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Should junk food be taxed?

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Replies

  • mrsharmon622
    mrsharmon622 Posts: 60 Member
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.

    Exactly!!!

    We can buy fries in the freezer section for $1.89 kg fresh spuds are $6kg.....
    But the average person that's not thinking of nutrition or health or is short on money walks into the supermarket....thinks of something for kids to snack on buys a block of chocolate, bag of chips and bottle of soft drink....under $5
    I walk into supermarket after school snack ....fruit platter and some cheese sticks......250gm punnet strawberries $2.50 a melon $3.90 couple of apples $2.
    I think we need to think from the average person. Not comparing price per kg of a bag of chips to a kg of spuds
    Make the fruit and veg cheaper. We don't pay tax on fresh fruit and veg, but the mark up from the farmer to the supermarkets is massive!!!! We already pay a 10% gst on other foods yet it's so so cheap!!! Something needs to be done about the supermarkets and there pricing structures!!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    But you know the chips are not nutritionally the equivalent of fruit (or veg, or whatever) and the chips being extra cheap doesn't make fruit more expensive. Complaining that chips are too cheap makes no sense. The fruit is the same price, regardless. Seems more honest to admit you are buying chips because you want chips.

    And IME potatoes and dried beans are cheaper than any chips, anyway. At least by volume.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.

    Exactly!!!

    We can buy fries in the freezer section for $1.89 kg fresh spuds are $6kg.....
    But the average person that's not thinking of nutrition or health or is short on money walks into the supermarket....thinks of something for kids to snack on buys a block of chocolate, bag of chips and bottle of soft drink....under $5
    I walk into supermarket after school snack ....fruit platter and some cheese sticks......250gm punnet strawberries $2.50 a melon $3.90 couple of apples $2.
    I think we need to think from the average person. Not comparing price per kg of a bag of chips to a kg of spuds
    Make the fruit and veg cheaper. We don't pay tax on fresh fruit and veg, but the mark up from the farmer to the supermarkets is massive!!!! We already pay a 10% gst on other foods yet it's so so cheap!!! Something needs to be done about the supermarkets and there pricing structures!!

    6 dollars for a kilo of potatoes? Where do you live? Do you need to import them or what? Even organic potatoes are cheaper than your fries over here.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    The cost of defining and legislating what exactly counts as "junk food" would be far better spent on health services in general.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2017
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.

    Exactly!!!

    We can buy fries in the freezer section for $1.89 kg fresh spuds are $6kg.....
    But the average person that's not thinking of nutrition or health or is short on money walks into the supermarket....thinks of something for kids to snack on buys a block of chocolate, bag of chips and bottle of soft drink....under $5
    I walk into supermarket after school snack ....fruit platter and some cheese sticks......250gm punnet strawberries $2.50 a melon $3.90 couple of apples $2.
    I think we need to think from the average person. Not comparing price per kg of a bag of chips to a kg of spuds
    Make the fruit and veg cheaper. We don't pay tax on fresh fruit and veg, but the mark up from the farmer to the supermarkets is massive!!!! We already pay a 10% gst on other foods yet it's so so cheap!!! Something needs to be done about the supermarkets and there pricing structures!!

    6 dollars for a kilo of potatoes? Where do you live? Do you need to import them or what? Even organic potatoes are cheaper than your fries over here.

    I didn't even notice that. Here, NOT shopping around for best price (I'm sure I could get both for less with minimum work or going to a discount store like Costco or Walmart vs. my mainstream grocery or just finding a special), I can get a 3 lb bag for about $2.50-$3, and a 3 lb bag of apples for the same price.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    A 2lt bottle of Coke.....$0.99 with a 10% sugar tax $1.10......block of chocolate $2.50 with tax $2.75 I don't think it's going to make a difference!!! A kg of apples about 5-6 apples $5, a rock melon $4.90 each.....How about we have a fresh food subsidy? I can feed my kids on junk after school for under $5 and it would last a couple of days...But fresh fruit would cost me $10 a day easy!!!.....thats our problem!! Farmers are going broke cause they get paid next to nothing then massive markups by the time it gets to supermarket!!! And Massive companies making huge $$$ out of crap food that cost nothing to make and they can sell at tiny prices!!!

    Are you in the US? Where I live, I could swing after-school snacks of apples, bananas, or oranges for a couple of kids (not sure how many you have) for much less than $10 a day.

    I live in Australia....Tasmania to be exact.
    Yesterday I brought apples $6kg, Bananas $4kg a rock melon $3.90 a pineapple $5 and a honeydew melon $5.90....i don't put a price on my families health so I buy it! But when I walked into the supermarket at the front was a stand of half price chocolate blocks $2.20each and big bags of chips $1.20 each 30 can blocks of Coke $9 so for the same amount of money I spent on fruit I could have got 30 cans cordial 3 blocks of chocolate and 4 bags of chips.....see now that is the problem!!!!
    I have 1 banana left a couple of apples and the rest was eaten...2 growing kids aged 10 and 13!

    Thanks for clarifying. Things like pineapple and melon (at least off-season) are pricier here in the US too. When people are looking for fruit for children (especially children who eat a lot), they're usually choosing things like apples and bananas and often supplementing them with things like peanut butter or affordable vegetables like carrots or broccoli. Eating kilograms of fresh fruit per day can be really expensive.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2017
    To add on to janejellyroll's post (and my own prior):

    Eating fresh fruit off season is expensive, but remember in the past it simply was not possible.

    Eating frozen fruit off season is much cheaper and probably much more available than in the past.

    Produce is not more expensive for the average person than in the past, in fact, in terms of percentage of income it's much cheaper (I'm sure for those who would have been on a farm this would be different). Food as a whole is cheaper, at least in the US and many other places, in real terms than ever before, especially things like meat, eggs, cheese, and more available (year-round produce, varieties of produce, so on). The staples (what many more people would have lived on in the past) like dried beans, basic starches (rice, flour, other grains) are as cheap as ever. So when people claim the reason people can't eat healthfully is cost, that's just not so. What people expect in terms of time is different, and they also have many more other options that are also cheaply available, but it is again important to note that having more options is not a bad thing and does not take away options from you. That flour is cheap and you may eschew flour or cuts of meat you don't want cheap or even preprepared meals cheap (although in my supermarket they seem far more expensive compared to cooking for one's self) or various snack items cheap does not make other food items more expensive.

    In other words, if you want to buy fruits and veg saying junk food is too cheap/making it more expensive does nothing to make fruits and veg cheaper.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    Here in europe frozen fruit is verrry expensive. Fortunately all seasons in mainland europe have fruitsthat are in season and it will be less expensive than anything frozen. I'm surprized at how junk food ( definitions: chips, bags of cookies and baked goods, relatively a new thing here) have really taken off in the last few years!
    There are still lots of pastry shops though and they do thriving business. Can't imagine these governments; Spain, Italy, france taxing 'junk' though. Would require too much organization I would think.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    Sirprized this thread is still going! amazing
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    Extremely heavily.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    To add on to janejellyroll's post (and my own prior):

    Eating fresh fruit off season is expensive, but remember in the past it simply was not possible.

    Eating frozen fruit off season is much cheaper and probably much more available than in the past.

    Produce is not more expensive for the average person than in the past, in fact, in terms of percentage of income it's much cheaper (I'm sure for those who would have been on a farm this would be different). Food as a whole is cheaper, at least in the US and many other places, in real terms than ever before, especially things like meat, eggs, cheese, and more available (year-round produce, varieties of produce, so on). The staples (what many more people would have lived on in the past) like dried beans, basic starches (rice, flour, other grains) are as cheap as ever. So when people claim the reason people can't eat healthfully is cost, that's just not so. What people expect in terms of time is different, and they also have many more other options that are also cheaply available, but it is again important to note that having more options is not a bad thing and does not take away options from you. That flour is cheap and you may eschew flour or cuts of meat you don't want cheap or even preprepared meals cheap (although in my supermarket they seem far more expensive compared to cooking for one's self) or various snack items cheap does not make other food items more expensive.

    In other words, if you want to buy fruits and veg saying junk food is too cheap/making it more expensive does nothing to make fruits and veg cheaper.

    Well said. There was *never* a time when people were able to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round and have it make up a small portion of their food budget (and it's only very recently, relatively, that people were able to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables even if they were able to pay larger amounts).

    There was never a time when people were able to eat fresh apples, bananas, pineapple, melon, and berries at the same time and at a low cost. For most of history, fruit and vegetables were a seasonal experience strongly influenced by what fruits grew around you. There is a reason why children used to get excited about an orange in their Christmas stocking.

  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    Extremely heavily.

    You believe junk food should be taxed extremely heavily? As has been discussed throughout the thread, one of the challenges would be to define what constitutes junk food. How do you define it?
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    To add on to janejellyroll's post (and my own prior):

    Eating fresh fruit off season is expensive, but remember in the past it simply was not possible.

    Eating frozen fruit off season is much cheaper and probably much more available than in the past.

    I find myself having to point this out frequently as well. So many people whine about the price of "healthy food" when the expense is due to specifically buying stuff that wouldn't even have been available to buy at all at any price in their region years ago.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    Extremely heavily.

    You believe junk food should be taxed extremely heavily? As has been discussed throughout the thread, one of the challenges would be to define what constitutes junk food. How do you define it?

    Right or wrong Mexico came up with a definition and implemented a tax:

    "In 2014, Mexico instituted an 8 percent tax on processed foods that had more than 275 calories per 100 grams, in an attempt to reduce junk food purchases, the Associated Press reported"

    https://www.eater.com/2016/7/6/12107050/mexico-junk-food-tax-success
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.

    Exactly!!!

    We can buy fries in the freezer section for $1.89 kg fresh spuds are $6kg.....
    But the average person that's not thinking of nutrition or health or is short on money walks into the supermarket....thinks of something for kids to snack on buys a block of chocolate, bag of chips and bottle of soft drink....under $5
    I walk into supermarket after school snack ....fruit platter and some cheese sticks......250gm punnet strawberries $2.50 a melon $3.90 couple of apples $2.
    I think we need to think from the average person. Not comparing price per kg of a bag of chips to a kg of spuds
    Make the fruit and veg cheaper. We don't pay tax on fresh fruit and veg, but the mark up from the farmer to the supermarkets is massive!!!! We already pay a 10% gst on other foods yet it's so so cheap!!! Something needs to be done about the supermarkets and there pricing structures!!

    6 dollars for a kilo of potatoes? Where do you live? Do you need to import them or what? Even organic potatoes are cheaper than your fries over here.

    Actually we are a spud growing town!!! Yup paddocks and paddocks of them!! We also live remote and only have 1 supermarket....we do grow our own they just went in this week! We are also known as the Apple isle yet our home grown apples go to Japan and we pay top dollar for the left overs :(
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.

    Exactly!!!

    We can buy fries in the freezer section for $1.89 kg fresh spuds are $6kg.....
    But the average person that's not thinking of nutrition or health or is short on money walks into the supermarket....thinks of something for kids to snack on buys a block of chocolate, bag of chips and bottle of soft drink....under $5
    I walk into supermarket after school snack ....fruit platter and some cheese sticks......250gm punnet strawberries $2.50 a melon $3.90 couple of apples $2.
    I think we need to think from the average person. Not comparing price per kg of a bag of chips to a kg of spuds
    Make the fruit and veg cheaper. We don't pay tax on fresh fruit and veg, but the mark up from the farmer to the supermarkets is massive!!!! We already pay a 10% gst on other foods yet it's so so cheap!!! Something needs to be done about the supermarkets and there pricing structures!!

    6 dollars for a kilo of potatoes? Where do you live? Do you need to import them or what? Even organic potatoes are cheaper than your fries over here.

    Actually we are a spud growing town!!! Yup paddocks and paddocks of them!! We also live remote and only have 1 supermarket....we do grow our own they just went in this week! We are also known as the Apple isle yet our home grown apples go to Japan and we pay top dollar for the left overs :(

    If your spuds are grown right around the corner I can understand even less why they're so expensive. The cheaper ones are 72 cents per kilo here.
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
    I believe the thinking about the price of fruit and chips is that they can both be snacks or sides to a sandwich. If you're limited on funds, then you may only be able to choose one snack item and the chips are cheaper. I'll admit I'm faced with that choice often. Although bananas are usually pretty cheap, chips are a much cheaper option than oranges or grapes, even apples unless they're on sale. If the fruits were cheaper, it would be easier to choose them instead of chips. But if the chips have a tax to increase the price, then it may be that neither fruit or chips will be purchased.

    Exactly!!!

    We can buy fries in the freezer section for $1.89 kg fresh spuds are $6kg.....
    But the average person that's not thinking of nutrition or health or is short on money walks into the supermarket....thinks of something for kids to snack on buys a block of chocolate, bag of chips and bottle of soft drink....under $5
    I walk into supermarket after school snack ....fruit platter and some cheese sticks......250gm punnet strawberries $2.50 a melon $3.90 couple of apples $2.
    I think we need to think from the average person. Not comparing price per kg of a bag of chips to a kg of spuds
    Make the fruit and veg cheaper. We don't pay tax on fresh fruit and veg, but the mark up from the farmer to the supermarkets is massive!!!! We already pay a 10% gst on other foods yet it's so so cheap!!! Something needs to be done about the supermarkets and there pricing structures!!

    6 dollars for a kilo of potatoes? Where do you live? Do you need to import them or what? Even organic potatoes are cheaper than your fries over here.

    Actually we are a spud growing town!!! Yup paddocks and paddocks of them!! We also live remote and only have 1 supermarket....we do grow our own they just went in this week! We are also known as the Apple isle yet our home grown apples go to Japan and we pay top dollar for the left overs :(

    If your spuds are grown right around the corner I can understand even less why they're so expensive. The cheaper ones are 72 cents per kilo here.

    Welcome to the Australian state called Tasmania!!! I wish I could put up a photo of our weekly supermarket catalog
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
    We actually have a special on spuds this week!!!! Tassie grown $2.50kg!!!!!! Funny thing is farmers only planted last week......so they are last year's potatoes!!!
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    To add on to janejellyroll's post (and my own prior):

    Eating fresh fruit off season is expensive, but remember in the past it simply was not possible.

    Eating frozen fruit off season is much cheaper and probably much more available than in the past.

    I find myself having to point this out frequently as well. So many people whine about the price of "healthy food" when the expense is due to specifically buying stuff that wouldn't even have been available to buy at all at any price in their region years ago.

    Yep, you have to buy in season. I live on the mid-atlantic coast of the US, and the only fresh produce that is cheap year round is bananas, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage. In the fall and winter, apples and pears are inexpensive, and squash is pretty easy to fit in too. Once the spring hits, the berries and peaches of all different varieties start to come down until they hit their cheapest at the beginning of the summer. Same with citrus. You can get some good sales on melons over the summer, but they're never really inexpensive. Different greens become affordable at different times of the year.

    Back when we had to eat all natural because shipping and manufacturing wasn't what it is now, the average Northeasterner would have never even seen half the stuff available in modern produce sections today! Someone living off the land would have had a small variety of fruits or vegetables that they ate every day. No pineapples, mangoes, melons, bananas, etc.

    In general, people who say it is too expensive to eat healthy have a very precious definition of "healthy". In season fresh produce, frozen produce, dried and canned beans, bulk grains, bulk chicken parts, eggs, etc are about as inexpensive as you can get generally, no "junk food" tax required. The issue isn't cost - it's education and priorities.

    And many are toting the latest smartphone SMH.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Define junk food:

    Would Jolly Ranchers be taxed equally for people with Type 1 diabetes, who generally need a massive sugar rush every once in a while so it would fall under medically necessary.

    How about meats:. Ask most vegans and a lot of vegatarians and meat is considered junk

    Would beef be taxed? What if it's the same beef but in a pre-shaped hamburger patty?

    Sports drinks? Extra tax because of the sugar content, or not because they do serve a purpose in cases of dehydration and low salts.

    Most places food is not taxed, and things that fall under candy, soda or other pre-made treats are taxed.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    Give a diabetic two spoons of sugar and we'll see the correlation. There are so many foods out there with hidden sugars which are the cause for so many health issues. If you think sugars and processed foods are not the leading cause for the health epidemics in the western world, you are entitled to that opinion. However I strongly believe what you shovel down your throat has the greater impact and I stand by that whole heartedly.

    Just because something is bad for someone with a specific condition doesn't necessarily mean it's harmful to a healthy person. That sort of thinking is how we got to the now debunked theory that protein is damaging to your kidneys.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    VUA21 wrote: »
    Define junk food:

    Would Jolly Ranchers be taxed equally for people with Type 1 diabetes, who generally need a massive sugar rush every once in a while so it would fall under medically necessary.

    How about meats:. Ask most vegans and a lot of vegatarians and meat is considered junk

    Would beef be taxed? What if it's the same beef but in a pre-shaped hamburger patty?

    Sports drinks? Extra tax because of the sugar content, or not because they do serve a purpose in cases of dehydration and low salts.

    Most places food is not taxed, and things that fall under candy, soda or other pre-made treats are taxed.

    Mexico figured it out: https://www.eater.com/2016/7/6/12107050/mexico-junk-food-tax-success

    "In 2014, Mexico instituted an 8 percent tax on processed foods that had more than 275 calories per 100 grams, in an attempt to reduce junk food purchases"

    Not saying this is right, wrong or indifferent, but yes, you can come up with a definition.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    edited June 2018
    Packerjohn wrote: »

    Mexico figured it out: https://www.eater.com/2016/7/6/12107050/mexico-junk-food-tax-success

    "In 2014, Mexico instituted an 8 percent tax on processed foods that had more than 275 calories per 100 grams, in an attempt to reduce junk food purchases"

    Not saying this is right, wrong or indifferent, but yes, you can come up with a definition.

    You can define anything. However, whether that definition is useful is another story. Most people wouldn't consider nuts, seeds, or ground beef to be junk food, but apparently mexico does.

    I think there's an inherent assumption when people say it's hard to define that we're talking about a definition that makes logical sense, and with that benchmark I don't think mexico's law qualifies.
  • mariekenji26
    mariekenji26 Posts: 30 Member
    no, healthy food should be more accessible and more cost effective. fresh fruit is expensive, but you can get a bag of chips for like $2.00
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    Not that I'm for a junk food tax, but kudos to Mexico for going with a logical analytical definition using calorie density instead of random subjective ideas of "junk food".
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    All food is taxed where I live.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    VUA21 wrote: »
    Define junk food:

    Would Jolly Ranchers be taxed equally for people with Type 1 diabetes, who generally need a massive sugar rush every once in a while so it would fall under medically necessary.

    How about meats:. Ask most vegans and a lot of vegatarians and meat is considered junk

    Would beef be taxed? What if it's the same beef but in a pre-shaped hamburger patty?

    Sports drinks? Extra tax because of the sugar content, or not because they do serve a purpose in cases of dehydration and low salts.

    Most places food is not taxed, and things that fall under candy, soda or other pre-made treats are taxed.

    Mexico figured it out: https://www.eater.com/2016/7/6/12107050/mexico-junk-food-tax-success

    "In 2014, Mexico instituted an 8 percent tax on processed foods that had more than 275 calories per 100 grams, in an attempt to reduce junk food purchases"

    Not saying this is right, wrong or indifferent, but yes, you can come up with a definition.

    So they're taxing an extra 8% on foods like nut butters and coconut oil? I don't consider that to be a very elegant solution, to be honest.
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