Industrial agriculture and processed food corporations are flooding supermarket shelves with seemingly endless choice. But this abundance of packaged products and sugary drinks is deceiving. In reality, we lack real choice: the choice for fresh, local, and far more nutritious foods.

Around the world, roughly 2 billion people are overweight, consuming too many calories from unhealthy sources driving a global public health crisis. One of the biggest culprits? Sugar and sugary drinks pushed by a handful of big corporations, with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in the lead. These brands, which many have dubbed Big Soda, spend billions every year on a range of marketing and political tactics—including advertising, lobbying, and free trade agreements—to expand their reach in the United States and around the world.

These tactics are reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s decades-long fight against regulation and public education about the dangers of smoking. Like Big Tobacco, Big Soda has a vested interest in increasing sugary drink consumption despite the tragic and costly public health consequences. Like the tobacco industry, Big Soda markets aggressively, especially to young people and communities of color.

The good news? People power everywhere is taking on Big Soda. Strategies like soda tax campaigns, spearheaded by the communities most affected by health disparities, are spreading and making big wins. As part of a range of community-based strategies to reclaim our food systems, soda taxes have been successful in reducing consumption and generating revenues to support public health.

The resources in this toolkit will help you organize a fun and engaging film-based event, shine a light on Big Soda’s tactics, explore people-powered strategies, and offer ideas to counter Big Soda’s influence in our lives.

Photo by Andy Schultz/Flickr

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Based in Seattle, FEEST creates on-the-spot youth-driven cooking – of ideas and ingredients! – in the kitchen. Decisions are made communally about what will be prepared to create the day’s menu and serve up a delicious, healthy meal followed by a family-style feast – all while learning more about food and its impact on our selves and our communities.

“Through improvisational cooking and dinners, FEEST creates safe and supportive space for young people to be themselves and take leadership of the space. With this environment, our youth leaders build community while simultaneously think critically about the food system and food issues that affect their communities. Our youth interns develop passion based projects and do advocacy that directly affects these issues that they’ve identified.”
-Meng Yu, youth engagement coordinator

Check out the FEEST blog! Entries are written by youth who attend the program and feature photography and articles by the wonderful FEEST interns and staff.

“Everyday we work with folks – every time we cook a meal – we make community.  That breaking of bread – and with it the making of community – is one the thing that can, paradoxically, unmake the oppressive forces in American society. The act of eating together is transformative.  Let us break bread; remake the world.” -Roberto Ascalon, kitchen director

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