Two years ago, when the school administration considered diet soda to be preferable to non-diet soda in terms of its lower sugar content, it raised the price of non-diet sodas in the school cafeteria. Now, the school administration has received reports from parents and nutritionists who are concerned that despite their low sugar content, diet sodas are potentially unhealthy, due to their use of artificial sweeteners. The administration is planning on returning the prices of non-diet sodas in the cafeteria to their former lower levels.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the administration’s proposal to lower the price of non-diet sodas?
A. Nutritionists have found that artificial sweeteners provide no essential vitamins or minerals.
B. Changing the price of a beverage has not been shown to have a significant impact on the overall revenues the school earns from its beverages.
C. There have been no significant complaints concerning the prices of beverages in the school.
D. Manufacturers of sodas have found that it is less expensive to produce beverages with sugar than it is to produce beverages with artificial sweeteners.
E. When the price of non-diet sodas was increased, most students began purchasing bottled water instead, which has no sugar or artificial sweeteners.