Readers' Turn: It's Pop, Not Soda
OCT. 9, 2015
[http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/10/09/upshot/09UP-POP/09UP-POP-master675.jpg]
A Pepsi-Cola sign in Long Island City, Queens. Credit Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
By Josh Katz and Margot Sanger-Katz <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/margot_sangerkatz/index.html>
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Our article last week about declines in American soda consumption<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html?_r=0> prompted complaints from readers in the South and Midwest. Why, they asked, were we calling those sweet, fizzy drinks "soda" and not "pop" or "coke"?
Continue reading the main story<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/upshot/readers-turn-its-pop-not-soda.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20151009&nl=upshot&nlid=36794002&ref=headline#story-continues-2>
"I can't remember the last time I had a pop (West Coast terminology if I've ever seen it)" wrote C., a commenter from New York. "To me, they're to be enjoyed for special occasions like a night out at the diner. Seriously, if you don't get pop at a diner, you're heartless."
Perhaps our coastal bias was showing.
If you live in California or the Northeast, it's easy to forget that about 40 percent of the country refers to what industry analysts call "carbonated soft drinks" with a word other than "soda."
Continue reading the main story<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/upshot/readers-turn-its-pop-not-soda.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20151009&nl=upshot&nlid=36794002&ref=headline#story-continues-3>
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[A line of discarded soda machines in a field in Barrow, Alaska.]<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html>
Scaling Back: The Decline of 'Big Soda'OCT. 2, 2015 <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html>
* <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html>
* <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/upshot/americans-are-finally-eating-less.html>
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* <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/upshot/the-evidence-supports-artificial-sweeteners-over-sugar.html>
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"Coke" is the word in parts of Texas and the Deep South, while there are places in the Midwest where over 75 percent of people say "pop."
A vocal minority in and around Boston calls the drinks "tonic," and in New Orleans, North Carolina and a few other places you're apt to hear someone order a "soft drink." (In England, apparently<http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article4580730.ece>, people say "fizzy drink.")
Another common response to the story: Why is bottled water such a blockbuster when tap water in the United States is plentiful, safe and mostly free?
Readers are right to point out that many people buy in a bottle what they could easily drink from the faucet. But we should also note that the beverage industry's bottled water category also includes some seltzers and flavored waters.
ELS, Berkeley, Calif.
Why waste money and resources on purchasing bottled water? We have perfectly good tap water. Carry a refillable container and enjoy!
Ben P, Austin, Tex.
We are replacing the vice of sugar with the vice of plastic covering for water. Tap water is 1/10,000 the cost of bottle water. Tap water has much less of a carbon foot print than bottle water. Tap water tends to be cleaner than bottled water. Tap water does not result in plastic bottles ending up in landfills. Let's cut out soda, but let's replace it with tap water.
Continue reading the main story<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/upshot/readers-turn-its-pop-not-soda.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20151009&nl=upshot&nlid=36794002&ref=headline#story-continues-6>
There used to be a lot more water fountains around. That's why people are drinking bottled water- no easy source.
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jeremyrnr
Notice the increase in bottled water, which is soda minus all the additives (that cost money). The soda conglomerates are laughing all the way to the bank.
Jason G, Brooklyn
Yep, soda is bad. But can we also talk about bottled water? Shame on the companies for converting our water sources, a longstanding public good, into a source of profit. On the other hand, you have to question the people drinking it. Why pay a 2000x premium for the same exact product?
RPM, North Jersey
Continue reading the main story<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/upshot/readers-turn-its-pop-not-soda.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20151009&nl=upshot&nlid=36794002&ref=headline#story-continues-7> 4Comments
A gallon of water weighs 8.3 lbs. Water is heavy and bulky. Transporting water uses significant amounts of fossil fuel. Think how much energy is required to move water from Fuji to Hackensack, N.J.
Suzin, Connecticut
This is very good news. But please, drink water from your own tap. You are paying for bottled water that might not be as good, that might not even be tested, and that is very likely "tapped" by the bottlers from your own city water.
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