Coke stock falls...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=1&u=/nm/20041111/bs_nm/food_coke_outlook_dc

I read this article and it made me laugh a little bit. As America, and I'm sure other countries as well, get more educated on dietting, etc., it seems many of the "big" companies in the U.S. are taking the hit in the pocket book. Are they so idiotic that they cannot adjust?

Soda pop in general has many negatives that most Americans are becoming aware of. For non-diet soda, the sugar content is really high and so is the calorie intake (roughly 5%-10% of our recommended daily calories in a single 12-20 oz. soda!). Caffeine is getting more and more negative press when taken in high single doses, like a soda or cup of coffee, rather than spread out over the course of the day. Finally, for all soda, the ascorbic acid in it eats the calcium right out of our system...if our body doesn't have any, then it takes it from our bones...calcium is normally a deficiency in the average American diet already.

So what can Coke and the other soda companies do? They sorta moved in the right direction with C2 and Pepsi edge...they have 1/2 the sugar as normal soda without sacrificing much taste. Coke unwisely chose to go with Aspartame (very bad sugar substitute that is unhealthy for lots of folks and pregnant women) while Pepsi went with Splenda (cheers to Pepsi!!). The result is Pepsi Edge tastes much better than C2 simply because it doesn' have the diet taste that C2 and aspartame create.

As I slowly phase soda out of my diet, 3-4 a day was just too many, I have little to no sympathy for the soda industry. Soda on tap tastes much better than a can or bottle, yet soda on tap at say Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc. rates right up there with robbery as far as costs go.

Unhealthy + Expensive = Death.

They are digging their own graves and have noone else to blame but themselves.