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Gastropod

Souring on Sweet: The Great Soda Wars, Part 1

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Food, History, Arts

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2018

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Public health researchers agree: the evidence is clear that Americans consume way too much sugar, that sugar contributes to weight gain, and that rising rates of obesity in the U.S. will lead to significant health problems in the future. What’s much less clear is what to do about it. In this special, first-ever two-part episode of Gastropod, we tell the story of how sugary beverages—soda, in particular—became Public Health Enemy #1. Why are politicians and scientists targeting soda? Why have most attempts to pass soda taxes failed? And do these taxes even work to reduce consumption and obesity? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Well, at least half the kids start their day with a Coke and a pack of hot fries.

0:05.3

Like that's breakfast.

0:06.6

And then throughout the day, drinking soda like it's water.

0:10.6

Those empty calories have an enormous cumulative effect on our society.

0:16.3

We're paying the price and the medical bills and all of the kind of health outcomes in

0:21.0

the community.

0:22.0

Well, this is a classic socialist government.

0:26.1

Stick your hand in the citizens' pocket while they're trying to refine it.

0:29.7

A refreshing drink, pull the money out, and then condemn the citizen for drinking sugar

0:35.9

and trying to save their life by saving them from sugar.

0:39.3

That's a rollercoaster.

0:41.0

It's the pro soda tax.

0:43.0

Antisoda tax rollercoaster ride.

0:45.4

Some people think soda taxes are absolutely necessary.

0:48.6

Some people think they're basically the devil's handiwork.

0:51.0

That rollercoaster ride that is basically today's fun-filled gastropod episode.

0:56.8

And actually, it's the next episode too.

0:59.4

That's right.

1:00.4

We have got a special two-part series for you, the first two-parter we've ever done.

1:05.9

We, of course, are gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science

1:09.2

in history.

1:10.2

I'm Cynthia Graber, and I'm Nicola Twilly.

...

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