Food is on the government table

California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez told a news conference this morning he will introduce legislation to tax sugar-sweetened beverages to fund efforts to fight childhood obesity. Florez (D-Shafter) says his bill would help curb their “rampant consumption.”

The bill would add a per-teaspoon-of-added-sugar tax to sugar-sweetened beverages (although not to diet drinks with non-caloric sweetener), the senator's office says. The revenue would go toward obesity prevention programs such as nutrition and physical education programs in schools.

It’s just one of the many ways government is looking at food issues. Read more.

--Mary MacVean

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times