Bye-Bye Supersized Drinks?
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Across the nation nearly everyone I speak with has a strong reaction to last week’s plan led by New York City’s mayor to ban sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces (a typical “medium”). This includes both bottled and fountain drinks containing more than 25 calories in an eight-ounce serving. The ban would not affect 100% juices or drinks containing 50% or more of milk or a milk substitute (like milkshakes). Anyone wanting to purchase a 32-ounce drink can purchase two 16-ounce drinks. And that’s the source of the problem. Should the government intervene in a private area like food choice? Freedom of choice, with value is the question here. People have joked about what’s next: smaller slices of pizza, a thinner burger, smaller cookies? While it seems unlikely that this policy will become a law, from both the regulatory and legal points of view, this attention-grabbing concept is causing a lot of controversy. Going “retro” on drink sizes makes a lot of sense, and it...