The Fat Tax

A 'Fat Tax' on junk food?

Sounds like a good idea - until you actually read the article and think about what it may really mean. Over many years the idea has been propagandized to the general public that the problem in the diet is fat. Along with this came a heavy dose of anxiety and fear that somehow fat in the diet made you fat, caused heart disease, high blood pressure and everything bad. Cholesterol, a natural fatty substance which the body produces in abundance, in fact the most abundant single substance in the body, was pointed out as being particularly bad, and almost everybody was in need of drug therapy for it.

The health issues around fat are very complex to a degree, but are simplified once we include whole natural foods in the diet in the proper amounts. When we do that then the fat balance in the body is corrected and health is restored.

But most people don't know that. And whole natural foods are not all that easy to find if you don't know where to look. But refined food products loaded down with all the wrong fats, especially the artificial ones, and some of the right ones too, but in the wrong ratios.

So now into this confused mess comes the idea of a 'Fat Tax' which would penalize people for consuming foods rich in 'fat' regardless of whether the food itself is healthy or not. From this moronic point of view there would be no difference between the wonderfully healthy fat ratios in raw whole milk and the completely artificially concocted fats in a highly refined processed food product such as Snack Wells.

'Fat tax' could be levied on junk food
A "fat tax" could be levied on junk food and sugary drinks in a bid to reduce obesity and reduce the deficit.

The Food Standards Agency is planning to consult on whether taxing such foods would encourage people to make healthier choices.
In much the same way as tax is applied to alcohol and tobacco the most processed food are likely to be targeted.

It is possible however that 17.5 per cent tax could be levied on high fat food such as butter and cheese.
All food is currently exempt from VAT.
The FSA fears that the nations excessive consumption of saturated fat is leading to increased numbers of deaths through clogged arteries and heart disease.
The scheme has met with opposition from consumer groups.
Julian Hunt, of the Food and Drink Federation told the Daily Mail: "It may be a perfectly sensible issue to debate but such a regressive policy would nothing more than create lighter wallets for consumers."
However some research has claimed a fat tax could save up to 3,000 lives per year.
Last year the British Medical Association only narrowly voted against putting a fat tax on chocolate.
However, research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that any fat tax would have a negative affect on poorer families and have a greater impact on their food budget than on richer families.