Berkeley Soda Tax Campaign
This is the story of how Berkeley took on Big Soda – and won.
In 2014, Measure D passed in a landslide, making Berkeley the first city in the country to successfully levy a tax on sugary drinks. The Ecology… Read more »
Berkeley High Freshmen Start School Year with Free Water Bottles Thanks to Soda Tax
[Press Release] As classes start this week, 700 students entering Berkeley High are going to school with free, stainless steel, reusable water bottles. Made by the Chico-based company Klean Kanteen, the water bottles were distributed at freshman orientation by Youth… Read more »
New Local Soda Taxes Poised to Go to Voters in SF, Oakland, and Albany
You probably remember the successful soda tax in Berkeley during the 2014 election. That same election year, there was a proposed San Francisco soda tax that failed to pass. Now, two years later, that could change as Berkeley’s neighboring cities… Read more »
First Wave of Soda Tax Dollars Goes Toward Public School Garden Program
Last week, community members gathered at the Ecology Center to hear updates about revenue from the soda tax, and how that money is being used to support Berkeley’s public school gardening program. The soda tax, which drew in $116,000 from… Read more »
Soda Tax & the BUSD Cooking & Gardening Programs, 6/4/15
Have you heard? The first month of Measure D soda taxes has been collected. Meanwhile, BUSD’s Cooking and Gardening programs are desperate for funding. How much soda tax was collected? And where will that money go? And who decides? Come… Read more »
Berkeley Collects First Month of Soda Tax, Projects $1.2 Million per Year
[Press Release] The City of Berkeley announced yesterday that it collected $116,000 for the month of March from Measure D, the sugar-sweetened beverage tax that voters passed overwhelmingly last November. Given that the tax focused solely on a few dozen… Read more »
What’s Next for Berkeley’s Soda Tax?
Dear Friends of the Ecology Center,
On November 4th, Measure D passed. Not only that, Berkeley’s sugar-sweetened beverage tax won with 75% of the vote: a landslide! A small community took on one of the world’s largest industries and prevailed,… Read more »
This Saturday: Mexico’s Soda Tax with Raj Patel, 9/27/14
A year ago, Mexico was the first in the world to pass a national soda tax, to combat the world’s highest obesity rate. Early results show that the tax has effectively reduced sales of soda by 10%. What can we… Read more »
Soda Lobby Sues Berkeley over Soda Tax Language
Berkeleyside, Berkeley Voice, and other local media have picked up on the story about Big Soda’s first move to bully Berkeley over its soda tax. Read on for our press release about the lawsuit.
Industry-funded opponents of Berkeley’s soda tax… Read more »
Walk and Talk for Measure D, Berkeley’s Soda Tax
The Ecology Center strongly supports the Berkeley Soda Tax, which will be on the ballot in November. We are part of a wide grassroots effort, fighting for the health of the next generation. August and September are prime times for… Read more »
Update: City Council Votes Unanimously to Place Soda Tax on Berkeley Ballot
On Tuesday July 1, the Berkeley City Council voted unanimously and enthusiastically to place a soda tax measure on the November 2014 ballot. If voters approve the measure in November, Berkeley would be the first US city to tax sugar-sweetened… Read more »
San Francisco Proposes Soda Tax for 2014 Ballot, to Fund Nutrition Education and Public Health
Two San Francisco Supervisors are moving forward a 2014 ballot measure to put a 2 cents per ounce tax on sodas. The soda and beverage industry is paying attention and has started to respond, setting up for a David-and-Goliath battle… Read more »
Soda Industry’s Arguments Against Taxes Are Crumbling
Local news website BeyondChron is running a series of articles called “Soda Tax Myths.” With the series, they are shining a light on what is shaping up to be a big campaign for the 2014 ballot, in both San Francisco… Read more »
Why Soda-Tax Battles Matter in the Fight Against Obesity
A recent op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle lines up the scientific reasons why sugary beverages are linked to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other health concerns. The quick snapshot is that soda and other sugary drinks deliver huge quantities… Read more »
Big Soda Advertising and Educational Interventions in the Virtual Space
Over the past four years, Ecology Center has been reinvesting grant funding from soda tax dollars into initiatives aimed at raising awareness at Berkeley High School about health equity and the growing cases of type 2 diabetes among young people,… Read more »
Watch New Short Film: Berkeley Vs. Big Soda
On March 28th, 2016 the Ecology Center released “Berkeley vs. Big Soda,” a short film that tells the story of how a community fought the powerful beverage industry to pass a tax on the distribution of sugary beverages.
The movie… Read more »
Soda Politics Book Launch: An Evening with Marion Nestle, 11/4/15
It’s been one year since Berkeley passed the groundbreaking soda tax. The efforts of that campaign is recognized in a new book Soda Politics by a national thought-leader on public health policies, Marion Nestle. She will be giving a free… Read more »
Soda Series
Soda: the Series was a line up of six events that offered conversations about sugary drinks and their impact on the health of families, community and environment. Topics included the science of how sugary drinks are processed by our bodies,… Read more »
We Did It: Berkeley Beat Big Soda
Thank you, Berkeley, for being so amazing!
Thank you for passing Measure D! Berkeley’s sugar sweetened beverage tax passed last night with a 75% landslide vote. In a time of such political darkness, our local politics are a shining light… Read more »
Next in Soda Series: Is Soda the New Tobacco? 10/7/14
This morning when the proposed soda taxes in San Francisco and Berkeley were discussed on KQED’s Forum, a question came up: is there even one doctor who is against a soda tax? They are sure keeping quiet. In contrast, a… Read more »
