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How is "junk food" defined for food policies like taxes? A combination of food category, processing, and nutrients can determine which foods should be subject to health-related policies, according to a new analysis examining three decades of U.S. food policies by researchers at the NYU School of Global Public Health and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts.
[...] "There is a growing recognition that an unhealthy diet stems from overconsumption of what we colloquially refer to as 'junk food,' " said Jennifer Pomeranz, assistant professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health and the first author of the study, published in the journal Milbank Quarterly. "However, public health efforts to address junk food are hindered by a lack of a uniform method to define junk food for policy purposes."
One policy example where a definition for junk food is needed is a junk food tax, which raises the price of such products to reduce consumption and generate revenue for other programs to improve the nutrition and health of communities in need. Previous research by NYU and Tufts shows that taxes on junk food are administratively and legally feasible.
[...] They identified and analyzed 47 laws and bills from 1991 through 2021, including one active junk food tax law implemented by the Navajo Nation, three state snack food sales taxes that were later repealed, and numerous junk food tax bills that have not been enacted. (Their analysis did not include policies that solely focused on beverages such as soda taxes.)
[...] The researchers were surprised that no state tax laws or bills directed the state's public health department to define the foods subject to the tax, a practice regularly used at the federal level and a mechanism that states could use to have experts define the foods to be taxed.
The researchers further concluded that their analysis supports the use of junk food taxes implemented as excise taxes paid by manufacturers or distributors, rather than sales taxes that need to be administered by retailers and paid directly by consumers. Revenue from excise taxes can be earmarked for particular uses, including improving access to healthy food in low-resource communities.
"An advantage of excise taxes is that food companies may be motivated to reformulate their products to be healthier to avoid taxation," said study co-author Sean Cash of the Friedman School at Tufts. "Defining foods to be taxed is not a static exercise, as existing products are reformulated and thousands of new packaged foods are introduced each year—so how we tax foods is not just a tool for steering consumers away from the least healthy options, but also for encouraging healthy innovations in what ends up on the supermarket shelves."
(Score: 2, Touché) by khallow on Saturday May 20 2023, @01:39AM (3 children)
And if I have a coronary a few years later (due to not gorging on junk food), I still might take the bed you need.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Sunday May 21 2023, @04:15PM (2 children)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 21 2023, @07:31PM (1 child)
That is indeed the problem. When you're complaining about displacement of health resources, the health food dude will displace them just the same. It just might be a bit later.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 22 2023, @10:51AM
It's much easier to convince people to pay taxes on their "sinful" stuff like tobacco and junk food...
And if there's a pension or universal healthcare or basic income scheme, those unhealthy smokers paying billions of taxes and dying before retirement or soon after retirement are great for the country's budget. And even after retirement they'll be paying (tobacco) taxes. Would be similar for junk food addicts if they get taxed.
Thus it makes perfect sense to me, since I don't consume that much junk food... 😉
First they came for the smokers, and I did not speak out because I was not a smoker... (well actually I spoke out against bans - we should not ban smoking in restaurants and bars but instead tax places that allow smoking - don't miss out on the $$$$$$).