Oped in the New York Times: How to Win Against Big Soda

Dear friends,

Christina and I are excited to share with you our oped from today’s New York Times, about the battle against Big Soda. In it, we offer our take on how taxes on sugary drinks are one tool to take on this indomitable industry. While more and more people are coming to see the public-health impacts of sugary drinks, Big Soda is continuing to try to shape the story with the same time-tested tobacco industry tactics of delay, distract, deny. We know that one of the best ways to beat back that messaging is with good old-fashioned community organizing. For this reason, we are excited this fall to be launching our organizing toolkits that we hope can help ignite the grassroots action and energy we believe is so critical to winning.

We send you this note along with a very heavy heart. The loss and devastation of the fires still raging across Northern California is nearly unfathomable. We’ve heard from friends who have lost everything and read of harrowing escapes and the heartbreak stories of families of have lost loved ones. If you’d like to make a contribution to the those impacted by the fires, there are many great local organizations raising funds. We recommend considering the Northern California Wildlife Relief Fund to support families and farmworker communities with both emergency and long-term needs or the North Bay Fire Recovery Fund to help family farms, farmworkers, and those not covered by insurance or served by traditional relief services. Another great local place to consider donating is the Redwood Credit Union. Thanks for all you do and, if you have the resources to share, thank you for supporting those impacted by the fires.

Best,

Anna and Christina