Comments on: EcoMeme: Fat Taxes, Too Cruel or Overdue?

By: JF

JF — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:10:19 +0000

I agree w/ all above comments. i was talking to a friend the other day about people who live in NYC with a 10k salary and I looked at her and go, “how do they even live?” She said, “They eat crap.” That really stuck with me. The fact that even the sugary, processed, hormone-injected food companies run the show, disgusts me.

Even when I was a kid, my man drink was water, I NEVER had soda. State gov’t leaders should stand up in an effort to make healthy, natural and sustainable food more affordable while hiking up the taxes on the processed crap.

Can you imagine how much our country could change (and our treatment of animals, e.g. corn fed vs. grass fed beef) if this happened? Cheaper for kids to eat scallops and spinach rather than little debbie snack cakes, hmmmmm.

Does anyone know a good organization in NY that is all for making healthy food more affordable and for taxing junk? Would love to attend some meetings on this topic.

Thanks for the thought provoking post.

By: Carla | Green and Chic

Carla | Green and Chic — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:51:45 +0000

I’m totally with Sara on this one.

I doubt that the tax will prevent people from buying junk anymore than taxing cigarettes has helped.

By: Michael Rad

Michael Rad — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:06:20 +0000

Spot on. It would be amazing if the focus of obesity shifted to the root of this issue… from what i can tell, it just comes down to education + improved access to healthy options.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:24:59 +0000

I’m with Sara. I think we need to tackle the root causes of the problem, rather than shifting focus to the individual. Sure, people can do things to help themselves (though weight is not always 100% controllable), but telling people to lose weight is not the role of government. Whereas ending harmful policies like corn subsidies and ensuring urban developments are pedestrian-friendly and have outdoor space for R&R is exactly the role of government.

By: Sara Ost

Sara Ost — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:56:52 +0000

How about we stop subsidizing corn and soy, establish a national nutrition policy that isn’t serving soda companies and junk food purveyors, and create tax incentives for employers to offer things like gym memberships and flex time to employees?