Soda Tax Proposed

Yes, you read correctly.  A tax on soda.  Politicians are comparing soda to the "Big Tobacco" of old, pinning the blame for the obesity and diabetes epidemics on soda.  They draw parallels between the youth driven advertising and health problems in both.

Their plan includes: eliminating soda and candy from schools; placing a tax on soda and other sugared beverages to increase their price significantly; requiring tobacco-inspired warning labels about the sugar and calorie content; and creating a marketing campaign to educate the public on the evils of high sugar consumption.

Officials say that sugar consumption is much higher than it should be, which I don't think anyone can deny.  They say that part of the problem is the relative cheapness of unhealthy food and the relative expense of healthy food, like fresh fruits and vegetables.  They say that the proposed taxes could be used to subsidize fruits and vegetables, fund their marketing campaign and pay for health and nutrition classes in public schools.

The Article Every Expecting Parent Must Read

This article absolutely blew me away.  It is about the heel prick that is commonly done minutes after the birth of a baby, and is meant to test for genetic disorders.  You can read the article here.

Basically, I have never thought too deeply about this simple test or weighed its pros and cons.  Its detractors claim that it allows the government to maintain genetic information on the child; that it involuntarily includes parent and child in genetic research; and that it may lead to future discrimination by a theoretical insurance company, if a problematic gene is discovered.

Ok, those could be some significant problems, especially for the paranoid.  And nobody wants to hear their newborn cry when their heel is pricked.  So what's the benefit, and why am I still for it?

Why You Should Get Rid of Antibacterial Soap

In our society right now, there is a strong emphasis (and capitalization) on a broad fear of germs.  More and more schools and parents are teaching proper hand-washing procedures, and that's great.  But we need to stop doing it with antibacterial soaps!  


I know, they kill 99% of germs, and reading that on the label makes everyone feel safer and cleaner.  But we don't actually need them.  In fact, by using them we're making the germs worse.

Lead by Example: Eat Your Veggies!

There has been a commercial on lately for one of those fruit/veggie drinks to trick your kids (or spouse) into eating their veggies.  This commercial shows a family sitting at the table, and they pass around a delicious-looking plate of steamed broccoli, which no one (not even the parents) touches, before gulping down glasses of the advertised beverage.

And I don't like it one bit.

First of all, that broccoli looked really good!  But I won't get bogged down in details.  The real issue is bigger than this ad, so I'll look at the big picture.