San Jose Rejects Ban On Sale Of Sugary Drinks
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – The San Jose city council has killed a proposal that would have banned the sale of sodas, sports drinks and whole milk at all city facilities.
City Councilman Ash Kalra proposed the ban, saying the city shouldn't be contributing to the problems parents may be having getting their kids to choose more healthy options.
Kalra said sodas and whole milk are part of a diet making kids fat. He cited a 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Study that found 13 percent of American high school students were overweight.
San Jose To Take Up Proposed Ban On Sugary Drinks
"I want to make sure that the city is at least not contributing to any of the challenges that parents have in trying to limit their children's intake of some of these sodas and other beverages," Kalra said before Wednesday's vote.
But Wednesday afternoon, a rules committee decided to take no action on the bill, which essentially killed the proposal.
The proposed ban was the latest attempt to limit the sale of fattening food and drinks. But some city leaders in San Jose are having none of it.
Councilman Johnny Khamis said San Jose is becoming a "ban everything" kind of city.
"We've banned plastic bags, we're trying to ban menthol cigarettes, we're going to be banning styrofoam, we're going to be banning whole milk and sodas soon," he said. "We're going to become Ban Jose instead of San Jose."
Kalra said the chief targets of his proposal were vending machines and resellers at city facilities.
The measure follows attempts in Richmond and El Monte in Southern California to place taxes on sugary drinks. Both measures failed at the ballot box last year.
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