Three firms control 89% of US soft drink sales [1]. This dominance is obscured from us by the appearance of numerous choices on retailer shelves. Steve Hannaford refers to this as "pseudovariety," or the illusion of diversity, concealing a lack of real choice [2]. To visualize the extent of pseudovariety in this industry we developed a cluster diagram to represent the number of soft drink brands and varieties found in the refrigerator cases of 94 Michigan retailers, along with their ownership connections.

Yesterday’s article stated that, “‘I would argue caloric soda should be made ineligible for purchase under SNAP, like tobacco and alcohol,’ said Paarlberg, using the new name for food stamps, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He later said sugary sodas are ‘a huge part of the obesity problem.’

The idea that Starbucks seems to be the last to jump onto the recycling bandwagon sort of blows my mind. Especially when their contribution to the problem is so massive.