Mann Chats in the Stacks Book Talk: Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning), 2016-04-27

Little more than flavored sugar-water, soda drinks have given their makers--principally Coca-Cola and PepsiCo--global recognition, distribution, and political power. In a book talk at Mann Library, renowned food policy expert and public health advocate Dr. Marion Nestle discusses her newest book, Soda Politics: Taking On Big Soda (And Winning), highlighting a contradiction within the soda industry. Industry leaders have recently shown some concern about the public health impact of over-consumption of soda and have applied some greater transparency in their research funding process. Yet their marketing strategies, both in the U.S. and overseas, continue to aim at making drinking soda as common as drinking water. While the implications of soda’s marketing success for problems of obesity, diabetes and other health issues are now serious the world over, Dr. Nestle also points out that some public health strategies—including new taxes on soda sales—are proving useful to counteract this effect. Marion Nestle is visiting professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University and Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and professor of sociology at NYU. Her research examines scientific and socioeconomic influences on food choice, obesity, and food safety, emphasizing the role of food marketing. She is the author of several prize-winning books. In May 2015, Soda Politics received the James Beard Award for Writing and Literature.