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If a question is raised about fairness to low income areas or businesses owned or patronized by racial minorities, why not eliminate that factor entirely and focus restricting what people can purchase with EBT cards?
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUGARY_DRINKS_LAWSUIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-01-23-06-18-52
Beverage attorney: NYC drinks limit bad for public
NEW YORK (AP)
-- New York City's limit on the size of sugary drinks is an
"extraordinary infringement" on consumer choice, a lawyer for the
American Beverage Association and other critics said in court on
Wednesday.
"New Yorkers do not want to be told
what to drink," attorney James Brandt told Manhattan state Supreme
Court Justice Milton Tingling.
Opponents also are raising questions of racial fairness alongside other complaints as the novel restriction faces a court test.
The
NAACP's New York state branch and the Hispanic Federation have joined
beverage makers and sellers in trying to stop the rule from taking
effect March 12. Critics are attacking what they call an inconsistent
and undemocratic regulation, while city officials and health experts
defend it as a pioneering and proper move to fight obesity.
The
issue is complex for the minority advocates, especially given that
obesity rates are higher than average among blacks and Hispanics,
according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The
groups say in court papers they're concerned about the discrepancy, but
the soda rule will unduly harm minority businesses and "freedom of
choice in low-income communities."
The latest
in a line of healthy-eating initiatives during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's
administration, the beverage rule bars restaurants and many other
eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger
than 16 ounces. Violations could bring $200 fines; the city doesn't plan
to start imposing those until June.
The city
Board of Health approved the measure in September. Officials cited the
city's rising obesity rate - about 24 percent of adults, up from 18
percent in 2002 - and pointed to studies linking sugary drinks to weight
gain. Care for obesity-related illnesses costs more than $4.7 billion a
year citywide, with government programs paying about 60 percent of
that, according to city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley.
"It
would be irresponsible for (the health board) not to act in the face of
an epidemic of this proportion," the city says in court papers. The
National Association of Local Boards of Health and several public health
scholars have backed the city's position in filings of their own.
Opponents
portray the regulation as government nagging that turns sugary drinks
into a scapegoat when many factors are at play in the nation's growing
girth.
The American Beverage Association and
other groups, including movie theater owners and Korean grocers, sued.
They argue that the first-of-its-kind restriction should have gone
before the elected City Council instead of being approved by the
Bloomberg-appointed health board.
Five City
Council members echo that view in a court filing, saying the Council is
"the proper forum for balancing the city's myriad interests in matters
of public health." The Bloomberg administration counters that the health
board, made up of doctors and other health professionals, has the
"specialized expertise" needed to make the call on limiting cola sizes.
The
lawsuit also argues the rule is too narrow to be fair. Alcohol,
unsweetened juice and milk-based drinks are excluded, as are
supermarkets and many convenience stores - including 7-Eleven, home of
the Big Gulp - that aren't subject to city health regulations.
The
NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, a network of 100 northeastern
groups, say minority-owned delis and corner stores will end up at a
disadvantage compared to grocery chains.
"This
sweeping regulation will no doubt burden and disproportionally impact
minority-owned businesses at a time when these businesses can least
afford it," they said in court papers. They say the city should focus
instead on increasing physical education in schools.
During
Bloomberg's 11-year tenure, the city also has made chain restaurants
post calorie counts on their menus and barred artificial trans fats in
french fries and other restaurant food.
In
general, state and local governments have considerable authority to
enact laws intended to protect people's health and safety, but it
remains to be seen how a court will view a portion-size restriction,
said Neal Fortin, director, Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at
Michigan State University.
---
Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz
