- Lawmakers in California introduced a statewide sugary drink tax to generate revenue for diabetes and obesity prevention programs, known as the Healthy California Fund (AB 2782). Similar to Berkeley’s existing soda tax, the fee would be assessed on distributors of sugary drinks at a rate of $0.02 per fluid ounce. Read the bill text here.
- Big Food is voluntarily labeling GMOs, largely due to Vermont’s passage of a mandatory labeling law in 2014. “Since food companies can’t create different packaging just for Vermont, it appears that the tiniest of states has created a labeling standard that will go into effect nationwide.” General Mills, Mars, and Kellogg will begin labeling GMOs on a national scale before the July 1 deadline. [How Little Vermont Got Big Food Companies To Label GMOs, NPR]
- Soda warning labels, similar to those on cigarettes, are the clearest way to inform consumers that sugary drinks are harmful to health. Of course, the beverage industry would prefer that consumers continue to be baffled by the Nutrition Facts Label. An opinion article in the New York Times makes the case for labeling sugary drinks. [Labeling the Danger in Soda, NYT]
- Just when you thought the juicing craze couldn’t get any worse…For a mere $700, you can buy a kitchen appliance that produces 8oz of organic cold-pressed juice at once. Cue the eyerolls – this is not an April Fools’ joke. [A $700 Juice Box for the Kitchen That Caught Silicon Valley’s Eye, NYT]
still cookin' 
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