Fat Tax

Regardless of the decisions that politicians make on taxation, taxes alone cannot begin to address the larger problems – health-related, social and economic. Health is at least as much about exercise as it is about diet and there is a wider problem with life style that is being recognised by the broader population. Most primary students now get less than one hour of PE weekly, and in many high schools the course is optional.

The National Institute of Health (USA) spent several hundred million dollars trying to demonstrate a connection between eating fat and getting heart disease and it failed. Five major studies revealed no such link.

Fatty food will remain cheaper than healthy juices, vegetable, fruit and bio-food, therefore consumers won’t change their eating habits. People who cannot afford lots of fresh vegetables and lean meats will still buy fatty food, even if it is more expensive than before, so the poor will be penalised financially without any dietary gain. Fast food will also remain more adequate for the fast lifestyle than slow food. Many people don’t want to eat supposedly “healthy food”. At Berkeley, food sales to students dropped 30%-50% after cafeterias were forced to limit the menu to organic ‘healthy’ food.

People already know about the negative effects of many products and they still use them because they are cheap, accessible, convenient, etc. Living in a city makes it very hard to lead a healthy lifestyle. People who don’t have the money to afford expensive sports centres stay at home and eat cheap, often fatty foods. There is also a scientifically acknowledged correlation between poverty, lack of exercise and excessive weight in children. This is described in South African research called Children of Nelson Mandela: black children are heavier than white and on average white children in do 2 hours of sports per day, blacks only 30 min.

Governments have no incentive to impose additional taxes on fatty food. Different food industry lobbies oppose such tax and exercise pressures on governments. Many food-related multinational companies are big supporters of presidential campaigns in the USA and also have very important lobbies in various other countries. Money gained from such a tax would also probably be channelled into armament programs and other big-budget services instead of directly to consumers.

Recent scientific research makes clear that some of us are biologically inclined to overeat, but that the inclination varies, depending on our environment. Slimness as the symbol of beauty is chauvinistic. In many parts of the world being fat means prosperity and fertility. The round belly implies physical stability and economic sufficiency. Promoting one particular type of body image is also dangerous; anorexia among young girls is a serious problem.

Food is essential to human life while other heavily taxed products such as cigarettes and alcohol are not. Fast food is a loose definition for a group of foods, some of which are unhealthy and some of which are not. There are lots of different ways in which food can be unhealthy, with varying amounts of fat, salt and harmful chemicals, so where does one draw the line between unhealthy ‘fast’ food and healthy food?

Nobody has to smoke to stay alive, and it’s not part of a balanced diet. Fast food, eaten in moderation doesn’t have to be a health risk.