Two Northern California cities will make a foray into the national soda wars today with proposals to tax sodas and other sugar-laden drinks, and the results could have implications for the entire country.
Soda tax measures are on the ballot in both Berkeley and San Francisco. If either passes, it will be the first for a California city.
Berkeley’s Measure D would impose a penny-per-ounce tax on sodas and other sugary drinks; in San Francisco, residents would pay a two cent tax per ounce to indulge under Measure E. San Francisco’s measure requires a two-thirds supermajority, with revenue earmarked for various health programs. In Berkeley, revenue would largely be put towards the general fund.
The beverage industry has spent more than $11 million to fight the Bay Area proposals, but polls are showing considerable support for both measures. Given the figures, it is likely that at least one of the measures will pass, according to Harold Goldstein, director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy—and that could have massive repercussions for the nation.
“All it takes is one, and the dominoes are going to start falling,” said Maureen Erwin, a consultant for the San Francisco campaign. “Right now, it's just a matter of how soon.”
While the proposals have a shot in these progressive Bay Area cities, they have had a dismal record elsewhere. Soda tax proposals have failed in more than 30 municipalities nationwide so far. In 2012, the cities of Richmond and El Monte, California attempted to levy soda taxes of their own, but the proposals were defeated by 67 and 77 percent of voters respectively.
Read more about the ballot measures here.