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Mexico and Hungary tried junk food taxes — and they seem to be working
The case for a junk food tax in America.
By Julia Belluz@juliaoftorontojulia.belluz@voxmedia.com Updated Jan 17, 2018, 12:04pm EST
In part-
"From morning muffins that pack as much sugar as an icing-topped cupcake, to chocolate bars that contain more than 600 calories, it’s extremely easy to overindulge in America.
What’s less clear is exactly what to do about that. Some kind of government intervention in the food environment probably has to be part of the solution. Taxes have been an effective, though still controversial, approach to curbing the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and soda.
Only Hungary and Mexico have junk food taxes so far
Health researchers and officials have long contemplated junk food taxes, but have focused most of their energy on soda taxes to date. Sugary drinks were a natural starting place to experiment with government intervention in the food environment since there’s a lot of evidence linking sugary beverages to diet-related disease, and soda is an easily modifiable part of the diet.
In 2011, Hungary put a 4-cent tax on packaged foods and drinks that contain high levels of sugar and salt in certain product categories, including soft drinks, candy, salty snacks, condiments, and fruit jams.
In 2013, Mexico passed an 8 percent tax on foods including snacks, sweets, nut butters, cereal-based prepared products — all “non-essential” foods. Within these categories, foods that surpass a calorie density threshold (more than 275 calories per 100 grams) are taxed.
These countries decided to tax junk food because it’s become such a prominent component of people’s diets — and budgets."
https://www.vox.com/2018/1/17/16870014/junk-food-tax
The case for a junk food tax in America.
By Julia Belluz@juliaoftorontojulia.belluz@voxmedia.com Updated Jan 17, 2018, 12:04pm EST
In part-
"From morning muffins that pack as much sugar as an icing-topped cupcake, to chocolate bars that contain more than 600 calories, it’s extremely easy to overindulge in America.
What’s less clear is exactly what to do about that. Some kind of government intervention in the food environment probably has to be part of the solution. Taxes have been an effective, though still controversial, approach to curbing the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and soda.
Only Hungary and Mexico have junk food taxes so far
Health researchers and officials have long contemplated junk food taxes, but have focused most of their energy on soda taxes to date. Sugary drinks were a natural starting place to experiment with government intervention in the food environment since there’s a lot of evidence linking sugary beverages to diet-related disease, and soda is an easily modifiable part of the diet.
In 2011, Hungary put a 4-cent tax on packaged foods and drinks that contain high levels of sugar and salt in certain product categories, including soft drinks, candy, salty snacks, condiments, and fruit jams.
In 2013, Mexico passed an 8 percent tax on foods including snacks, sweets, nut butters, cereal-based prepared products — all “non-essential” foods. Within these categories, foods that surpass a calorie density threshold (more than 275 calories per 100 grams) are taxed.
These countries decided to tax junk food because it’s become such a prominent component of people’s diets — and budgets."
https://www.vox.com/2018/1/17/16870014/junk-food-tax
