Soda Tax

[Deleted]

I'm generally opposed to high(er) taxation on any food item, including anything that's potentially harmful for a person like sugary treats. I don't mind the state nannying people a bit, but what bothers me about it is that people are still going to buy their coke. Now it's only going to cost them more. And that'll punish low-income people the most. It won't matter to high-income people one way or the other. Seems to me, taxing food items of any kind simply means taking money away from those who most need every one of their pennies, and that's completely backwards.

[belfpala]

Get subsidies on the production of raw materials, pushing prices down below the cost of production; get paid by municipal water sources to use their water for your bottled drinks; use post-consumer recycled content to produce plastic bottles at a net profit; sell soda on store shelves at 50000% mark up; lobby government to raise taxes on sodas, increasing your profit margins, and at the same time trick consumers into campaigning on your behalf for their beloved drink.

you mad, economics? /trollface

That's a fair analysis. Soda is probably my highest profit margin item. The ice cubes in the glass probably cost more than the soda. I don't remember the exact number, but we calculated once that you'd need to get over a hundred free refills before we started losing money.

[Tinykong]

That's a fair analysis. Soda is probably my highest profit margin item. The ice cubes in the glass probably cost more than the soda. I don't remember the exact number, but we calculated once that you'd need to get over a hundred free refills before we started losing money.

The only thing that costs money to produce is the advertising on the bottle, the rest of the costs are paid for by subsidies and tax incentives. I remember reading an article a few years ago that said if the conditions in the market are right and the costs line up, national beverage manufacturers can actually produce a plastic 2L bottle of non-diet soda at a net profit, and that every 2L bottle that came off the line could go into a landfill, and the factory would remain profitable.

[zEmini]

Aaah! That one got past me there. Organic food is more expensive over here in the UK so I would likely have to stick with the non-organic foodstuffs regardless, as I can't justify the additional cost personally. Sure it's healthier, but a non-organic turnip isn't that much more unhealthy than the organic one from what I know.

Organic food is more expensive yes, but that is a terrible excuse sometimes. It is called investing in your body and health. Some people like cars, jewelry, video games, and others want to be healthier. Make a choice.

[Djuntas]

I hate ANY taxes to so called unhealthy things. It needs to die right now.

Its not what you eat or drink that makes you fat and sick, its how much you eat and drink. That along with not taking care of you're own body. Do some excersice every now and then.

Why should we who can controle these things get punished, fucking stupid. Denmark had fat tax made last year, and I'm still hating it. Prices HAS gone up alot now imo and it costes jobs and uncertainty.

[CJack14dt]

Eh skip these taxes. I think Japan got it right recently when they made being fat simply illegal and removes public support in light of a citizen's transgression.

[Lochton]

Don't need thoughts on this matter.. I know how it is, where I live, we have taxes on almost everything now a days, even soda.

[FattyXP]

If you actually look at what they did in that study, it makes perfect sense that the rats gained more weight with HFCS. Diet without HFCS or an artifical no-calorie sweetener vs. a diet with HFCS, which has calories. Basically, the study shows that eating more calories increases your weight gain.

Also, increased weight gain from eating something doesn't equate to poisonous.

Basically, if it wasn't HFCS it would be sucrose. The problem isn't HFCS itself, it's putting it in fucking everything so that people end up consuming way more calories than they should. Self control is a large part of this issue.

I can tell you really didn't read the whole thing... or any of it at all. You made an assumption.
"Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same." - quoted from the article.

The rats that did not get HFCS were instead given TABLE SUGAR. Which according to the Corn Industry ad campaign (the one in the US) your body can't tell the difference between. (which it can, and does)
HFCS in soda is 55% fructose and 42% glucose, while the HFCS in food is typically 42% fructose and 53% glucose. Regular old sugar is actually made of sucrose, which is 50/50 fructose and glucose bonded together. Now before you say "bro, those don't add up to 100%" the rest is made up of regular old water.

Fructose is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract by a different mechanism than that for glucose. Glucose stimulates insulin release from the isolated pancreas, but fructose does not. Fructose is metabolized primarily in the liver. Once inside the liver cell, fructose can enter the pathways that provide glycerol, the backbone for triacylglycerol.

Naturally HIGH FRUCTOSE corn syrup will produce less of the bodies natural Insulin than pure sugar, especially the kind used in... you guessed it... "sugary" drinks. (not actually the ones with real sugar, the ones with HFCS)


Now, you may be all like "why tax it, whats the point" well all you people giving yourself Diabetes drinking this crap are also taxing the medicare/medicaid systems in your respective country, costing your government even more money.

[Prokne]

So you would want to tax professional athletes because according to the measurements people use to determine "obesity" pretty much every single NFL player (except QBs and Kickers) would be Obese

Thats why BMI is a bad indicator of your health. You can have an obese BMI but have 10% body fat since the rest of the weight is mostly muscle.

[zEmini]

Its not what you eat or drink that makes you fat and sick, its how much you eat and drink. That along with not taking care of you're own body. Do some excersice every now and then.

Very Wrong. What you eat effects the body greatly. Don't be fooled by "studies" telling you a calorie is a calorie. They are likely paid by major food companies to make such claims.

[Prokne]

You fat ass diabetes having fucks are causing my healthcare to go through the roof. Yes, fatties should be taxed, but not on the food they buy. Tax them right off of their paycheck, or take it out of any other money they receive including inheritance, prize, gambling, ss, unemployment, and welfare. You can be a fat ass, just don't make me pay for you to be a fat useless slob. If the healthcare bill still stands, I hope they jack the taxes on obese people for it and let us who have a healthy lifestyle receive a decrease.

In a more level headed way, yes, I do believe people who make bad lifestyle choices that impact their health should have to pay more for their healthcare than someone who has a healthy lifestyle. Health insurance is supposed to spread the risk of expensive health problems so that you dont go bankrupt if something bad happens to you. This is good in the case of injuries or diseases you happen to get through no fault of your own since it applies to everyone. But by choosing to be unhealthy, you increase your risk of health problems and drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone. Since it was your choice you should have to be responsible for the added healthcare cost.

The problem is how do you determine who is healthy sand who isnt. People lie all the time to doctors about how much they smoke or drink and theres no way to tell if someone works out 5 days a week or just sits on the couch all day. You can do tests for body fat, cholesterol and other health indicators but you would have to force people to take these tests to get health insurance and a lot of people wouldnt like that. They could also get into genetic testing and charge you more if you have a genetic disease which is not the intention since genetic diseases are unavoidable to the person who inherits them. There would have to be strict guidelines on what constitutes unhealthy and what is allowed to be considered a risk factor to increase the cost of someones health insurance.

Of course until we have true universal government healthcare they should not be taxing people for things just because they are considered unhealthy.

[poser765]

Organic food is more expensive yes, but that is a terrible excuse sometimes. It is called investing in your body and health. Some people like cars, jewelry, video games, and others want to be healthier. Make a choice.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/fe...s-organic-food
That's just one. I don't think anything conclusive has been shown one way or another if organic is healthier. It sure is trendier to show at hole foods than Wal-Mart, though.

[anveena]

I wouldn't care. I stopped buying pop regularly a few years ago.

[zEmini]

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/fe...s-organic-food
That's just one. I don't think anything conclusive has been shown one way or another if organic is healthier. It sure is trendier to show at hole foods than Wal-Mart, though.

Look at the ingredients of the food you buy. If it is full of shit you can't pronounce, then it isn't organic. Therefore most fast food, can food, soda, pre packaged stuff isn't what you should be buying. Buy from the Farmer! Buy everything fresh from the produce and meat department and get cooking.

[cherb]

HFCS is poisonous. /thread

Just because something makes you fat doesn't make it poison. That's like saying bacon is poisonous.

[belfpala]

Look at the ingredients of the food you buy. If it is full of shit you can't pronounce, then it isn't organic.

That's just not true. Of course, there are many definitions of "organic" that could be argued to death. I'll just say, many of the things you apparently can't pronounce are vitamins and minerals your body needs. Those things are in so-called organic food... but Kale or Spinach or whatever doesn't come with an ingredients label.

[cherb]

What I put in my body is my choice, and i should not be charged due to deciding I will trade a few years of my life for enjoyment.
If the government has that kind of authority they could tax meat/salt/tea/butterand other absurd things because they could potentially have negative effects to my health.

And should they ever try to deny me of my freedom to do such things not only will i ignore the law but should the need arise I will protect my freedom with lethal means if necessary.

Why is it wrong? They tax cigarettes and alcohol more heavily than other things because *gasp* they are harmful.

[zEmini]

That's just not true. Of course, there are many definitions of "organic" that could be argued to death. I'll just say, many of the things you apparently can't pronounce are vitamins and minerals your body needs. Those things are in so-called organic food... but organic Kale or whatever doesn't come with an ingredients label.

That is because the ingredients of Kale are well just that. I am mainly talking about prepackaged and processed foods. Perhaps I should of used the word "natural" instead. Organic Produce and Non Organic produce can be very similar. The only difference is you do not get that nice "shine" they put on the fruit to make it more appealing. Forgot the name of the stuff. Also of all the foods that I buy, produce is probably the least organic stuff I buy because I do not like caterpillars in my corn husks and fruit flies crawling over my grapes.

[Karnaos]

I drink V8 Splash, it has sugar. They gonna claim it makes people obese too, and tax it? Tea as well.

It will, has obscene amounts of sugar.

It's not that healthy has more sugar than a can of soda.

[mistuhbull]

Why is it wrong? They tax cigarettes and alcohol more heavily than other things because *gasp* they are harmful.

Because they do it to other products it is inherently right?

Government is going to tax shit. But they shouldn't be using taxes to control behavior.

They tax booze and cigarettes because they can and people just accept that tax (and the fun dependence factor). If they were to be honest about the taxes, "we're making cigs more expensive because we know you'll buy it regardless" people would bitch. So they hide behind "it's bad for you". Doesn't make it right to do that.