Nowadays an increasing number of people have to deal with bad eating habits and its negative consequences. As a result, some people have proposed to governments to introduce a strict tax legislation on unhealthy foods, while others suggest that a “one size fit for all” regulation is not necessary and inadequate.
There are several reason to stand for the idea that governments should tax processed foods. First and foremost, fast food outlet have increased their presence not only in all the metropolitan areas on the globe, but also in small towns and villages. It’s a billion dollar business that grow on the shoulder of people since they sell products that often are over priced for their quality. Furthermore, fast food are generally “fast”. Therefore, in our rush society, where people tend to have, and spend, less time prepping their own food, this type of restaurants have made their own fortune on the shoulder of people’s health.
However, it could be argued that introducing a flat tax, a tax of the same amount for every type of fast food outlet, might seems unfair since such a governments’ intervention in the global economy might raise competition concern. For instance, non-fast food restaurants would directly benefit from the introduction of this specific taxation, because of the less competition, but this not imply that also this kind of restaurant sell healthy foods. Despite the tax, people’s health will be harmed anyway.
In conclusion, I think that the introduction of a flat tax is not the solution to people’s bad eating habits, governments should instead implement different measure (adv spots on healthy foods?) to help people understand the importance of havig a health and balanced alimentation.