(ed: i actually find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with turnball – that a sugar-tax (no matter how well-intentioned) ‘won’t work’..
all a tax will do is increase the price of this poisonous muck (slightly)..and what bloody good will that do..?
the manufacturers/pushers of this crap will just add the tax to the cost – to be paid by the consumer..(!!..i mean..w.t.f..!..)
and the effect on (the stated aim of) addressing obesity will be miniscule/negligible..
to my mind a sugar/sin-tax on sugary drinks will be setting new benchmarks in both a bandaid-solution and the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff..
‘cos the reality is that sugary drinks are just the pimple on top of the boil..
if you walk through any supermarket – read the labels – and see how most processed-foods are just delivery-vehicles for this white-death/addictive-muck..
as just one of many examples – most of those 500gm jars of pasta sauce have about 30 teaspoons of sugar in them – (as i said – go read the labels if you don’t believe me..)
and the only way to stop the unscrupulous pushers of this death-diet is to set mandatory maximum-levels of sugar allowed in any drink/product offered for sale..
that will be problem-solved…on one fell swoop..
anything less is just a sick joke..and will change nothing..
and as an aside – those pushing for a sugar-tax are just practising what has blighted this country for decades – neoliberal-incrementalism..
how that works is ” gotta problem..?..just dribble some incrementalism-sauce onto it’…be seen to ‘be doing something’..
child-poverty..?..just help the children of workers – screw the rest..!..(as just one example (of the many to hand) of this bankrupt-ideology in practice..)
and in this case – got a death-diet/obesity problem ? – ‘cos of the sugar-laden muck unscrupulous food/drink makers push/peddle..?
oh..!..just put a small tax on one of the worst examples of the problem..
that’ll let us all glow with self-satisfaction in the praise from being seen to ‘do something’..
no matter how ultimately useless that ‘doing’ will be..eh..?..
as i said – any floating of the idea that a sugar-tax will help in any real way – in addressing our death-diet/obesity-issues – is just self-delusion/bullshit-on-a-stick..
addressing the problem at the cause by setting mandatory maximums of sugar allowed – is the only real solution.
and as another aside: why do they do it..?..these unscrupulous peddlers of white-death falsely market as food..?
..the answer is ‘cos it’s a very cheap ingredient for them – that it is also addictive is just the icing on the cake for them…
gettem hooked..!..and gettem young..!..
that is how they roll – those bastards..
and of course the second part of this call from the australian doctors – the banning of ads for this addictive-muck ? – that is just the bleeding-obvious-on-a-stick..isn’t it..?..))
(excerpt..)
The Australian Medical Association has called for a tax on sugary drinks to tackle obesity and for water to be the ‘default beverage option’ with meals.
In a position paper released on Sunday the AMA backed a number of measures to decrease obesity – including banning junk food ads targeted at children.
Although the AMA labelled a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages ‘a matter of priority’ in September – the prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, rejected the idea of a 20% tax on the grounds that consumers already paid ‘enough taxes’ at the supermarket.
The paper argues that although many Australians have access to high quality fresh foods ‘most do not consume these in the recommended amounts’.
One-third of food intake comes from highly processed junk foods and beverages and half of Australian adults have a body weight that puts their health at risk – it said.
(cont..)