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San Francisco

April 15, 2014 -- Today I attended a hearing at the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, my home town. The topic of the hearing was a proposed new tax of $0.02/oz of sweetened beverages. As one of several dozen who expressed their viewpoints on this proposal, I spoke as a nurse, parent, and San Franciscan.

Regarding each of those roles, I said what you'd expect: that health care workers are seeing more diabetes and obesity than ever and sweetened foods are largely to blame; that we must protect the health of our children; and how proud I am to be from San Francisco where we lead the nation in forward-thinking public policy.

What shocked me was the number of red-T-shirted proponents of the opposing side. Their T-shirts called for "fairness" and their wearers packed the room. Clearly they had been drilled by "Big Soda", the corporate interests that would be harmed by reduced junk food sales. I doubt that a single one of these well-indoctrinated flunkies would have been there without some incentive (to which not one would admit). The fairness claim speaks volumes to the fact that the science of nutrition is to them a cause that's already lost. Nonetheless, they have the big dollars to confuse the voters with a barrage of advertisements. Without that, our inspired legislation would sail through.

But there's still hope. My fellow San Franciscans are a smart and principled bunch. I hope they are enough so to not be tricked when the ballot rolls around.

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