tons of fun

There’s an interesting conversation in the comments over at the Scene’s blog about soda, sugar, child obesity and parenting and that sort of thing. Parke over at the US Food Policy blog chimes in on the issue:

I enjoyed reading the actual text of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s recently proposed labels:

• The U.S. Government recommends that you drink less (non-diet) soda to help prevent weight gain, tooth decay, and other health problems.
• To help protect your waistline and your teeth, consider drinking diet sodas or water.
• Drinking soft drinks instead of milk or calcium-fortified beverages may increase your risk of brittle bones (osteoporosis).
• CSPI also said that caffeinated drinks should bear a notice that reads “This drink contains x grams of caffeine, which is a mildly addictive stimulant drug. Not appropriate for children.”

Incidently, the ubiquitous industry response line in the Reuters coverage argues that individuals, not the government, should be allowed to make decisions about food and beverage consumption. Nice slight of hand, eh? The proposal was for truthful warning labels, not food police.