to it, and in a form of desynchronous amnesia (I am sleep-deprived. The correct term has yet to come to my head ), will act as if the Act has been in force since the beginning of time.

Give the lady a prize.

On the portion size/price thing: I suspect it has to do with how we see meal division. Based on my experience, we divide meals into two or more segments. Entree, side, (optional) bread, dessert. This is how I've seen most places divide their stuff. There's also appetizers which I would personally count as side that you get before the meal whether salads or fries covered in bacon and cheese.

Based on observation, people think of the entree as the meal and the sides as "filler" and don't mind cutting it out to save a few bucks (such as rice). Since entrees (in my experience) usually consist of meat, or meat w/bread (noodle or wrap of some kind usually) and rarely have vegetables or fruit except as a garnish or condiment portion size.

Some ways to counter this, in my mind at least, would probably to switch the ordering order so that you order your sides first. Or it's listed as three options of what you get from the order (I've seen a few place offer it as a vegetarian meal where you order three sides and skip the entree).

For cooking speed, cafeterias seem like the best response. Places that already have the food ready for you are a hell of a lot easier to get through since you don't have to wait for them to cook it.

I'm confused about this "servings" thing. How many servings is a 16oz can supposed to be? And a 32oz can?

Also, you do know that 16oz is already considered "big" outside of the States, right? Where I live, the standard is 33cl (11.2oz), with big cans (or small water bottles) being 16oz. Oh, and there is no such thing as a 1L (32oz) bottle that can't be closed after opening (hell, even 16oz bottles have a screw cap).

One serving is supposed to be 8oz. Supposed to be. Average can size is 12 oz though.

edited 23rd Sep '12 6:48:33 AM by DrunkGirlfriend

^^ Also, note that the serving size is set, in the US, by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

For the policy wonks, 21 CFR 101.12, Table 2, 101.9(b) is the regulation in question. (If the link doesn't work, just google on the "21 CFR..." stuff.) The soft drink stuff is about a quarter of the way down the page.

The restaurant I went to today has 22 oz glasses, but uses so much crushed ice that it holds a touch less soda than a 12 oz can.

Poor Whataburger, their standard size is like thirty something ounces.

0.o I'm not sure I could fit that on a table with what I was supposed to be eating... let alone manage to chug all that sugar down without falling over sideways from the dizzy!

And, that's the Standard?!? Do I want to know what Large is? <shudders>

edited 24th Sep '12 3:46:21 PM by Euodiachloris