The Fizzy Files

     Soda lovers in New York City can breathe a sigh of relief this week as a judge blocked a ban on placing a cap on super-sized sodas.  Mayor Bloomberg’s attempts to limit soda consumption within the city sparked a 50-1 vote on a bill in Mississippi, referred to as the ‘Anti-Bloomberg’ bill.  Mississippi legislators believe that there are already enough Food & Beverage regulations, and that soda lovers everywhere have the right, the liberty to take a huge gulp of that delicious sweet stuff.  The Anti-Bloomberg bill will prevent any State regulations that limit or ban consumables based on their nutritional value. The article also states that, according to a report by Trust for America’s Health, Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the country with a whopping 34.9%. 

          The libertarian in me supports Mississippi for initiating a no-regulation bill, but the suspicious person in me really wonders why Mississippi legislators were so quick to turn this bill around. With the staggering number of adult obesity that is nearly forty percent, could it be possible that their market could crash if caps were placed on Big Gulps?  Also, food & beverage is big business, so it seems to me that by preventing limitations on non-nutritious food items they are only saving their pocketbooks and not what is best for the consumer. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/12/us/mississippi-anti-bloomberg-bill