Posted on 07/15/2002 2:50:10 PM PDT by blam
Think-tank calls for unhealthy food tax
By Andrew Sparrow, Political Correspondent
(Filed: 15/07/2002)
Unhealthy food should be taxed, a Left-wing think-tank will argue this week.
Demos, which has close links with the Government, will urge ministers to consider imposing a levy on "fatty, highly processed and fast foods" in order to encourage people to eat more healthily.
In a report that covers "food poverty", Demos will point out that poor diet is to blame for health problems such as obesity and that this is a particular problem for low-income families, who are proportionally more likely to eat food with a high fat and sugar content.
The issue is contentious because food is exempt from value added tax and politicians in the past have been reluctant to consider putting a tax on such an essential commodity.
A Demos spokesman said: "We are saying there should be some disincentive mechanism to tackle the issue of low cost, high fat, low nutrition food, which is bought disproportionally by low income people. But it has got to be done in a way that penalises the manufacturers, not the consumers."
The spokesman added: "It is vitally important that it does not just further penalise people who are already being penalised because they are forced into buying low nutrition food."
The report, Inconvenience Food, will argue that any money raised from the tax should be used to encourage healthier eating habits. But it will not explain in detail how any of this could work.
Demos will launch its report in the Commons on Wednesday.
I want to know when they will begin to address the second-hand fat issue?
The issue is contentious because food is exempt from value added tax and politicians in the past have been reluctant to consider putting a tax on such an essential commodity.
Trivial compared to the fact that the whole idea reeks of fascism. Which is why some are advocating a junk-food tax. Notice the gussied-up junk food spun as unhealthy tax. Food that is un healthy is junk food.
A Demos spokesman said: "We are saying there should be some disincentive mechanism to tackle the issue of low cost, high fat, low nutrition food, which is bought disproportionally by low income people.
Some people can't take a dump without bringing class-envy into the picture.
Especially putrid since the government is the biggest cause of poverty. Plus, the diet the government advocates and supports by subsidizing production of those foods, many of those foods are unhealthy.
Government is not the solution -- it's the problem!
Reminds me of one of those old "Ethiopian Jokes"....something to do with 'what do you call an Ethiopian having a perch?.....a braggart'.......
Who are the people who are forced to buy low nutrition food?
My local farmer's market accepts food stamps, and even better, at the end of the day they reduce prices. They also sell "irregular" fruits and vegs. at low prices.
I've lived in many different areas of the country, and farmer's markets have always been available. Also, nutritious food, like rice and vegs, is not the most expensive in normal markets. The less nutritious food, like sweetened cereals and fast food, is more expensive.
WARNING: Government can be harmful to your health wealth and well-being.
OK, I'll say it again :-) No one is forced to eat highly processed foods like sweetened cereal. This is not an issue about money or nutrition. It's about education.
Obesity is a phenomenon of specialization which is a manifestation of mass socialization; why would or should it concern those of us unafflicted by the condition unless the fat slobs are trying to share our beds?
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