The Decline of ‘Big Soda’ • Hacker News Board

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#11

Post by tim333 » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:19 PM UTC

lemevi wrote: post #5

Just take some time next time you're in a supermarket and walk down the cereal aisle, it's just incredible. It's all sugar and carbohydrates in colorful cartoony boxes meant to appeal to children. Just a cup of cereal has many calories and people and children eat huge bowls of this stuff. So I think an anti-cereal campaign might also help. I often wonder what would happen to national obesity rates if cereal aisles in…

Or if they just stopped advertising it. In the UK the government tried to ban food advertising to children but there was massive lobbying from Kellogg's and they dropped it.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#12

Post by codingdave » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

lemevi wrote: post #5

Just take some time next time you're in a supermarket and walk down the cereal aisle, it's just incredible. It's all sugar and carbohydrates in colorful cartoony boxes meant to appeal to children. Just a cup of cereal has many calories and people and children eat huge bowls of this stuff. So I think an anti-cereal campaign might also help. I often wonder what would happen to national obesity rates if cereal aisles in…

If you are going there, you may as well evaluate the entire store. Most processed foods are not healthy, and most grocery stores are stocked with processed foods. It is not like the frozen dinner/pizza aisle has many good choices either. The produce sections are good, though.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#13

Post by lfjmfkekdk » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

lemevi wrote: post #5

Just take some time next time you're in a supermarket and walk down the cereal aisle, it's just incredible. It's all sugar and carbohydrates in colorful cartoony boxes meant to appeal to children. Just a cup of cereal has many calories and people and children eat huge bowls of this stuff. So I think an anti-cereal campaign might also help. I often wonder what would happen to national obesity rates if cereal aisles in…

I have a large bowl of cereal every morning. Yes, I eat those kids' sugary cereals. My BMI is below 20.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#14

Post by yincrash » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:23 PM UTC

littletimmy wrote: post #10

What we really need is a limit on advertising. Corporations manufacturing packaged sugar like coke, cereal etc. should not be able to manipulate young children to get them addicted to their crap. Sell this stuff in plain white boxes, ban advertising to young children, and in general, limit the free speech of soulless legal fictions when they target children.

where do you draw the line? should all food be sold in white boxes with plain lettering?

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#15

Post by lfjmfkekdk » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:28 PM UTC

littletimmy wrote: post #10

What we really need is a limit on advertising. Corporations manufacturing packaged sugar like coke, cereal etc. should not be able to manipulate young children to get them addicted to their crap. Sell this stuff in plain white boxes, ban advertising to young children, and in general, limit the free speech of soulless legal fictions when they target children.

That will certainly not pass the first amendment test.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#16

Post by andyfleming » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:28 PM UTC

littletimmy wrote: post #10

What we really need is a limit on advertising. Corporations manufacturing packaged sugar like coke, cereal etc. should not be able to manipulate young children to get them addicted to their crap. Sell this stuff in plain white boxes, ban advertising to young children, and in general, limit the free speech of soulless legal fictions when they target children.

Regulating advertising then gives control to whatever organization makes those decsisions. Are their interests always going to be in alignment with our own?

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#17

Post by andyfleming » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:30 PM UTC

littletimmy wrote: post #10

What we really need is a limit on advertising. Corporations manufacturing packaged sugar like coke, cereal etc. should not be able to manipulate young children to get them addicted to their crap. Sell this stuff in plain white boxes, ban advertising to young children, and in general, limit the free speech of soulless legal fictions when they target children.

What we really need is education. Children and adults alike should better understand nutrition and what they are putting in their bodies. It's no secret that soda and so many other drinks are packed with sugar, but no one seems to care or understand.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#18

Post by PKop » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:31 PM UTC

littletimmy wrote: post #10

What we really need is a limit on advertising. Corporations manufacturing packaged sugar like coke, cereal etc. should not be able to manipulate young children to get them addicted to their crap. Sell this stuff in plain white boxes, ban advertising to young children, and in general, limit the free speech of soulless legal fictions when they target children.

Young children don't do the grocery shopping. Parents need to take responsibility and not buy unhealthy food for their kids. I'd say children up to a certain age are drinking this stuff simply because their parents bought it for them (How else?).

Plus, "when they target children" would simply become harder to define as companies would modify their ads, but the problem would remain if parents aren't taking an active role in educating their children themselves as to what is unhealthy, and making purchasing decisions that are healthy, instead of depending on the government (or corporate advertising) to do it for them.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#19

Post by twic » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:31 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #9

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #4

I would like to see a decline of "Big water". It astonishes me that bottled water is consistently sold for more than sugar water and not one bottler breaks from the pack and sells it for less. That can only happen with industry wide collusion to fix prices and yet no one in the government does anything about it.

I think my local supermarket sells bottled water for as little as 19p (29c) for 2 litres, as as much as about £2 ($3) so I think you are mistaken.

That stuff is probably more or less tap water:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tesco-and-as...

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Actual spring water is uniformly 45p for two litres:

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=258016736

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/sparkling-wate...

http://groceries.asda.com/product/sparkling-water/asda-eden-...

https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/product/Morrisons-Pe...

That said, i imagine kevin_thibedeau was referring to the situation in the US. Perhaps bottled water is more expensive there. Or perhaps sugar water is cheaper.

Re: The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

#20

Post by brandonmenc » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 5:31 PM UTC

lfjmfkekdk wrote: post #13

lemevi wrote: post #5

Just take some time next time you're in a supermarket and walk down the cereal aisle, it's just incredible. It's all sugar and carbohydrates in colorful cartoony boxes meant to appeal to children. Just a cup of cereal has many calories and people and children eat huge bowls of this stuff. So I think an anti-cereal campaign might also help. I often wonder what would happen to national obesity rates if cereal aisles in…

I have a large bowl of cereal every morning. Yes, I eat those kids' sugary cereals. My BMI is below 20.

I was a cereal addict as a kid. Killed a couple boxes of the stuff a week. And I was super skinny, probably because we played outside to the point of exhaustion every single day.