New Vending Machines to List Calorie Count of Soft Drinks

It looks like the war on soda continues.

Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper are all releasing new vending machines that will list the calorie count of its soft drinks. The move seems to be the latest attempt by big corporations to get people to make “healthier choices.”

As criticism of sugary sodas intensifies, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are rolling out new vending machines that will put calorie counts right at your fingertips.

The move comes ahead of a regulation that would require restaurant chains and vending machines to post the information as early as next year, although the specifics for complying with the requirement are still being worked out.

"They're seeing the writing on the wall and want to say that it's corporate responsibility," said Mike Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates for food safety and nutrition.

Still, he noted that it was an important step forward. "Currently, people don't think about calories when they go up to a vending machine," he said. "Having the calories right on the button will help them make choices."

The thing that annoys me the most about this is that they're acting like it's all the soda companies' fault that people are fat. It’s not just sodas that are making people obese. What about all the other factors that contribute to weight gain, like not enough exercise and fatty foods? Sure, sugary drinks contribute to it, but obesity is a combination of all of those things, there’s really no single cause of it.

And there’s no magic bullet to solve obesity either, (aside from just making healthy choices) so take your crosshairs off the soda cans.