Australian governmental bodies are discussing putting taxes on foods that contain high fat content, following in the footsteps of France and Denmark.
While the western European countries focused on taxing soda, and ketchup, Australia will instead hone in on a more widespread attack on junk food: candy, foods high in saturated fat like chips and donuts might rise in price.
According to Jane Martin, senior advisor to the Obesity Policy Coalition in Australia, studies showed that 60 percent of Australian adults were overweight, while a whopping 25 percent of children were obese.
In 2011, Martin looked to Denmark, the first country to impose so-called "fat taxes," for inspiration.
"We think unhealthy foods should be taxed and the funds raised used to subsidize healthy food for people on a low income," she said. "We know price plays a role in our decisions and taxes are used in alcohol and tobacco sales to change people's behaviors."
Today, the Australia fat tax is still being debated.
The Economics Student Society of Australia recently published a piece titled, "Fat Tax: Will It Go Belly Up?" in discussion of the pros and cons of the possible legislation.
"The logic behind a fat tax is simple," they write. "Unhealthy diets lead to obesity. The health costs associated with obesity are an economic cost to society. This is a negative externality. Therefore, we should introduce a...tax to correct the over-consumption of unhealthy food."
But, they continue, it might be hard to define exactly what "unhealthy food" is. The term is relatively ambiguous, they wager.
Is food unhealthy if it's high in sugar? High in fat? High in cholesterol?
They also question whether or not the Australian government can keep up with the high administrative costs that producers and outlets will surely require-this was the reason that Denmark, interestingly enough, had to give up on their fat tax. They couldn't afford the tinkering that producers were forced to engage in, nor could they pay for the new systems that needed to be implemented to calculate the tax.
Still, there is an undeniable need for weight control in most countries, including Australia.
The ESSA suggests that the government should promote and incentivize more consumption of fruits and vegetables, rather than demerit the consumption of unhealthy foods.
