Junk Food, higher taxes.

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 2:15 am

The Danes have introduced a tax on junk food which, so the experts say, has reduced the number of obese people there considerably.

The UK is now the fat man of Europe according to the statistics so do you think it is a good idea to tax fast food. Would you pay 8 or 10 pounds for a big mac? Would this approach help you if you are indeed overweight and have a liking for burgers?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9176000/9176897.stm

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 2:30 am

I don't think it will help.
Supermarkets used to be filled with food but today we find one aisle with veg and 3 with cookies another 3 with crisps and snacks etc.
If people cared about it they wouldn't get so heavy but adding a fat tax is not the answer. Education is as likely to help but then no profit for the state.

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:23 am

High tax on junk food will not work it does not really work on smoking so I cannot see it working on this..
Kids would rather play on xbox/playstation they need more activity

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:48 am

concentration camps for fat people, its the way forward [/sarcasm]

food education in schools might be a good start

tax on big macs etc might not be a bad idea, obesity is a real problem

but lifestyle is as much to blame as food, too much tv / computer games / desk jobs etc not enough exersize for many kids / people in general

Its a multi faceted problem unfortunately pricing mechanisms are the only way a capitalist society can deal with such issues, it would just mean that only the well off can afford to become fat, whilst im against0 obesity, I respect your right to become obese if you want but it certainly should be discouraged, i blame all the big is beautiful campaigns, big is not beautiful it is a health hazard and people should be discouraged from becoming fat

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:59 am

taxes taxes taxes. Let just put higher taxes on everything! Rolling Eyes

That will solve everything too Very Happy

Agree with johnno and tazz. Dont think it would work. Like tazz says, so many kids these days stay in doors playing consoles and watching tv all day. Sad to see.

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:29 pm

I think that if you increase taxes on junk food the only thing it will cause is the parents of the kids to buy a cheaper product. Not necessarily good, most cheaper food sources are full of chemicals and preservatives. If parents would be taught how to cook and the financial benefit of it and a multitude of recipe ideas, and incentive, this would begin to address the problem. Food education is whats needed and the knowledge of how to make things practical and easy. Also if you can make thing from scratch it always tastes better that prepacked crap. The health benefits would be second to the taste and economical benefits, in the eyes of most parents who do thing on a daily basis and need time and practicality.

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 10:09 am

one of the sad things is that healthy eating/living is expensive - i completely agree with an extra tax on junk/fast food - encourage more to eat healthy - even if it takes a bit more effort than driving to the nearest [insert fast food drive thru here]

or maybe even tax break on fresh foods - so it is actually cheaper to eat fresh food rather than buy some junk/fast food

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 1:02 pm

Quote:

I think that if you increase taxes on junk food the only thing it will cause is the parents of the kids to buy a cheaper product. Not necessarily good, most cheaper food sources are full of chemicals and preservatives

Quote:

one of the sad things is that healthy eating/living is expensive

This isn't true, cheaper food is available, it comes in the form of raw food needing to be prepared by yourself. Whether it vegetables, fruit or meat or whatever. Eating at MacDonalds is not cheap. For what a single fat laden meal costs I can feed myself nutritiously for a couple of days, sometimes more if I stumble on a deal. Healthy eating is not expensive, organic foods are expensive, but you don't have to eat organic to eat healthy.

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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:20 pm

the reality is people are often too lazy.
The reality is that to cook a good and healthy meal for a family of four takes time and effort.
I make my list and go shopping.
after maybe 45 minutes i am home again.
I sit down have a cup of tea/coffee and then off to prepare.
I wash my cauliflower and place ready for cooking.
I prepare my meat and peel the potatoes.
I think you get the picture.
I can rustle up some food in 10 minutes but a real meal is an hour.
We sit eat enjoy and now I have got to go and clean the pans wash the dishes clean down the kitchen.
Essentially the food my grandma made was healthy but these days when we have so much time people have actually become more lazy.
Talking generic here and not saying all.
The Burger house, the fish with pasta out the freezer into the microwave etc has become easy.
Its not just what we eat but also what we do. How many people know people who take the car to go to a shop only 200 meters away?
Tax is not the answer but education might help was my first reply and the "song remains the same."

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 7:01 am

Yeah I know most people are lazy and ignorant but if you can't cook a meal for four in 45 minutes then you don't know how to cook, especially if you have 4 burners and a stove....no excuses. Damn a steak in my house only takes 2-3 minutes per side. Ten minutes to put a salad together and you have one hell of healthy meal.
One you shop at most two times per week for groceries. Only a bachelor living on his own goes out daily to get groceries. If your feeding a family of four you would do better economically going out once a week and buying as much bulk as you can. Dry good canned goods last forever, always buy when a good sale is there and I will buy more than I need.

I think there are a few other elements involved as well why people eat junk food.
1. There is a lot of msg in junk food these days, and they have all kinds of names for it. studies show that it is highly addictive, and causes obesity. So the food is doped up to be addictive.
2. The way it is marketed in advertisements, especially to kids,
3. convenience.

But mostly it is because we live in a consumer society, and to be part of that society you buy things and do things that your told to do by your peers and by the marketing and media your inundated with. What is a burger joint but a place where so many hands have gone into making that burger. Forget the farmer and the butcher. Its all about the factory that puts the burgers together, freezes them,wraps them and sells them to another company that then distributes it and eventually it will get to the burger joint. Its a multi-tiered profit effect that the masses buy into.(no pun intended)Because they have been told that if they don't no-one will like them and you won't be part of the in group.

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 9:26 am

I think ideas like this are ridiculous. All it is going to do is add cash for the government. Public education on eating healthy and living a healthy life are a better option. Sure I agree with limiting "junk food" in schools to help children better understand a healthy lifestyle. adding Tax to goods/services is only for one sole reason, increasing tax revenue hands down.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:42 pm

Hell yes! best idea presented in years. tax them and tax them HARD i say. maybe obese people will start relieving our already screwed up National Health Service "NHS" situation in the united kingdom.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 4:30 pm

Well, some consider that to be a valid reason. The cost of obesity directly on the NHS is some half a billion pounds a year and indirectly costs the economy in the UK around 2 billion annually. I wonder how that equates to say, the cost of smoking. Hardly seems fair that it's ok to tax the smokers to help pay for their treatment on the NHS but not tax the fatties.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 4:43 pm

The problem I see is that i am lucky and not fat but if I want a burger with plenty of cheese then I get taxed/punished financially because the next man is fat.
Thats just unfair.

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 4:31 pm

daemonnice wrote:

Quote:

I think that if you increase taxes on junk food the only thing it will cause is the parents of the kids to buy a cheaper product. Not necessarily good, most cheaper food sources are full of chemicals and preservatives

eldestFLeTcH wrote:

one of the sad things is that healthy eating/living is expensive

This isn't true, cheaper food is available, it comes in the form of raw food needing to be prepared by yourself. Whether it vegetables, fruit or meat or whatever. Eating at MacDonalds is not cheap. For what a single fat laden meal costs I can feed myself nutritiously for a couple of days, sometimes more if I stumble on a deal. Healthy eating is not expensive, organic foods are expensive, but you don't have to eat organic to eat healthy.

time is money - buying need to be prepared foods over pre-prepared foods IS less expensive over the counter - but needs to be prepared and cooked where-as pre-prepared foods just needs microwave or whatever
some people just don't have the skills or time to cook

not to mention the 'organic' isles or healthy alternatives choices
they usually carry a hefty price increase, for little to no real benefit