The new (old) trend out of California is the reviled soda tax, which will appear as a referendum on the ballots of two cities, Richmond and El Monte. Two other cities rejected soda tax proposals. And while proponents hide behind … Continue reading →

You wouldn’t expect Kelly Brownell — the architect of the Twinkie tax and head of Yale’s activist Rudd Center — to say something nice about a Twinkie, but at the New York City soda ban public hearing this week he … Continue reading →

We mentioned it in passing, but in case you missed it, a Nevada legislator, Harvey Munford, resurrected a proposal to place an as-yet-undetermined tax on “junk food.”  Last year, Munford proposed to levy a five-cent tax on all “fast food” … Continue reading →

The fight against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’ portion–size prohibition on soft drinks continues, even as Bloomberg’s allies look to make the ban more inclusive.  As Hizzoner was attending the festivities surrounding the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest this Independence Day, … Continue reading →

Before Michael Bloomberg declared war on soda in New York City, the front-line of the battle to preserve our freedom to imbibe was in Richmond, California, where the “penny-per-ounce” soda tax will appear on the November referendum ballot. In a … Continue reading →

The national convention of America’s largest physicians’ association, the American Medical Association (AMA), was held this week, and activists hoped to get ringing endorsements from white-coated solons for their policy proposals. We were optimistic given the AMA’s history of taking … Continue reading →

One theory of political change, called the “Overton window” after the political theorist who proposed it, holds that at any given time some policies are unthinkable—outside the window—until someone makes them thinkable. One way that a supposedly moderate activist group … Continue reading →

Since activists failed to get a statewide soda tax on the books in California last year, they’ve turned to Bay Area municipalities to make local residents lab rats in the war on fat. The first to join them could be … Continue reading →

Of all the would-be dietary dictators, wannabe syrup-saboteur MeMe Roth is perhaps the most freely contemptuous and openly hateful toward those who would choose the simple pleasures of food and drink, whatever their weight. We, however, suspected she wasn’t alone … Continue reading →

The Institute of Medicine (IOM), a group that advises the federal government on medical and public health issues, released a report today outlining its recommended strategies to reduce the obesity rate. And while it had nice things to say about … Continue reading →