Obesity in adults and children has been linked to a number of foods and beverages over the years. According to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola are to blame, as well. So concerned is he about the expanding waistline of his citizens that Bloomberg is attempting to impose a ban on these 16-ounce liquid calorie bombs. What about going back for refills, you ask? I’m sure he’s working on that problem right now.
In an attempt to separate themselves from such negative press, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent recently sat down with the Wall Street Journal for an interview, which was published on Monday. During the chat, Kent spoke frankly about Bloomberg’s plan to rid the city of their extra pounds by limiting their intake of sugary beverages.
According to Kent, the company doesn’t feel they are responsible for the increasing number of obese individuals who are currently living — and dying — in our country. So ridiculously overweight are we that the United States recently ranked as one of the heaviest nations in the world. In case you were wondering, that’s not an accolade to be particularly proud of. Unless, of course, unchecked gluttony is your reason for living.
“We’ve gone from being a single-beverage, single-brand company to now 500-plus brands, 3,000 products. Eight hundred of these products we’ve introduced in the last four or five years are calorie-free or low-calorie,” Kent said in defense of his products. “It is, I believe, incorrect and unjust to put the blame on any single ingredient, any single product, any single category of food.”
If Bloomberg has his way, Coca-Cola, along with other carbonated beverage manufacturers, will see their products dispensed in limited quantities at restaurants, delis, and various entertainment venues. The ban, oddly enough, does not include diet, fruit, dairy or alcoholic drinks, the latter of which are notoriously high in calories.