Junk Food Tax Policies

Levying taxes on junk and fast food seems like a logical and effective method to curb America's obesity epidemic, but in reality increasing the final price of a Coca-Cola or bag or chips would not yield significant change in the consumption of such products, thus having little to no effect on public health. It is common knowledge that obesity rates in Americans are among the highest in the world. What once was considered a problem that only the wealthy faced, now is most prevalent in low- and middle-income areas of the United States and the world. Financial climate, consumer income, and the business of the food industry all converge to make the issues of obesity and related diseases ones that will never be solved by a single tax policy.

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A study conducted for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University focused on the relationship between consumers' income and their consumption of 12 specific goods including fast foods, snack foods, and soft drinks. The study found that the large majority of buyers were living on low incomes, concluding that any kind of consumption tax would be "regressive," meaning it would disproportionately affect those who are can least afford it. An estimated 23.5 million Americans - more than half of which are low-income - live in "food deserts" - "urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food." When trips to the grocery store must be so few and far between for people in these areas, it is only reasonable to buy cheap products that will keep for longer (ie: preservative-rich and prepackaged snacks) rather than spend a fortune on something that will go bad within weeks (like fresh produce). Even if consumers are prompted to make a change, the available alternatives often are not much better. When drive-thru's and convenience stores are the only local sources of food, taxing these foods can't deter shoppers when they have no other options. Some argue that taxing fat content may have the capability to encourage shoppers to choose low-fat alternatives, or that singling out high-fructose corn syrup might be able to prompt manufacturers to increase production of un-taxed, healthier food items. These proposals sound promising, but one must consider their real-life applications. A tax on fat content would cause a devastating blow to the production of foods containing healthy and necessary fats, like cheese and nut products. Because the production processes of food products are constantly changing, a tax on specific ingredients would require constant examinations and alterations of tax rates,