A Tax on Sugary Foods?
There is considerable rumblings among those responsible for such things about a new tax on sugary foods. Consider it a sin tax, on par with those levied on cigarettes and alcohol. There is no question, of course, that imposing a tax on candy, cookies, ice cream et al. will undoubtedly solve all of our nation’s financial problems. It will also, of course, make us healthier, right?
The truth of the matter is the producers of candy bars will lobby the hell out of this thing to try and prevent it. The other truth is that we really wouldn’t know where to start. There are so many foods (beyond the usual suspects) that break down into sugar in the blood within seconds of ingestion. White breads and pastas, rice, even fruits like watermelon and vegetables like corn. For that matter, throw in essentially anything that comes in a box, a bag, or a wrapper. And then don’t forget all the so-called sugar free foods that actually have more carbohydrates than the foods the legislators want to tax.
Confused? You should be. One thing that is clear is that no amount of additional tax is going to dissuade someone who wants one from getting a 64oz Slurpee.. There’s a reason that over 30 million Americans have Type II diabetes. But it’s not just from candy and cookies. The real culprit is carbohydrates which appear in virtually every type of packaged food. So tax everything, and I mean everything, that has more than 15 grams of carbs per serving. Run that up the legislative flag pole and let’s see how far it gets. My guess is not very far.
I know more about this than the average lay person because I have waged a 10-year battle against Type ii DIABETES. i am, happy to report that I am now insulin and drug free and my A1C is averaging 5.5. My fasting glucose is around 100. (A far cry from when it was 290.)
And I’m still a working food critic. Bottom line, we don’t need a tax. Christ, we wouldn’t really know where to begin. Just some common sense and an understanding of what you put in your mouth on a daily basis would go a long way toward restoring health and sanity.
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