Pouring soda down the gutter last week as if it were gin in the prohibitionist twenties, activists in Denver chanted “dump Pepsi now.” The protest was part of a growing — yet misguided — campaign to remove soda machines from public schools. Denver’s school board superintendent even suggested that the only healthy drink is water.
The Denver Post injects some sanity into the debate, editorializing that “if students want pop, they’ll either bring it from home or go off campus to get it.” So why would educators want students to leave school premises just to get something to drink?
Unfortunately, activists are still motivated by debunked notions that soda is a major cause of childhood obesity — a pretty silly idea considering that the average Denver student drinks less than one can of soda per week (so says the superintendent of Denver’s schools). Until sound science trumps urban legend, there will be plenty of happy alligators in the sewer, enjoying the fizzy pop that activists wash down the drain.
