09-06-2003 16:48									#1
	Tax the fat! Inflate your Upload Space

It seems that the BMA (British Medical Association) are coming off the fence and want to tax high fat food.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2973914.stm

The bit at the end about the UK not levying VAT on most food, unlike other countries is quite interesting. Maybe this is why the UK government are so against harmonisation of taxes in the EU - they are too chicken to tax burgers!!

	09-06-2003 16:58									#2
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Hmmm....

Really poor families tend to rely on high fat and sugar foods because they are cheap sources of energy, this obviously isn't healthy for them. What they need is either fresh fruit/veg etc to be cheaper so they can afford it or more money. Start taxing fat and they'll just eat more high sugar foods. Also the guy in the article who mentions education is right too. If people grow up on chips burgers crisps and chocolate that's what they will keep on eating.

	09-06-2003 17:04									#3
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There have been report of problems with kids at school refusing to eat "healthy" school meals because they are used to chips and burgers by the time they get to school and won't change their eating habits.

On the other hand one of the arguments about taxing tobacco is that it causes health problems and the same can be said for some foods - or rather how much people eat of them.

	09-06-2003 17:35									#4
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i agree, tax the fat. ill take my 150 lb self to fatburger now and eat 2 and a half lbs of meat thank you!

	09-06-2003 17:41									#5
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quote: Originally posted by MikeH Hmmm.... Really poor families tend to rely on high fat and sugar foods because they are cheap sources of energy, this obviously isn't healthy for them. What they need is either fresh fruit/veg etc to be cheaper so they can afford it or more money. Start taxing fat and they'll just eat more high sugar foods. Also the guy in the article who mentions education is right too. If people grow up on chips burgers crisps and chocolate that's what they will keep on eating.

I think lack of access to quality grocery stores in cities plays into this too. When there's the convenience of the local Stop n' Rob offering up twinkies and beef jerky, a lot of people probably won't go out of their way to buy fruits and veggies.

	09-06-2003 17:44									#6
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quote: Originally posted by CerberusIV There have been report of problems with kids at school refusing to eat "healthy" school meals because they are used to chips and burgers by the time they get to school and won't change their eating habits.

I used to be just like that, but grew out of it when I left high school.

Speaking of which, I knew a kid in high school who would drink the gravy out of people's leftover poutine (with a straw).

	09-06-2003 18:42									#7
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quote: On the other hand one of the arguments about taxing tobacco is that it causes health problems and the same can be said for some foods - or rather how much people eat of them.

Well... you don't need to smoke to live!

	09-06-2003 18:45									#8
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quote: Originally posted by *End Is Forever* Well... you don't need to smoke to live!

You don't need to eat at McDonalds to live, either.

	09-06-2003 18:58									#9
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No, but it's a fact that it's a lot cheaper to get your daily energy requirements from sugar/fat than from 'good' food.

So if you are really poor you might only be able to afford cheap fatty sugary foods. Which is fairly common here.

	09-06-2003 19:05									#10
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quote: Originally posted by MikeH No, but it's a fact that it's a lot cheaper to get your daily energy requirements from sugar/fat than from 'good' food.

I don't believe that, but if it is true, it's not right to allow such a state to happen.

	09-06-2003 19:07									#11
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Do some research, it's true.

Fat and sugar are really cheap.

	09-06-2003 19:15									#12
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quote: Originally posted by MikeH Do some research, it's true. Fat and sugar are really cheap.

So are vegetables and bulk grains.


You can probably buy enough rice, vegetables, or tofu to last you two or three meals for the same money it would cost to get a single meal at McDonalds.

	09-06-2003 19:16									#13
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Yeah, whole food is more. Is that because of a supply limit, or the cost to bring to market?

	09-06-2003 19:17									#14
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tax the fat! ingenious

	09-06-2003 19:23									#15
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quote: Originally posted by Osweld So are vegetables and bulk grains. You can probably buy enough rice, vegetables, or tofu to last you two or three meals for the same money it would cost to get a single meal at McDonalds.

We aren't talking about McDonalds, that would be out of the price range of these people. Fresh vegetables are very expensive for the amount of energy you get out of them.

If you read that article again you'll see that McDonalds is already subject to VAT in the UK.

	09-06-2003 19:44									#16
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I'd rather we tax the fat cats first.

	09-06-2003 19:49									#17
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I think Aerosmith had the right idea. Let's just eat the rich.

	09-06-2003 20:06									#18
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Surely eating the fat rich is bad for your health

	09-06-2003 20:09									#19
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If we let them loose in fields and chase them on horseback with dogs they'll soon get nice and lean.

	09-06-2003 20:11									#20
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"Do some research, it's true.

Fat and sugar are really cheap."

When I was scraping by some 12 years ago (couldn't get UB, or the other one, so was distinctly short on dosh) fatty foods were way out...I stuck to pulses and the like. I've heard this argument before, but I've not seen it in any supermarket (and that includes the then cheapy Budgens, and rather cr*p Iceland) when compared to your basic lentil.

I'm convinced it has little to do with the cheapness of the food, but more to do with the convenience, and lack of familiarity with the cheaper (and better) alternatives...after all the poorer members of the asian community in Hounslow seem to get by without larding up.

Oh....and LARD TAX!


They're stealing my ideas...

	09-06-2003 20:13									#21
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When I was student most meals were based on potatoes, beans, pasta or rice. They aren't exactly fattening.

	09-06-2003 20:19									#22
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Depends how much of them you eat...

	09-06-2003 20:23									#23
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They are all high carbohydrate so therefore fattening.

Lentils are cheap, you are right that people need educating about them. You are still not going to be very well nourished on lentils and rice though.

	09-06-2003 23:00									#24
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Calorie for calorie, buying fresh fruits, vegetables and grains, and even meats, from the grovery store is far cheaper than buying junk food. A large bag of potato chips usually costs around $3 US, and for that I can buy a sack of potatoes that I can use over the course of several meals with little fat like in chips.

Likewise, if you were to do a price comparison of the cost of buying meat from the store vs. buying prepared meat products, you'd find it cheaper as well, and you can prepare your own meat in a far healthier manner.

Since becoming vegetarian, my food costs have dropped tremendously and my eating lifestyle improved.

The problem is, as was said, convenience and time. It's far more convenient buy prepared junk food rather than make your own healthy dishes. Poor people with multiple jobs don't have much time to cook.

	09-06-2003 23:11									#25
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quote: Originally posted by MikeH We aren't talking about McDonalds, that would be out of the price range of these people. Fresh vegetables are very expensive for the amount of energy you get out of them.

Well, I was talking about McDonalds. Can't afford McDonalds? then they have no choice but to buy and cook their own food - and again, bulk vegetables and grains are the cheapest choice there. Or are we talking about homeless shelters?

	09-06-2003 23:12									#26
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Tax the gay!

[/Spink]

	09-06-2003 23:12									#27
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Tax the gay!

[/Spink]

	10-06-2003 05:32									#28
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Pure idiocy. Pretty soon they'll have to tax urinating for being too "environmentally disruptive and may alienate cultures in which urination is not an acceptable process of elimination of bodily fluids."

	10-06-2003 05:40									#29
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in case you brits don't understand this concept yet, high fat food doesn't cause obesity.

eating more calories than you burn cause obesity.

	10-06-2003 05:43									#30
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rice!

that isn't nuitritious. some of you know nothing about nuitrition.

white rice can spike blood sugar levels and is basically a bunch of empty carbohydrates.