Didn't Sarko recently put on a soda tax?
Our more general debate on junk food: https://www.econologie.com/forums/alimentati ... 10399.html
This contradicts the figures for deaths in the 1st article below which, in my opinion, are largely undervalued (factor of 10)! After that depends on what we count as death obviously ...
There may be the deaths directly linked to obesity ... it does not prevent that there are much more than 3 million deaths per year because of malnutrition ...
2 articles of the day:
Should junk food be taxed?
The United Nations wants to go to war against junk food. The UN wants to set up a tax system on sodas and very fatty, very salty or very sweet foods. The money freed up could be used to finance campaigns in favor of fruit and vegetables.
Three million people die each year from too much food. A worrying finding, which pushes the United Nations to want to "tax junk food". Obesity is a real scourge, cardiovascular diseases are on the increase. The UN rapporteur on the right to food calls on governments to tax sodas and foods high in salt, sugar or fat. As is already done in France or in some Scandinavian countries.
Money, the nerve of war
Price is an effective deterrent. The more expensive the cookies, cakes and other industrial chocolates, the less parents will put them in the taste of their children. Ditto for sodas, the more expensive they are, the less they will be consumed. Olivier De Schutter's UN report notes that a 10% tax on these high-sugar drinks could cause their sales to drop by 8-10%.
Young people and the poor
The first victims of this junk food are the poorest. Obviously since foods rich in fat, sugar and salt are very often cheaper than healthy products. Then there are the young people. Young people getting used to junk food. A junk food that the UN therefore recommends taxing. The MR prefers to eliminate the VAT on fruit and vegetables.
It's urgent
1 billion 300 thousand people in the world are overweight or obese. 3 million one hundred thousand die each year. This is more than the number of people suffering from malnutrition. Another alarming finding: in Belgium, the report estimates that 15% of people over 15 will suffer from obesity in 2014!
Source: http://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe ... tre-taxee-
One billion people overweight worldwide
UN rapporteur on the right to food Olivier De Schutter urged governments on Tuesday to tax sodas and foods high in fat, salt and sugar. Obesity has indeed become a new global scourge.
Over one billion people worldwide are overweight and at least 300 million people are obese, said the UN rapporteur when presenting his text on the right to food before the Human Rights Council. man gathered in Geneva until March 23.
Overweight and obesity cause 2,8 million deaths worldwide. In the United States, children may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to their poor eating habits, and developing countries are increasingly affected by this scourge.
Olivier De Schutter recommends that States adopt regulations on the marketing of food products, "the most effective way to reduce the marketing of foods high in fat, salt and sugar, intended for children".
Dissuasive prices
Imposing taxes on beverages (sodas) and foods high in fat, salt and sugar will finance education campaigns on healthy diets, especially in favor of fruits and vegetables, argued the expert of l 'UN.
He cites as an example the recent introduction in Denmark, Finland, France and Hungary of taxes on foods and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt. "Studies show that a 10% tax on sodas, having considerable negative effects on health, could lead to an 8 to 10% drop in purchases of these drinks," reads his report.
Olivier De Schutter also proposed to States to adopt a plan to completely replace trans fatty acids by polyunsaturated fats. In general, he stressed, "current diets are seriously dysfunctional" and "there is an urgent need to change direction".
http://www.romandie.com/news/n/Un_milli ... 121904.asp
