Times Reading Log for Thursday, October 7, 2010

On the front page Thursday's paper the article "City Seeking to Wean Poor From Sodas," grabbed my attention. 

Mayor Bloomberg sought federal permission to bar New York City's 1.7 million recipients of food stamps from using them to buy soda or other sugared drinks. 

The request was made to the United States Department of Agriculture, which finances and sets the rules for the food stamp program.  Its an anti-obesity push by the mayor which also includes stricter rules on food sold in schools and the unsuccessful attempt to put a tax on sugared drinks.

I, personally am pleased to read this.  I'm hoping this is one step forward and that one day we will see the government subsidizing local produce. 

The mayor is not completely supported in his actions, one person said, in the first quote of the article, which I'm not sure is the proper place to quote this person, that the government had no right to stigmatize people on food stamps. 

The mayor requessted a two year ban for a study on whether it would have a positive impact on people's health.  The mayor said that no sugary drinks would give people more money to spend on real nourishment. 
The mayor had gotten a lot of negative feedback because so many believe believe that it is unfair to target the poor and that they can choose for themselves.  The author was a little unclear about what drinks would be limited, milks, etc. but this was cleared up by an editorial on page A31.