All over the U.S you see people with severe health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and many other things. These health problems are a result of the bad and unhealthy eating habits that Americans have. Every day you can find someone eating something that junky, filled with sugar, and made from processed ingredients. A solution to this problem would be to eat a healthier diet, but that is easier said than done. Because of the low price, convincing advertisements, and the wonderful taste of the unhealthy foods it is hard for the people to change their diets. So how do we get the people to change their eating habits if it is so hard to do?
According to the article that Mark Bittman wrote, the best solution that would people to eat healthier food is taxing the unhealthy foods and subsidizing healthy foods. As support that this method would work, Bittman uses an example of how taxing tobacco eventually lead to a decrease in the number of users. So if taxing worked for tobacco it should also work for healthy foods. Bittman also points out how taxing the unhealthy foods will benefit the farmers as well because they will get to sell more of their products. Also, the money earned would be able to go towards the community and other beneficial things.
Although the idea of taxing unhealthy foods will take time, I do believe it will work. I think taxing it would make the people think twice about the junk foods that they eat. They will notice that unhealthy foods aren’t as important as they make it seem. I don’t think the people will automatically start drifting toward the healthier foods because they are so used to their normal ways but, if the taxing solution has time to settle in overtime the unhealthy habits will change.
Do you think taxing unhealthy foods is a good solution to the bad eating habits?
I believe this could work very well. I, being a junk food consumer, am not sure if i would want it to work because i love to eat a burger from in n out but i do get why it could be unhealthy, but honestly it isn't just fast food companies making people unhealthy. People should exercise so that they could maintain being healthy. But I do believe that taxing could make people eat it less. but what about the people who are still healthy and eat that food? Don't you think its unfair to them? That's just something to think about for me cause i do eat junk food but i do play sports and run and stay in shape.
ReplyDeleteTaxing unhealthy foods could be a good thing, but also a bad thing. If they raise the taxation on unhealthy foods less people are going to want to eat it, which is good. However, it depends on how much unhealthy food you eat. For a person who eats healthy on a regular basis and decides they want a hamburger and fries once in a while, why should they pay more because other people want to eat too much of the food? For a person who eats junk food on a regular basis and doesn't exercise and keep in shape, paying extra could discourage them from eating the food but maybe they should keep the price the same, and put more healthier food choices on the menu.
ReplyDeleteDoes the government know what is best for me? Why should I have to pay more for a certain food because the government says it will be better off for me. Not only that, but it is completely unfair to these businesses. They are supplying what the consumer want, fatty foods, it isn't their fault that Americans want that type of food. It supply and demand and the suppliers shouldn't be punished for it.
ReplyDeleteEven though taxing unhealthy foods could work out and be something great, many people might still decide to eat the unhealthy food because they really like it. It will change a lot of people's eating habits because they will give the healthier foods a chance and grow to like them. The extra money could go to community work out classes or something to help people lose weight.
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