CNN's Soledad O'Brien Voices Her Support of Bloomberg Soda Ban
Count Soledad O'Brien as another CNN fan of Mayor Bloomberg's
nanny state crack down on big sodas. Even while reporting on the law's demise at the hands of the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday's Starting Point, O'Brien revealed that she's been "a long supporter of it."
"I've been a long supporter of it. I actually think it's a good idea.
But I do think the judge has some interesting points," O'Brien said of
the ban, which was struck down by the New York Supreme Court on Monday.
On Monday night, CNN's Piers Morgan defended the city's ban on the sale of sugary drinks over 16 ounces.
[Video below. Audio here.]
O'Brien interviewed both NYC health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, who
supported the law, and Andrew Moesel of the New York Restaurant
Association, who opposed the ban. Although she played devil's advocate
with both guests, she was particularly pointed with Moesel.
"So, those bigger drinks are connected to just taking in more calories,
they're also connected in those calories are unhealthy calories," she
told Moesel after citing "research" that "supported" Farley's take.
"So, in a way, congratulations on the victory, but aren't you
standing up for something that ultimately is unhealthy for children and
adults, too?" she obnoxiously asked Moesel.
O'Brien also threw out a sloppy analogy, comparing large sodas to
driving without seatbelts, as if both contained the same amount of
danger and risk. "The reality is that, you know, most of us wouldn't put
on seatbelts, unless we were aware that there was a law that said we
had to, and so, we do that," she argued.
A transcript of the segments, which aired on Starting Point on March 12 starting at 7:16 a.m. EST:
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Walk through with me the judge's ruling. You said you
were pretty surprised. You thought you kind of had this victory in hand.
DR. THOMAS FARLEY, health commissioner, New York City: Basically the
judge said that the Board of Health doesn't have the authority to put in
place this regulation. Our lawyers think he's wrong on the law. And
more importantly, he's wrong on health.
O'BRIEN: He also says this, it applies to some but not all food
establishments in the city. It excludes other beverages that have
significantly higher concentrations of sugar, sweeteners and/or calories
on suspect grounds, and the loopholes inherent in the law include, but
not limited to, no limitations on refills, defeat and/or serve to gut
the purpose of the law. So he also sort of said – and I guess that's an
extension of "it's capricious." There are so many loopholes in this,
that this law wouldn't even work, was basically part of the gist of his
argument.
FARLEY: Obviously we disagree. The Board of Health put in place a rule
for banning trans fats in restaurants, and that likewise had some
complexity to it. The Board of Health regulates what it can. And it did
what it can here and it was very appropriate. Again our lawyers think
we're going to win on appeal. But more important, this is really crucial
for health. We have a major problem with obesity in New York City.
O'BRIEN: That's two different arguments. So let's talk about the appeal
first. What makes you think you can win on appeal? Or would you extend
the ban, which some have suggest – even the judge himself actually felt
that the ban because it was limited was problematic in your -- in the
ruling anyway, so would extending the ban work and is that part of the
appeal?
FARLEY: Well first of all it's not a ban. It's just a cap on container
size. And so we're very supportive of it. The appeal is going to say
that the Board of Health does have the authority to do this. And we
think the appeals courts, when they look at this and they look at the
history of the Board of Health, will recognize it does. The Board of
Health banned lead in paint in 1959. If we didn't have authority to do
that we'd still have lead in paint.
O'BRIEN: Right. Part of the argument of the judge was, and let's
continue with the lead in paint metaphor if you would like to, there's
not a store where you can buy lead in paint next to a store where you
can't buy lead in paint. What this judge is saying is a 7-Eleven would
be exempt and could sell whatever they want next to a Korean grocery
store, which we have a zillion here in New York City, where they would
actually be limited under the health department laws. So that's what
he's sort of pointing to the capriciousness. So would you extend the
limitation so that something like the 7-Eleven would also not be able to
sell the larger sugary drinks?
FARLEY: The Board of Health doesn't regulate convenience stores or
grocery stores. That's one of the realities that the Board of Health had
to deal with when it came up with this rule. Just because the rule
doesn't cover everything doesn't mean it shouldn't cover the most
important thing that it can regulate, and that's something that's
important from a health perspective that's also true legally.
O'BRIEN: We're going to be talking to the restaurant's association
later and they said, listen, one of their big problems – and again,
lobbying, right? But one of their big problems is that they don't feel
like they're partners in this. They feel like the city is trying to tell
them what to do and that ultimately the better way to reach healthier
options for people in the city is not to dictate something where, by the
way, you could go and just pick up five different sodas and get that
large number of sodas if you wanted to.
FARLEY: Well the restaurant association doesn't like any of the
regulations we put forth. They don't like the letter grading, they don't
like the fact that we inspect them to make sure that their temperatures
are the right – or that their refrigerators are the right temperature.
But we do that to protect the health of the customers and New Yorkers
overall support that.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. One of the things that the Mayor said to David Letterman was this. Listen.
(Video Clip)
BLOOMBERG: I think that it is incumbent on government to tell people
what they're doing to themselves and then let people make their own
decisions. So our job is to educate people.
(End Video Clip)
O'BRIEN: So there are people who would say the ban is not that. The
limit is not educating people. The limit is literally not allowing them
to purchase something. It's kind of the opposite of what the Mayor was
telling him.
FARLEY: I disagree. Right now if you want 32 ounces of soda you can buy
32 ounces of soda. Under this rule in the future, if you want 32 ounces
of soda you can get 32 ounces of soda in two cups. That just simply is a
little reminder that maybe this is beyond what you should be eating but
you can certainly consume that and buy it. And the restaurants can sell
that.
O'BRIEN: What happens? What's the plan in terms of like a timeline for the appeal?
FARLEY: The city will be filing an appeal. I don't exactly know the
timing but sometime in the next few months, a board of appeals judges,
five judges, will rule on this. And again, our lawyers have looked at
this very closely before we even put the rule in place and we're
confident we have -- that the Board of Health has the authority to do
this.
O'BRIEN: We'll see. It will be interesting. I've been a long supporter
of it. I actually think it's a good idea. But I do think the judge has
some interesting points. We're going to talk to the restaurant
association a little bit later this morning. As you know they completely
disagree with you. So it will be interesting to hear what they have to
say. Thanks for talking with us.
(...)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The part of the argument about health which Dr. Farley
referred to at the end, has been supported by research, right? I mean,
there's a new study out, I have it here, right, which is this one.
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill actually comes out today,
embargoed until today, this morning. "Sugar-sweetened beverages are
primarily responsible for higher caloric intakes that children consume
compared to kids that don't. In addition, those beverages are associated
with higher intake of healthy foods." So, those bigger drinks are
connected to just taking in more calories, they're also connected in
those calories are unhealthy calories. So, in a way, congratulations on
the victory, but aren't you standing up for something that ultimately is
unhealthy for children and adults, too?
ANDREW MOESEL, spokesman, New York Restaurant Association: Well, the
one thing that our association, the restaurant industry and the Mayor
and the commissioner agree on is that education is really the best way
to solve this problem. Obesity is a big problem in this country. The
restaurant industry has taken a lot of voluntary steps to address it. We
think the government does have a place in fighting this problem, but we
think it's been enabling people to make healthy decision by themselves.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but people often don't, right? The reality is that, you
know, most of us wouldn't put on seatbelts, unless we were aware that
there was a law that said we had to, and so, we do that. Or, people who
wanted to smoke would go ahead and smoke in a New York City restaurant
until there's a law that says, in fact, you now have to smoke outside.
So, sometimes, we enhance what is a good decision or healthy decision by
telling people these are the rules.
