Fat food tax?

[magoo]

I've advocated a tax on unhealthy food in conversations with my brother who has a degree in politics.
He assures me that they have done studies on the possibility and the conclusion was that it would in fact become a tax on the poor who eat the least health diet.
Using taxation as a detterent doesn't work as people are just as addicted to the sugar in these foods as they are to alcohol and nicotine. The answer has to be education as with most of the problems in our society.

It is taxing the poor because fatty foods are cheaper and convenient. Make fruit & veg cheaper or subsidise it.

 

[Simster]

It is taxing the poor because fatty foods are cheaper and convenient. Make fruit & veg cheaper or subsidise it.

Indeed, but how would you go about doing that?

 

[Norman Potting]

There is no such thing as a bad food, only a bad diet.

 

[Curryisgreat]

And let's have a bigger push to get people cycling - there was a survey earlier this week that pointed out that cycling added £3bn to the UK economy in terms of healthier individuals.

I think you'll find that there would be a net cost if everyone started cycling. Given the exorbitant taxes on fuel, if people were to move away from powered means of transport the government would have to start looking at taxing cyclists to make up the shortfall.

 

[magoo]

Indeed, but how would you go about doing that?

I'm sure the government could offer incentives for supermarkets to better promote healthy foods? I'd also say discount vouchers for those on low income but that's probably open to too much abuse unless its controlled well.

 

[Badger]

It is taxing the poor because fatty foods are cheaper and convenient. Make fruit & veg cheaper or subsidise it.

That would help with "cheaper" but I think the main problem is "convenient". It would require a change in culture and you would have to somehow make getting a healthy meal as easy as getting an unhealthy one (and serving salad in Maccas doesn't count). If you want to get a takeaway the main options are: pizza, greasy Chinese food, curry, chip shop, etc. and if you're lazy and can't be arsed to (or simply are incapable to) cook then these are your options day in, day out.

 

[mikes smalls]

I agree. It would just make poor people poorer.

Having said that, it's a fact that we are getting fatter and this could prove a drain on health resources. We certainly need better education and tougher food labelling. - food companies and supermarkets have resisted that for years but it's time to get tough. And more choice too particularly for places with kids - some of the leisure centres, holiday camps, tourist attractions we've been to are a disgrace in terms of catering.

And let's have a bigger push to get people cycling - there was a survey earlier this week that pointed out that cycling added £3bn to the UK economy in terms of healthier individuals.

Don't even get me started on the benefits of cycling! That's at least a 25 page thread on it's own.
All the while we allow mcdonalds, mars and coca cola to advertise in schools under the guise of giving them free sports equipment and providing vending machines there is little hope of changing young peoples diets.
There is some hope as in many primary schools they now have allotments which helps children to learn where food really comes from- the ground not a factory.
I genuinely thought a fat tax was a good idea until I looked in to the real effect this tax would have.

 

[mikes smalls]

There is no such thing as a bad food, only a bad diet.

This sounds like a direct quote from the CEO of Mcdonalds!

 

[magoo]

That would help with "cheaper" but I think the main problem is "convenient". It would require a change in culture and you would have to somehow make getting a healthy meal as easy as getting an unhealthy one (and serving salad in Maccas doesn't count). If you want to get a takeaway the main options are: pizza, greasy Chinese food, curry, chip shop, etc. and if you're lazy and can't be arsed to (or simply are incapable to) cook then these are your options day in, day out.

Plus let's be honest, unhealthy fatty foods just taste so much better than anything healthy. Scientists need to create salad that tastes like pie and chips!

 

[Gwylan]

I think you'll find that there would be a net cost if everyone started cycling. Given the exorbitant taxes on fuel, if people were to move away from powered means of transport the government would have to start looking at taxing cyclists to make up the shortfall.

...or raising fuel taxes so that fewer people contribute the same total amount.

Clearly not everyone is going to switch to cycles but there are a massive number of journeys under five miles that could be easily handled by cycle. If, say, 20 percent of supporters came to the Amex by cycle, there would be far fewer moans about congestion at the end of the game.

 

[Deleted member 18477]

this thread is full of the usual fat insults; fat bastard, fat tosser, fatties, fat bastard tax.... but the best by a mile is 'Porky Chubster' haha!

 

[Badger]

this thread is full of the usual fat insults; fat bastard, fat tosser, fatties, fat bastard tax.... but the best by a mile is 'Porky Chubster' haha!

I thank you.


They should also start taxing anyone that uses a mobility scooter because they are too fat to walk for more than 2 minutes without having an asthma attack.

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

Donut tax lol

 

[beorhthelm]

It wont work, or at least they wouldn't set it high enough to do so. whats healthy and what isnt? a grilled chicken kebab isnt the same as a doner. do you tax a salad if it comes with a oil based dressing? do you get a tax rebate if you are a builder or farmer and quite easily burn 3000 Kcal a day?

only education will change peoples diet habits. might as well make a stupidity tax.

Actually that is a fair point. Fast food is popular partly because it is so cheap. You'd need a carrot and stick approach to getting people to eat more healthily but I'm not quite sure how subsiding healthy foods would work.

i really object to this point of view. fast foods are *convenient* and might save time. not money. veg is dirt cheap, buy kilos of potatoes, carrots, aprsnips, swede etc, a weeks worth for under a tenner. ordinary rice is little over £1/kilo. pasta same, throw in some choped/mashed tomato (say 50p) some herbs seasoning (5p? worth) for a meal under £1. lets have some mince in that, say £2 for 500g, and with more pasta you're looking at £4-£5 for a family of four. make a ckicken curry for the same. four basic microwave meals would be at least twice that, 3 times for something resembling the packaging, and what take away can do 4 people for £5? costs me £7-8 to get fish and chips for 2.

all the time we keep allowing this perpetuating this myth of fast food being cheap, we give people an excuse. basic, good nutritional food is cheap. we already do subsidise fresh food produce through Common Agricultral Policy. the processing, packaging and marketing is what costs.

 

[Dawn Korus]

Tapeworms are the answer

 

[looney]

The reason people get fatter in fast food joints is that its cheaper to have the meal deal than just the Protien and drink, hence the fries are virtually free but its them that fucks you up. Tax meal deals.

Although the second most fattiest calorie laden take away after KFC is curries.

 

[Gully]

Smoking is already taxed to the hilt. Fags in the UK cost twice as much as fags in Greece and four times as much as fags in Bulgaria.

Perhaps we could ban fags and give cash incentives to smokers to move to Greece or Bulgaria. We might lose the tax from cigarette sales but this would probably be more than countered by savings in the NHS from treating smoking related disease, we would also gain a benefit from reducing the population figures and making the air cleaner. Smokers get to live somewhere cheap and largely sunny, those who remain probably end up paying less tax, everyone wins.

 

[Gwylan]

Perhaps we could ban fags and give cash incentives to smokers to move to Greece or Bulgaria. We might lose the tax from cigarette sales but this would probably be more than countered by savings in the NHS from treating smoking related disease ...

Probably not. I used to work for the Health Education Authority's action on smoking campaign and, in 1992 at least, smokers contributed twice as much as they cost. Taxes have gone up since then too.