Read

User menu

Search form

Welcome to Berkeley, Calif: Ground Zero for the Soda Wars

Welcome to Berkeley, Calif: Ground Zero for the Soda Wars
Mon, 10/27/2014
This article originally appeared on robertreich.org

I got a call the other day from a stooge of Big Soda who was doing a “push poll” — trying to get me and all my neighbors to vote against Berkeley’s proposed one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary soft drinks.

Big Soda is pulling out all the stops — and the money — to prevent the tax, because Big Soda knows that if it fails in Berkeley it can’t pass anywhere.

Yet, just like tobacco, we know a small tax reduces consumption. And just like tobacco, consumption of sugary soft drinks is a huge health problem.

One out of three American kids is obese and at risk of early-onset diabetes. A major culprit is Big Soda.

Isn’t it time the people stood up against corporate moneyed interests that are determined to prevent us from protecting ourselves and our kids?

Originally published by RobertReich.org

3 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

ONE-TIME DONATION

Just use the simple form below to make a single direct donation.

DONATE NOW

MONTHLY DONATION

Be a sustaining sponsor. Give a reacurring monthly donation at any level.

GET SOME MERCH!

Now you can wear your support too! From T-Shirts to tote bags.

SHOP TODAY

Sign Up

Article Tabs

Their tactics to force construction of data centers even against significant opposition from local communities have become increasingly forceful and hostile.

Whether Republicans want to be the party of Christianity or the party of worshipping false idols is a question they’ll have to seriously reckon with very soon, unless they want the American electorate to speak for them.

“Storytelling teaches not through instruction, but through imagination and example,” says the Sami artist Máret Ánne Sara. “These stories don’t provide direct answers, but rather the ethical tools to navigate and sustain the world.”

Republicans’ fate in the 2026 midterms is likely sealed. But they could be out of power for multiple subsequent election cycles if Democrats are smart.

In November, Indigenous protests in London included the launch of “Bringing It All Back Home,” confronting corporate power head-on.

Their tactics to force construction of data centers even against significant opposition from local communities have become increasingly forceful and hostile.

Whether Republicans want to be the party of Christianity or the party of worshipping false idols is a question they’ll have to seriously reckon with very soon, unless they want the American electorate to speak for them.

“Storytelling teaches not through instruction, but through imagination and example,” says the Sami artist Máret Ánne Sara. “These stories don’t provide direct answers, but rather the ethical tools to navigate and sustain the world.”

Republicans’ fate in the 2026 midterms is likely sealed. But they could be out of power for multiple subsequent election cycles if Democrats are smart.

In November, Indigenous protests in London included the launch of “Bringing It All Back Home,” confronting corporate power head-on.

Republicans’ fate in the 2026 midterms is likely sealed. But they could be out of power for multiple subsequent election cycles if Democrats are smart.

Posted 1 month 1 week ago

Whether Republicans want to be the party of Christianity or the party of worshipping false idols is a question they’ll have to seriously reckon with very soon, unless they want the American electorate to speak for them.

Posted 1 month 1 week ago

Their tactics to force construction of data centers even against significant opposition from local communities have become increasingly forceful and hostile.

Posted 1 week 1 day ago

“Storytelling teaches not through instruction, but through imagination and example,” says the Sami artist Máret Ánne Sara. “These stories don’t provide direct answers, but rather the ethical tools to navigate and sustain the world.”

Posted 1 month 1 week ago