World's first food fat tax imposed in Denmark

[pampango]

Source: Aljazeera

Denmark has imposed a fat tax in attempt to limit the population's intake of fatty foods, becoming the first country to take such a measure.

The new tax will be levied on all products that include saturated fats - from butter and milk to pizzas, oils, meats and pre-cooked foods.

Denmark's Confederation of Industries (DI) said that the new costing system was a bureaucratic nightmare for producers. Hestehave said that setting prices on domestically produced or imported goods was complicated, as it required declarations from producers both as to how much saturated fat was in the product itself, and used in its preparation.

"As far as we have been able to determine, Denmark is the first country in the world to introduce a fat tax, but we know that other countries are following us closely and have their own plans," she said.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/europe/2011/10/2011101193713194924.html

[quakerboy]

1. I can see how that would be a bit of a clusterF

But the given complaint seems bogus. They have to declare how much saturated fat is in the product? That shouldn't be all that hard, given how many things are already labeled on foods. Granted I am assuming that Denmark does not have lower product dietary labeling requirements than the US.

[alp227]

2. "FOOD POLICE!" --Burger-eating Teabagger n/t

[Kurska]

3. Fat isn't the problem, it is the ungodly amount of sugar we are putting in everything.

Most people should actually be eating more fat and protein and less sugar in their diet.

[Psephos]

6. Recent science says you're absolutely right.

But there's a whole lot of fat=bad thinking still out there, leftover from when science had a different opinion.

[Beartracks]

10. Wander around your local State Fair...

... watching the crowd gobble up the fried twinkies (on a stick), fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (on a stick), fried beer (on a stick), and funnel cakes. I think fat may be a different issue from sugar, but surely no less important.

===================

[valerief]

11. Exactly! nt

[frebrd]

4. I'm afraid that would inspire me....

to eat more fat food. I don't appreciate being nannied!

[Jemmons]

13. I can appreciate that - but you might want to consider

the other side of the Coin: Unsaturated fat prevents you brain from producing the experience of feeling full after eating. Its one of the subtle ways in which refined foods can be made to be slightly addictive. Do you like being manipulated chemically more than being nannied?

[naaman fletcher]

5. Why not just tax fat people directly?

I am not saying I am for that, but I am thin. However, sometimes I like to indulge in something fatty. That harms no one.

If you are going to do this, just tax people for their BMI. It sounds crude, but it will actually have an affect. This will not.

[AndyTiedye]

16. BMI Makes No Distinction Between Fat and Muscle

BMI is a very crude measuring tool, which makes no distinction between fat and muscle.
BMI typically brands bodybuilders as "obese" as a result.

Taxing people extra for being fat would be really unfair anyway.
Healthy food takes money and preparation time that many people do not have.

fwiw, my BMI is 24.8.

[panzerfaust]

18. Simply adding waist measurement DOES discriminate between Morbid Obesity and Morbid Muscularity

[SheilaT]

7. We need a cetain amount of fat

in our diet to be healthy. So it doesn't make sense to tax foods this way.

[valerief]

12. Right. We need fat to metabolize our food. nt

[DissedByBush]

8. Strange for Denmark

A major source of fat-laden butter and eggs in Europe.

[jmowreader]

9. Did you know Denmark had Republicans?

According to the article, the far-right government that was replaced by a center-left government (probably because extreme conservatism is incompatible with European life) imposed this law. And probably in a year, they'll campaign on a promise to repeal the "job-killing butter tax" if they're only reelected--neatly skipping over the part about them implementing it in the first place.

I read the piece--the tax is 16 kroner per kilogram of saturated fat in a food, which is going to be hell on the food industry because they're going to have to figure out how much saturated fat is in anything they sell.

Besides, having eaten in Denmark I can pretty safely say the Danes have figured out how to get saturated fat into more kinds of food than any other nation in the world. I'm certain there's butter in their apple juice.

[marasinghe]

20. was thinking on the lines of your last paragraph myself. & butter is one of their major exports.

on the other hand, the Danish govt. was stupid enough to toddle obediently along behind the Bushviper, into the Iraq War.
so they do have the same level of IQ challenged politicians, as any other country on the planet.

now, if they were smart enough to tax every politician with an IQ falling below common sense & ethics below common decency, they could be on to something.

[Politicalboi]

14. So the rest suffer with the tax

Even though they are not fat. I weigh about 125 pounds, eat cookies, drink soda, and eat pizza, hamburgers I'm 50 years old. I control my weight. Maybe they should have a scale waiting as you check out that counts body fat and apply the tax to those who tip the scales. When cigarette taxes are set, they target only those who smoke. Everybody eats. It's just more taxes for nothing.

[JCMach1]

15. Cheese and Butter runs to Germany will now be the norm...

This crap will not work...

[mainer]

17. Fat is not why most people are fat

It's carbohydrates. This is a misguided effort to stop people from eating age-old foods such as cheese, cream, butter, and bacon.

[Odin2005]

19. Idiotic, it's not the fat, it's the sugar! The "low fat" shit is worse for you than the plain stuff.