I believe there should not be a limit on large sodas for several reasons. The limit on soda would certainly make the face of NYC government look better, as it strives to parallel the health movement. In other words, the limit would make the government appear as if it cares about the health and well-being of its citizens. Despite this potential positive outlook on the government, the limit does not seem to fix anything. First of all, the large soda limit does not eliminate any particular person’s need for soda. In fact, if someone desires to drink soda, he would buy it at any cost. In this case, it would be better for the government to issue advertisements selling healthy products or initiating campaigns to help educate citizens on good food choices. In this way, they would be planting ideas into New Yorkers’ minds such as, “it is better to buy this food than that because this contains less sugar”. If the soda limit was implemented again, one would see those who usually buy large sodas buy the same kind in a different form or find another means to get it (i.e. Westchester, New Jersey), and those who never buy it to not be affected. Second, the large soda limit would not eliminate any person’s need to crave and buy other types of junk foods. Such persons who would not be affected by the limit would continue to buy sugary fruit juices, chips, candy, etc. Last, the soda limit does not address the main issue, which is the culture in which such consumption/buying of soda arises from. This culture, which is prevalent in the US, generally does not reprimand people when they make poor food choices, and in fact says it is okay to do so. As mentioned before, campaigns that helped people become aware of such choices would be more impactful than a limit. Thus, by itself, the limit is almost powerless to create real change. However, the limit can be seen as a first step.

A few years ago, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of NYC, had proposed a limit on the size of soft drinks one could purchase at establishments that were regulated by the city. He wanted to limit the sale of sugary drinks that were greater than 16 ounces.

I personally am not directly affected by the ban on sugary drinks since I don’t really drink soda. I prefer to drink unsweetened tea or fruit juices instead. Although the ban does indeed send the message that it intended to, these sorts of measures may be seen as too controlling. Instead of making a ban based on the size of sugary drinks, there should be regulations regarding the labelling of these beverages, or at least awareness needs to be spread about the intake of sugar and calories as a result of consuming soda and other sweetened drinks. Labeling of the amount of sugar should be done in an understandable and appealing way on packages, so people can easily check the sugar content. Many people drink beverages containing a lot of sugar because they either simply aren’t conscious about how much sweetener they consume or they simply do not care. Instead of focusing on the size of the drinks one can buy, a greater emphasis on supplying healthier drinks for people to purchase should be applied.

Sugary drinks are highly popular because they are very cheap to buy and many people enjoy consuming sweets. High fructose corn syrup is a main proponent to the success of soft drinks, due to the fact that it was created as a response to the overproduction of corn within the United States, which in and of itself is a result of the government’s subsidies to corn farming. In this way, it is easy to make an assumption wherein the government is indirectly promoting the sale of carbonated and sugary beverages. Instead of trying to discourage the sale of sugary drinks to combat this, which is treatment of a symptom, they should try to treat the root cause of the issue, by reducing subsidies for corn and redirecting the funds into other crops. The government should redirect its subsidies towards fruits and vegetables instead.

In all honesty, I am not really fond of the idea of banning or taxing unhealthy foods to combat obesity, although I am not a medical professional or in training to be one, nor am a nutritionist, so I’m open to new information. To my untrained eyes, it appears that the root of obesity in the U.S. most likely resides in widespread issues with pricing and availability of healthy foods.
The first question to ask is “would a soda ban be actually effective?” and with only very cursory research the answer appears to be “not really.” It may have an effect, but it’s too small to actually make a difference (Fletcher). Although a small improvement is still an improvement, and soda is by no means essential to living, I still think such a ban reinforces the idea that fighting obesity in the U.S. can be done with bans and taxes alone, and am therefore against it.
I worry that banning or taxing unhealthy food makes it unavailable for people unable to afford or access healthy food, who will suffer as a result. Fast food is easily accessible for someone working most of the time, so there is no need to cook a meal, which might be a daunting task for parents who are dead tired and arriving home late. It’s also something easy to grab on a short lunch break or to eat on the train to work. It also may be cheaper than buying healthy food that may only be affordable in bulk, which isn’t an option with perishables. It may be hard to find healthy food in bulk without putting in effort a person may not have after a long work day, or a person may not have the means to store it. I’m reluctant to support putting any kind of financial strain on people already struggling to make a living. I think a better solution would be to encourage healthy eating instead of discouraging unhealthy eating, which requires an entirely different path of legislation.

Fletcher, Jason M., David Frisvold, and Nathan Tefft. “Can Soft Drink Taxes Reduce Population Weight?” Contemporary economic policy 28.1 (2010): 23–35. PMC. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

New York City has a pretty decent subway system, but also a very outdated one as well. From the lack of trains during rush hour to satisfy the midday rush home from the city to the old subway cars that plague certain lines. While the system itself could use an update, the bigger issue are the people occupying the train. From men who decide to take an immense amount of space from leg spreading to people pushing their way onto a loaded car. The subway system is a place for impolite conduct. The worst part about this is that we’d all rather just stand aside and say nothing, rather than speak up to these individuals about how their behavior affects others. I myself have found myself witnessing how inconsiderate some people can truly be on the subway system. One instance in which I found myself in the middle of a packed subway car, there was a man who took up two seats, and decided to spread his legs far apart. When people started getting pushed inwards and came near his legs he began to argue with them and demand they move back. Its instances such as this that show to me how certain individual s in society lack a clear understanding of what is considered common curtesy.

One of my favorite public transit experiences I’ve had was when I was taking the bus home towards the end of my first semester of college. I had a philosophy essay due soon, so I was trying to work on the essay on my iPhone.

Things were going pretty well, when I heard some other people on the bus start talking. I was trying to focus on the essay but I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation. A young girl, probably in second or third grade, was talking to her mom about another girl in her school who she was having some trouble with. It seemed like this other girl had teased her and had been mean to her, but was now unexpectedly being nice.

It was an interesting conversation, and it was even more interesting given that I was writing an essay about what “good” means and what constitutes an “intrinsically good activity”. Hearing about someone whose actions were morally uncertain while trying to write about morals was definitely not what I expected when I got on the bus to go home. But that’s one thing that makes New York (and its public transportation) special. You never know who you’ll meet and what you might hear.