Inside Story Americas: Should Americans Be Told What to Drink?

September 18, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

New York City has banned jumbo-sized sugary drinks in restaurants, theaters, and streets carts in a bid to tackle the city's soaring obesity rate. But the move has been fiercely criticized by the US soft drinks industry on grounds that the law restricts consumer freedom. Should there be more government regulation of the country's powerful food industry? Guests Tom Philpott, Per Pinstrup-Andersen, and Adam Eidinger discuss.

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Soda tax

A soda tax or soft drink tax is a tax or surcharge on soft drinks. It may focus on sugar-sweetened beverages. As an example of Pigovian taxation, it may aim to discourage unhealthy diets and offset the economic costs of obesity. Explore this topic

New York City

Η Νέα Υόρκη, πρώην "Νέο Άμστερνταμ", είναι μεγαλούπολη των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών. Βρίσκεται στην ανατολική ακτή της χώρας και είναι η πιο πυκνοκατοικημένη πόλη των ΗΠΑ, όπου ο μεν πληθυσμός της υπερβαίνει τα 8 εκατομμύρια ενώ η έκτασή της φθάνει τα 780 τ.χλμ.. Το σύγχρονο όνομά τ... Explore this topic

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg is an American business magnate, politician and philanthropist. He is the 108th and current Mayor of New York City, having served three consecutive terms since his first election in 2002. With a net worth of $27 billion, he is also the 7th-richest pers... Explore this topic

Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. People are considered obese when their body mass index, a measurement obtain... Explore this topic

Food industry

The food industry is a complex, global collective of diverse businesses that together supply much of the food energy consumed by the world population. Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food indus... Explore this topic

Soft drink

A soft drink is a beverage that typically contains water, usually a sweetener, and usually a flavoring agent. The sweetener may be sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, sugar substitutes or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, pr... Explore this topic

Food policy

Food policy is the area of public policy concerning how food is produced, processed, distributed, and purchased. Food policies are designed to influence the operation of the food and agriculture system. The policy consists of setting goals for food production, processing, mark... Explore this topic

Per Pinstrup-Andersen

Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen is a Danish economist and policy maker who won the 2001 World Food Prize for personally initiated the research effort which enabled several governments to reform their food subsidy programs and dramatically increase food availability to the severely i... Explore this topic

John Banzhaf

John Francis Banzhaf III is an American legal activist and a law professor at George Washington University Law School. He is the founder of a smoking pressure group, Action on Smoking and Health. He is noted for his advocacy and use of lawsuits as a method to promote what he b... Explore this topic

Supersize

Supersize or super size is defunct term used by McDonald's to refer to larger than normal portions of french fries or soft drinks, generally used as an upsell option. In the United States, McDonald's removed the Super Size option from their regular menu in March 2004, though s... Explore this topic

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Soda tax

New York City

Michael Bloomberg

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