Taxes on tobacco products have been highly effective in reducing consumption, and data indicate that higher prices also reduce soda consumption. A review conducted by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity suggested that for every 10% increase in price, consumption decreases by 7.8%. An industry trade publication reported even larger reductions: as prices of carbonated soft drinks increased by 6.8%, sales dropped by 7.8%, and as Coca-Cola prices increased by 12%, sales dropped by 14.6%.5 Such studies — and the economic principles that support their findings — suggest that a tax on sugared beverages would encourage consumers to switch to more healthful beverages, which would lead to reduced caloric intake and less weight gain.
The increasing affordability of soda — and the decreasing affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables (see line graphRelative Price Changes for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Sugars and Sweets, and Carbonated Drinks, 1978–2009.) — probably contributes to the rise in obesity in the United States. In 2008, a group of child and health care advocates in New York proposed a one-penny-per-ounce excise tax on sugared beverages, which would be expected to reduce consumption by 13% — about two servings per week per person. Even if one quarter of the calories consumed from sugared beverages are replaced by other food, the decrease in consumption would lead to an estimated reduction of 8000 calories per person per year — slightly more than 2 lb each year for the average person. Such a reduction in calorie consumption would be expected to substantially reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes and may also reduce the risk of heart disease and other conditions.
Some argue that government should not interfere in the market and that products and prices will change as consumers demand more healthful food, but several considerations support government action. The first is externality — costs to parties not directly involved in a transaction. The contribution of unhealthful diets to health care costs is already high and is increasing — an estimated $79 billion is spent annually for overweight and obesity alone — and approximately half of these costs are paid by Medicare and Medicaid, at taxpayers' expense. Diet-related diseases also cost society in terms of decreased work productivity, increased absenteeism, poorer school performance, and reduced fitness on the part of military recruits, among other negative effects.
The second consideration is information asymmetry between the parties to a transaction. In the case of sugared beverages, marketers commonly make health claims (e.g., that such beverages provide energy or vitamins) and use techniques that exploit the cognitive vulnerabilities of young children, who often cannot distinguish a television program from an advertisement.
A third consideration is revenue generation, which can further increase the societal benefits of a tax on soft drinks. A penny-per-ounce excise tax would raise an estimated $1.2 billion in New York State alone. In times of economic hardship, taxes that both generate this much revenue and promote health are better options than revenue initiatives that may have adverse effects.
Objections have certainly been raised: that such a tax would be regressive, that food taxes are not comparable to tobacco or alcohol taxes because people must eat to survive, that it is unfair to single out one type of food for taxation, and that the tax will not solve the obesity problem. But the poor are disproportionately affected by diet-related diseases and would derive the greatest benefit from reduced consumption; sugared beverages are not necessary for survival; Americans consume about 250 to 300 more calories daily today than they did several decades ago, and nearly half this increase is accounted for by consumption of sugared beverages; and though no single intervention will solve the obesity problem, that is hardly a reason to take no action.
The full impact of public policies becomes apparent only after they take effect. We can estimate changes in sugared-drink consumption that would be prompted by a tax, but accompanying changes in the consumption of other foods or beverages are more difficult to predict. One question is whether the proportions of calories consumed in liquid and solid foods would change. And shifts among beverages would have different effects depending on whether consumers substituted water, milk, diet drinks, or equivalent generic brands of sugared drinks.
Effects will also vary depending on whether the tax is designed to reduce consumption, generate revenue, or both; the size of the tax; whether the revenue is earmarked for programs related to nutrition and health; and where in the production and distribution chain the tax is applied. Given the heavy consumption of sugared beverages, even small taxes will generate substantial revenue, but only heftier taxes will significantly reduce consumption.
Sales taxes are the most common form of food tax, but because they are levied as a percentage of the retail price, they encourage the purchase of less-expensive brands or larger containers. Excise taxes structured as a fixed cost per ounce provide an incentive to buy less and hence would be much more effective in reducing consumption and improving health. In addition, manufacturers generally pass the cost of an excise tax along to their customers, including it in the price consumers see when they are making their selection, whereas sales taxes are seen only at the cash register.
Although a tax on sugared beverages would have health benefits regardless of how the revenue was used, the popularity of such a proposal increases greatly if revenues are used for programs to prevent childhood obesity, such as media campaigns, facilities and programs for physical activity, and healthier food in schools. Poll results show that support of a tax on sugared beverages ranges from 37 to 72%; a poll of New York residents found that 52% supported a “soda tax,” but the number rose to 72% when respondents were told that the revenue would be used for obesity prevention. Perhaps the most defensible approach is to use revenue to subsidize the purchase of healthful foods. The public would then see a relationship between tax and benefit, and any regressive effects would be counteracted by the reduced costs of healthful food.
A penny-per-ounce excise tax could reduce consumption of sugared beverages by more than 10%. It is difficult to imagine producing behavior change of this magnitude through education alone, even if government devoted massive resources to the task. In contrast, a sales tax on sugared drinks would generate considerable revenue, and as with the tax on tobacco, it could become a key tool in efforts to improve health.
The price of green Arabic coffee is at a 13-year high, and other ingredients such as dairy, sugar and cocoa have experienced market volatility. That means the company is upping the price of some of its more complicated beverages and considering raising the price of packaged coffee.
“Over the last six months a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs have completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry,” said Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. “And while many, if not most, coffee roasters and retailers began raising prices months ago, we have thus far chosen to absorb the price increases ourselves and not pass them on to our customers.”
Not anymore. Schultz said the “extreme nature of the cost increases” is forcing the Seattle-based coffee company to raise prices.
Starbucks officials said Wednesday the company will maintain or lower the price of some of its most popular beverages, including its $1.50 tall coffee. But more “labor-intensive and larger-sized beverages” will cost more.
If green coffee prices continue to rise, it’s possible Starbucks will charge more for packaged products, too.
Other retailers, including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Dunkin’ Donuts, are already charging more for coffee.
Always on, always full and always ready, new technology provides instant hot and cold beverages
SARASOTA, Fla., Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In just a year's time, the average American household typically spends thousands of dollars on pre-packaged beverages and homebrewed coffees and teas, in addition to drinks bought at neighborhood cafes and convenience stores. Whether a habit or necessity, these purchases and their associated costs add up, as does the amount of post-consumption trash. Thanks to the new Esio Water and Beverage System, it's now possible to stop such out-of-control spending and "drink green," by preventing and reducing waste with the earth-friendly Esio solution.
The only always on, always full and always ready hot-and-cold beverage system on the market, the Esio transforms tap water into purified water and beverages when connected to a reverse osmosis filtration system, such as the Esio 5 Stage R/O System, or may be used with purified bottled water. With the touch of a finger, the Esio's patented drop-and-drink technology conveniently dispenses an array of hot and cold beverages - everything from coffee and teas to juices, vitamin waters, sports drinks and more.
"Let's face it, Americans drink a ton of bottled and canned beverages, many of which aren't good for your health, your wallet or your environment," says Chuck Vollmer, Owner/Operator of Esio Water and Beverage System. "The Esio eliminates the need to purchase and continually dispose of small bottles and cans, and gives consumers a number of Esio drink choices, thanks to concentrated Esio-paks that deliver more beverage for the buck."
Perfect for the home or office, the Esio comes in two models, black or white, and woodgrain or stainless steel upgrade kits are available for a modest additional charge. Esio offers multiple rental or purchase plans. Each small Esio-pak makes nearly a gallon of delicious drinks. This replaces 10 12-oz. drinks in cans or plastic bottles, making the Esio 92 percent landfill-efficient and an affordable, eco-friendly beverage alternative. Ordering is easy online or through Esio sales representatives.
New products and technologies are scheduled for rollout this year, and demand for the Esio is rising. In response, the company is developing its branding with some big-name partners and also expanding its network, offering immediate opportunities in regional development, area development and franchisees. For more information or to schedule a demonstration, visit http://www.esiosrq.com.
About Esio Water and Beverage System
Based in Sarasota, Fla., Esio Water and Beverage System is reinventing the refreshment industry one healthful drink at a time. Its unique hot-and-cold beverage system, in addition to technology that instantly dispenses the fresh drinks, saves consumers money and offers a "green" alternative to traditional water cooler systems and wasteful, individually packaged beverages.
North America (nawait): The Tohono O'odham, also known as the Papago, live in southern Arizona and northern Sonora. In late summer they hold a rain ceremony, important to the desert people, for which they harvest the fruit of the saguaro cactus and ferment it into a wine called nawait, the drinking of which will bring the rains.
They take long poles made from the skeletons of dead saguaros to knock down the fruits which they split open by hand. They must be careful not to allow the fruit to hit the ground and split open, and to harvest the fruit before it opens on the cactus. A saguaro fruit has red pulp inside and thousands of tiny black seeds. The pulp is supposed to taste sort of like a fig with a slight strawberry flavor. The fruit is sorted for quality and cleaned, then soaked in water for several hours in tightly woven baskets . Then they mash the fruit with the water with their hands before boiling it for up to two hours. They then pour it into earthenware pots called ollas, which they store in a dark cool place to distill for 3-7 days. The short fermentation time produced a sweet wine - they do/did not like a dry wine.
Delivering Increased Value and Convenience to its Customers
Digital Impact, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIGI), the premier provider of online direct marketing solutions for enterprises, today announced that Beverages & more!, California's largest chain of wine, beer and spirit superstores, is using Digital Impact's online direct marketing solutions to promote the launch of its online division, BevMo.com (www.BevMo.com). Beyond promoting BevMo.com, Digital Impact will help Beverages & more! market one-to-one to its customers through individualized email marketing campaigns. By fully integrating its customer and transaction databases with its online operations, Beverages & more! plans to streamline its corporate marketing efforts as well as drive revenue to BevMo.com.
BevMo.com, which went live across California in January 2001, adds a powerful marketing communication channel for Beverages & more!. Leveraging its impressive customer base in 20 stores throughout Northern and Southern California, Beverages & more! will work with Digital Impact to deliver tailored email messages that match
the interests of individual customers and discuss timely promotions in local Beverages & more! stores. The company's initial email marketing campaigns garnered incredible results. On the day of its campaign promoting Super Bowl shopping, Beverages & more! generated more than a 400 percent increase in the number of online registrants and measured a 400 percent increase in online sales as compared to BevMo.com's average daily activities.
If it’s winter in your hemisphere, looking for different warm drinks to keep you toasty is high on the agenda. Below are 10 more hot beverages you can drink to keep you warm from morning to night, and some you might drink while giving your four-season tent a tryout in the winter months.
Canelazo: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Canelazo is a warm, spiced water that’s been boiled with a dark brown cane sugar called panela, together with cinnamon sticks, sometimes cloves, and in Ecuador, juice of the naranjilla a tropical orange-like fruit with a taste somewhere in the neighborhood of mint and pineapple.
Canelazo: ximenacab
The sweetened, heated liquid is mixed with a hefty dose of aguardiente, a cane sugar alcohol (which is not boiled). Although you could, theoretically, get drunk on it, it’s generally served in small glasses and more to keep you warm than make you start believing you can sing pasillo (considered the national style of music in Ecuador).
Sungnyung: Korea
Sungnyung is a traditional Korean tisane (tea-like drink) which has been traced back to the Goryeo period (918 to 1392 AD). It is made by pouring hot water over the parched layer of rice that forms at the bottom of pot or kettle when you let all the water boil out.
You can also make a version by toasting rice in a dry pan until it browns and smells nutty, and brewing it with hot water for about ten minutes. Its taste is reminiscent of toast, and makes a refreshing non-caffeinated end to a meal.
Ponche: Mexico
Tejocotes for ponche: La.Catholique
This is a hot, alcohol optional fruit punch prepared in a giant pot or cauldron, and ideally kept on hand for visitors at Christmastime. While every family has their own variation, it generally contains large quantities of fresh fruit, including the difficult-to-find outside of Mexico sweet and acidic tejocote (you can find them cooked and jarred in some Latin American grocery stores), walnuts, raisins, and piloncillo (solid cane sugar).
It’s simmered for at least a half an hour, and ladled (including the fruit) into cups for guests, who may choose to finish it off with some rum or brandy.
Hot Tang: USA
I didn’t know about hot tang (or Kool Aid, or whatever you have on hand) until after a long, hard hike against a fierce headwind in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.
I arrived at the campsite with some new hiking buddies, and they immediately fired up the stove to boil some water and added a flourescent green powder into the mix. I can’t say your doctor recommends it, but if you need something to warm you up, sipping bilious green (or pink) “juice” from your tin camping cup probably isn’t the worst thing that will happen over the course of a long camping trip.
Research reveals that in some places in the US, it is mixed with brewed tea for a caffeinated kick. There is no evidence to suggest that the astronauts drank their Tang at anything higher than room temperature.
Colada: Ecuador
Colada, a term you may associate with the frothy pineappley beach drink served in its sexy glass, has no alcohol in it. The drink is essentially a very thin, drinkable oatmeal.
Naranjillas growing: bobosh_t
You first soak the dry oats for about ten minutes, and later boil them with a large quantity of water and the fruit of your choice (in Ecuador it’s the naranjilla again), mix in some sugar and a tiny pinch of salt, and send it for a spin through the blender. It is strained before drinking (thus the name colada, where colar means to strain).
What results is a warm, creamy, almost milky drink that stands in for a cool-morning breakfast or after school snack in the Ecuadorian highlands. On warmer days it is also drunk cold. Ecuadorean woman’s tale of colada and find her recipe on Laylita.com.
Kuzuyu: Japan
This is a warm, sweet, thickened drink, about the consistency of honey, made of water and kudzu (sometimes mistranslated as arrowroot) powder. It is drunk as a dessert in winter months, and can be made from scratch or with mixes sold in flavors such as ginger, green tea, and black sugar.
Sometimes it comes in pressed tablets with flowers embossed on top, and the tea is said to help with stuffy noses and sore throats.
Navegado: Chile
Mulled Wine, or Navegado: chatirygirl
In many parts of the world, people make a mulled wine with cinnamon, cloves and orange slices simmered in wine. In Chile it’s called navegado, and we carmelize the sugar in the bottom of the pan before adding the wine.
The warm cup in your hands plus the rising aromatic steam are all part of wintertime for adults. The trick is to add the orange slices late in the game so the rinds don’t have time to release their bitter oil.
Boba/Bubble tea/Pearl Milk Tea: Taiwan
Bubble tea, served hot or cold Ben+Sam
Boba is a (usually) milky, sweetened drink with blueberry-sized black tapioca balls lining the bottom of the cup, which are slurped up through a diagonally-cut monster straw.
Flavors include various types of tea, as well as almond and purple yam. It can be drunk cold in the summer, but is also served warm in the winter. It is filling, and the tapioca balls are chewed before swallowing.
Tim Tam Slam: Australia
Tim Tam Slams are not technically a hot drink so much as they are a snack and drink in one.
First, you must procure some Tim Tams, which are an Australian sandwich cookie also available in New Zealand and Canada (and sometimes the US and Hong Kong). You nibble off two corners of the cookie on the diagonal, and dip one corner into the hot drink of your choice (tea, coffee), slurping up a bit of the drink through the cookie and then popping the (now melty) cookie into your mouth.
If my experience is any indication, it takes some practice to get it down. It is rumored that you can try this with non TimTam cookies, and theoretically, anything sandwich cookie coated in chocolate could work, but Tim Tam devotees shirk anything other than the original.