Councilman Mitch Englander isn't out to ban anything resembling a Big Gulp drink like New York's mayor. Nor does he want to social-engineer sugar-loaded sodas out of restaurants.
His choice of beverage was a chilled bottle of water at Tuesday's Corral 54 equestrian picnic at Mason Park, where he told Patch, "It's not like what most people are proposing in other cities."
Instead, he wants to help kids with loose change in their pockets make reasonable drink decisions which will benefit both their health and the cost of medical care in California.
"My motion called for banning of sweetened beverages in vending machines in parks and recreation facilities owned and controlled by the city of Los Angeles," he said. "And I think it's reasonable because we're not looking at doing that at stores. We're not looking at doing that at private enterprise. It's not Big Government trying to take over and control what people are drinking or consuming."
Rather, he said, the city needs to oversee the content of vending machines in the parks and libraries it controls. Libraries currently do not have vending machines, but he said, his motion looks ahead to the day they might be installed.
Earlier Tuesday before the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee of the City Council to demonstrate how much sugar is in each 20-ounce soda. The committee asked for a report in 45 days on how the city might implement the proposal.
Englander told Patch that many children come to city parks unsupervised. "Their parents drop them off or they take the bus or walk and they have money in their pocket ... to get a drink" from vending machines, he said.
"And unfortunately, most of they time when there is water, it's empty, and we have to control that," he said. "We should at least be able to set the tone and lead by example as elected officials for the facilities we control."
But legislation is required because he sees little interest on the part of the vending machine operators to voluntarily drop sugary beverages. "The vendors make so much money off of it. You've got to do it by policy," Englander said.
In 2002, the Los Angeles Unified School District banned the selling of sodas in all school cafeterias and campus vending machines.
"I've been on the board of the American Diabetes Association for 15 years. And we've seen the changes -- just 10 years ago childhood obesity was about one in every 10 children," he said. "And right now it's about one in every four. In some communities we're seeing one in every three."
"These children go on to have all kinds of problems, not only like sleep apnea but also diabetes -- Type 2 diabetes which is rampant," he said.
"Right now we're looking at about $21 billion in healthcare costs in just the state of California because of diabetes and health-related incidents from obesity," Englander said.
"We're finding the No. 1 cause is sweetened and sugared sodas."
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Thank you First Lady, would you like to raise my kid for me?
Budget cuts have left kids without physical education, that includes physical activity and health classes! This is an age of video games, internet etc. Kids are playing less outside. The ten year period you indicate is the same period where there was an increase in the income gap. Inflation outpaced wage growth. Contrary to the great myth in the head of guy making $180K now, $140K as chief of staff, living in a $800K house, there are a lot more lower income people with kids than you think. They can't afford to eat healthy. Maybe because the sales tax, the most unfair of all taxes, takes more out of their pay than yours. Your proposal is flawed. NY has NOT gotten any healthier under Bloomberg. Your proposal will do nothing either. Just another government elitist with no real world understanding trying to mandate standards on people.
If you think this policy is nanny government, then you obviously have no clue what it's like to live everyday of your life in a food desert.. Think about the little kids that don't have a ice cube's chance in hell to find a healthy meal/snack/beverage/whatever in their community.
As a college student I applaud Los Angeles Council Member Mitchell Englander’s motion to remove sodas from Los Angeles parks, libraries and recreation facilities. This is a bold step and it is much needed. I don’t want the future children to suffer health problems like I did.
Yours is a sad commentary. I am almost 70 yeas old, and we had sugary drinks even when I was a kid.. There were no diet drinks, but every gas station had a soda vending machine of some sort. My single mother managed to control my consumption. It was not the job of the city (Los Angeles), the schools, the State, and most certainly not the Federal government. I do admit that the library had no vending machines, but we were not allowed to eat or drink there anyway. There was a gas station across the street from the library, but MY MOTHER said I could not go there. Gee whiz, what an idea, actual personal and family responsibility. By the way,
Water! Free? Oh, maybe you mean drinking fountains. You need to get to the schools. Many, many kids will not drink from the fountains because their parents (yes, their parents) tell them it is dangerous. But our council person thinks the government needs to control "sugary" drinks. Don't worry, we will be taxed millions so a relative of some elected official or top level bureaucrat can be give a grant to study what constitutes "sugary."
LAND OF THE FREE! FREE. Free means I can do what I want without you and the government telling me what to do. Of course that was long before the "socialist" movement kicked in demanding a nanny state. Telling me where I can smoke, what I can eat, what I can wear, how I should talk. Jack people like you ARE THE IDIOTS. You give the government 1 inch they come back for more. That's why our country is fucked up now. The govt is not accountable at any level. Mr. Englander is a corrupt politician not some do-gooder. Bus signs, OPGs, car dealers, AEG... he is a bitch boy for special interest groups and CD12ers are too blind (or stupid) to see it.