Posted on 09/10/2013 7:25:30 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
MADISON — Wash this political trip down with a little irony.
When first lady Michelle Obama pays a call on Watertown on Thursday afternoon to urge Americans to choose water over soda, she’ll be making her latest health pitch in a southern Wisconsin community that earns its living, at least in part, on the sweat of soda bottlers.
The corporate office of Wis-Pak Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of Pepsi-Cola and other leading soft drinks, is located in Watertown. Wis-Pak, with production facilities and warehouses throughout the central U.S., is the community’s 10th largest employer, according to the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce.
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WATERTOWN: This southeast Wisconsin city does have very fine drinking water. It’s also home to two soda distributors. It remains to be seen whether first lady Michelle Obama will tout that fact when she pays a call on Watertown later this week to urge Americans to drink more water.
Watertown also is home to the 7-Up Bottling Co., a family-owned business that for 75 years has provided full-service beverage distribution and supplied equipment to businesses in Dodge, Jefferson, Waukesha and Rock counties.
Susan Dascenzo, executive director of the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce, could not provide employment figures of the two soda distributors.
Officials from the companies did not return phone calls Monday afternoon from Wisconsin Reporter. But a local Republican brought up the interesting political-business juxtaposition not long after the first lady’s office announced plans to unveil her new health effort at the Watertown High School.
The resident shook his head, wondering why Michelle Obama would want to visit a community where her husband was soundly beaten – twice – and pontificate on the evils of soda to the children of parents who pay their water bills bottling soda.
Dascenzo didn’t want to speak the issue of the first lady’s visit in a soda pop town like Watertown. She did say Wis-Pak and 7-Up, both long-time chamber members, are “pillars in our community.”
“I think that both companies will continue to adapt to the changing marketplace,” she said, noting that both manufacturers distribute water products. “I think that both 7-Up and Wis-Pak are listening to consumers and following the trends.”
The sugary beverage sector has been hard hit in health-conscious times amid a national battle against obesity. Leading that charge has been Michelle Obama and her Let’s Move! campaign, an initiative to drive down epidemic childhood obesity rates. Along the way, fast-food, cookie makers and sugary soda bottlers have become Public Enemy No. 1 in the anti-obesity effort.
Soda sales declined 0.6 percent last year through Dec. 30 to $28.7 billion at U.S. stores tracked by SymphonyIRI Group, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. In volume terms, sales dropped 1.8 percent.
“While Coke, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper Snapple have all aggressively expanded their portfolios to include faster-growing products like sports drinks and fruit juices, a prolonged drop in U.S. soda revenues would represent a serious blow. Soda represents nearly 25 percent of the U.S. beverage market. Its massive scale has also guaranteed profit margins for decades,” the Journal reported.
The first lady will be joined by, among others, actress Eva Longoria, and the Partnership for a Healthier America in launching the new “nationwide effort to encourage Americans to drink water.
“The new effort will bring together leaders from industry, entertainment, media and government around the simple message that water is one of the best and easiest choices every one of us can make every day,” states the Office for the First Lady in its travel guidance, released Monday afternoon.
White House press officials did not return phone calls from Wisconsin Reporter.
Dascenzo said Watertown does have excellent drinking water, and certainly the name of the community had something to do with the first lady’s visit. She said preparations have been ongoing for quite some time.
“Everybody is excited that the first lady chose Watertown. We are very honored,” the chamber chief said.
Hey, Ho, Watertown! Get ready for Mama Michelle.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
When are they going to be prosecuted for eco-crimes? Doesn't Obama know they DELIBERATELY put CO2 gasses into their drinks?
“Forget it, Jake; it’s Soda Town.”
I guess Pepsi will stop using a sideways Obama logo as their own.
This will all go away when all her cousins etc all get a distributor license...
People are living longer than ever....and that's the meat and potato and milk generation.
Water is a compliment to other things, fluid while traveling, boiling vegies, washing, fish and critter habitat...
islamist creep
She didn’t get that fat bubble butt of hers drinking water.
Milk! With all that fat? Moochelle will not like you!
Here come old fatass
She come groovin’ up slowly
She got joo-joo eyeball
She one holy roller
She got hair down to her knees
Got to be a joker she just do what she please
She wear no shoeshine
She got monkey finger .....
Anyone, who takes anything that ugly low land gorilla says seriously, is brain dead.
She is a criminal who had to surrender her license to practice law less she be arrested for a felony.
Don’t drink tap water. Most of it has added tainted industrial waste hydrofluosilicic added in a failed effort to reduce tooth decay and its hazardous to your health. See http://www.FluorideAction.Net/issues/health
Fluoridation Opposition is Scientific,Respectable & Growing
Over 4,500 professionals(including 360 dentists and 554 MD’s) urge that fluoridation be stopped because
fluoridation is ineffective and harmful. See statement: http://www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/professionals-statement/text/
Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, Dr. Arvid Carlsson, says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It’s really obsolete.”
Just how much of our money is Miss Thang spending to visit us? I’ll be sure to remain as far away from her as possible while she pisses away our money. Excuse my French (any reader under 40 won’t know what that means).
: )
Wonder where thet are going to bus the adoring masses into Watertown from.
They are in school, and the parents were told that the children did not have to attend; but if they chose to attend, they could not leave. They were not told who and why. They were just told that it was a “special program with a special guest”.
Now, isn’t that just special?
Did anyone bother to tell Moochelle that “Brawndo has electrolytes?”
Drink WATER..but only from our approved Obamabottlers....
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