Still weighing up where you stand on the sugar tax debate?
You might have noticed we’re well and truly on board.
We hear the same arguments against the tax over and over. So, we thought it was about time we go over the key points again.
Starting with this biggie: “A sugar tax won’t stop people eating sugar!”
Soda sales slump.
Most sugar taxes so far focus on Big Sugar’s low-hanging fruit: sugar-sweetened beverages.
And as more cities and countries bring this kind of tax into play, the evidence shows again and again that it DOES encourage people to think about their food choices. And drink less pop!
Berkeley, the first U.S. city to introduce a tax, saw a 21 per cent drop in sugary beverage consumption in the first year.
Recent stats out of Mexico showed a 5.5 per cent drop in soft drink sales in year one of the tax, followed by a 9.7 per cent decline in year two.
Philadelphia’s sugar tax was introduced in January this year. After just two months, there’s been a remarkable 40 per cent drop in average per capita consumption.
With more than half our daily added sugar intake coming from these kinds of beverages, there’s a pretty huge chance people are consuming MUCH less sugar than before, no?
Reformulation, revolution.
Taxes (and the resulting sales slumps) in turn make Big Food companies look at ways to reduce the sugar content in their products, so that they can keep their heads above the bubbly water.
Just look at the UK. Before the sugar tax has even come into effect in the country, chain supermarkets have slashed the sweet stuff from their products in order to fall under the threshold.
And they’re not just stopping at drinks, either, reformulating other common sugary products like cereals and yoghurts.
Even international Big Sugar giants like Pepsi, Nestlé and Kellogg’s have come to the party, all pledging to cut sugar in their products over the next few years.
We’re pretty sure it’s not because they’re concerned about the health of their consumers. But hey, if it results in a drop in the amount of sugar we eat, reformulate away!
Support the introduction of a sugar tax in Australia and sign the I Quit Sugar petition at http://ift.tt/241QNXS.
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