A new bill has passed in Hungary in recent weeks known as the ‘hamburger tax’ passed on July 12th 2011 creating the world’s first “fat tax”. The bill will raise the price of fatty foods that are deemed as unhealthy or junk. Proceeds from the new law will be used to cover the rising costs of state-funded health care. The items will go up in price by 3.7 eurocents or roughly 5¢. “Salt, sugar and fats would involve higher tax.” says Gabor Csiba, the author of the bill who is president of the Strategic Alliance for Hungarian Hospitals. There will also be a 10% increase in the price of liquor and soft drinks. It is estimated that the law could generate as much as 111 million Euros or approximately $157.6 million.
These funds are sorely needed to help keep Hungary’s cash-strapped health care system afloat, one of Europe’s most indebted countries. Talk about an original initiative! Would North American go for that? It might be a small step toward solving the National deficit. Just kidding…I think there are 2 prongs to this topic: First the responsibility of the people to take care of their own health and well-being and secondly the responsibility of the “junk food industry”.
I think we can point fingers and blame everyone and anyone but ultimately it is us who choose to put unhealthy or healthy food in our mouths! We have to start taking responsibility for our own actions and stop putting our head in the sand. The rate of obesity is close to 26% and the rate of overweight people is close to 50% in North America. So what will it take for the population to engage in a healthier lifestyle? Don’t you think that if everyone were eating nutritious wholesome food the statistics would not be so high? Do you think that the cost of health care would diminish? You bet it would – most of the current chronic illnesses in our society are currently lifestyle disease! There is a lot that can be done when we know that 25% of what happens to us is genetic and 75% is lifestyle related. How you take care of yourself and treat your body will affect your future and the generations that follow. It starts with the right example. Poor eating habits will pass on to the net generation and so will good eating habits. On top of this, the work on epigenetic of Dr. Bruce Lipton is showing that even if you have the “gene” of an illness and you choose the right foods you can keep the gene(s) turned off. If you want to read more check out his book the Biology of Belief.
This brings me to my second point on this topic – I think the responsibility that the unhealthy food industry has toward society. Do they have any? If the government is not slapping them on the wrist for selling and marketing unhealthy food and lifestyle choices they are just going to push the envelope as far as they can. What do they care…a little bit won’t kill you right? Everything in moderation… Wrong…it all adds up! Why do you think the rate of cancer is so high? We are ingesting so many chemicals in our food daily it is scary! It’s all about money not about our health and we can’t wait on legislations to help us. Why are the fast food companies still in business? They have created a demand because we are busy and we want food fast but who ever bothered assessing the impact of all that unhealthy food on our health. Not them! So why not tax the junk food company for producing their “food” also?
I am not sure if a fat tax would indeed lower the use of unhealthy food? Do you think it is childish and almost comical that the government has to go to this length to punish you for making the wrong decision for YOUR own health?
Anyhow, I personally think it can be a good idea to tax the consumer as it might be the only way to get them to listen (their wallet may make them listen) but we should also be taxing at an even greater rate the companies who produce these unhealthy foods. Your thoughts?
Source
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/110620/hungary-fat-tax-junk-food
