In today's issue:

Bernie Sanders has directed the American Beverage Association to stop using his likeness in Bay Area ads against soda taxes, and in a statement said, “Excessive sugar consumption is a serious health problem for children and all of us.” ... If ever you needed a sign that soda taxes can have a big impact – and that Big Soda fears big losses next month – look no further than the eye-popping sums pouring into (deceitful) campaign advertising, as reported this week in major outlets including NPR and Vox. ... Pepsi says it will cut sugar but, considering the pre-election timing, the announcement was met with some skepticism. ... We’ve rolled out two new resources: a sugar overload calculator to help people see how quickly it adds up and an interactive map of the movement. ... It’s almost Halloween: See how creative people are getting in their efforts to avoid too much candy.

Jaw-dropping Big Soda spending

With less than three weeks until Election Day, Big Soda is spending record amounts on campaigns against sugary drink taxes. After we brought attention last week to this rapidly ballooning spending, major media outlets picked up on the story.  The jaw-dropping spending came after a recent succession of big blows to Big Soda: An embarrassing report unmasked how Coca-Cola and PepsiCo sponsored at least 96 national health organizations at the same time the companies were lobbying against public health bills intended to reduce consumption of sugary drinks; The World Health Organization urged all countries to tax sugary drinks; Chicago’s Cook County IL became the latest jurisdiction to propose a tax on sweetened drinks. Read more.

Under pressure, Pepsi says it will cut sugar. Can we believe it?

Pepsi’s latest pledge to cut sugar comes as the beverage industry is pouring millions into fighting health-motivated soda tax measures, and days after yet another large jurisdiction – Chicago’s Cook County – proposed a sweetened beverage tax.  While we are pleased whenever a company reduces the amount of sugar in its products, we will need to carefully monitor to see that Pepsi follows through. Our new interactive map of the movement includes this and all the other sugary drink tax and warning label efforts happening around the nation. Read more.

See how quickly added sugar adds up with our new calculator

Introducing the Sugar Overload Calculator -- our new game to help people see just how much added sugar lurks in our food and beverage products. Select from 12 popular items and see how quickly it can add up to too much. Try it out and let us know what you think! Read more.

Avoid the sugar overload on Halloween and beyond

With less than two weeks until Halloween, the sugar overload season is upon us. Health concerns are driving more parents to find creative ways to celebrate the holiday that don’t involve mounds of candy.  See how children are learning that fun doesn't have to mean a pile of sugar. Read more.

Help Protect Children's Nutrition

Your voice and expertise needed: Join us and the Union of Concerned Scientists in calling for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture to ensure that national guidelines on children's added sugar consumption are driven by public health evidence, not food industry influence. Sign on letter.

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We'd love to hear from you! 
Please take a minute to give us some feedback to make this as useful as possible. If you have tips on research we should cover, please send them to Petra Vallila-Buchman at [email protected]. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter @HealthyFA.

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Yours Truly,

David Goldberg
Healthy Food America