Strategic Alliance Applauds Mayor Newsom and City of San Francisco for Proposing a Fee on Retailers of Sugary Beverages

On December 17th and December 18th, the San Francisco Chronicle brought attention to SF Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposed plans to charge a fee to big retailers of sugary drinks, including soda.  Newsom explains, “The bottom line is that there is a direct nexus between high-fructose corn syrup drinks like colas and Big Gulps and obesity among school kids.”  Funds generated from the fee would go towards the Shape Up San Francisco program as well as media campaigns to discourage soda consumption.

Strategic Alliance applauds Mayor Newsom and the City of San Francisco for suggesting new ways to generate the funds needed to tackle the health consequences of unhealthy eating. As the evidence mounts that there is a direct connection between sweetened beverage intake and increased calorie intake, it makes sense to impose a fee on those who profit from the sale of these beverages.

As members of the Rapid Response Media Network, we encourage you to send in letters to the editor in response to this issue.

Your letters can highlight any or all of these points:

• Growing evidence shows an association between the consumption of soda and other sweetened beverages and increased calorie intake

• The average teenage boy drinks two 12 ounce sodas per day or more than 700 cans per sear. The average teenage girl drinks 1.4 twelve ounce sodas per day or more than 500 cans per year

• One 20 ounce soda has 17 teaspoons of sugar and 250 calories

• Every additional daily serving of sugar sweetened soda increase a child’s risk of obesity by 60%. Regardless of demographics and lifestyle, soda consumption is an independent risk fact of for childhood obesity

We welcome you to share any letters or op-eds that get published with the rest of the Strategic Alliance membership by sending them to sana@preventioninstitute.org

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy, California Food Policy Advocates, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Parks and Recreation Society, California Project LEAN, California WIC Association, Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Partnership for the Public's Health, Prevention Institute, Samuels & Associates and YMCA of the East Bay.

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER

The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership. To join or for more information, please visit us on the Web, www.eatbettermovemore.org, or contact Sana Chehimi at 510.444.7738 or Sana@preventioninstitute.org. And even if you're already a member, please forward this message on to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition. Thank you!

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity--from a focus solely on individual choice and lifestyle, towards one of environmental influences and corporate and government responsibility.

Home | About Us | Our Approach