Food System, Taxes, Society

In her article, "Transforming Our Food System: An Update on Sugar-sweetened Beverage Taxes," Kristine Madsen indicates that the current food system in the United States is not sustainable and will lead to negative environmental and bodily consequences. When reading her article, I see two charts that support Madsen's points. In one of her charts, she concludes that as people drink more sodas, they are more likely to develop chronic illnesses. Moreover, Madsen figures in her other chart that while the prices of fruits and vegetables are increasing, prices for junk food is decreasing, which makes it more accessible to people. Therefore, Madsen proposed that there should be a tax on sugary beverages because she believes that it will lower the amount of sweet beverages that people drink because taxing it would make it more expensive. In my opinion, taxing sodas will discourage people from buying it because the tax would make the soda more expensive. The revenue that the government makes from this tax can be used to fund health programs in school and other places.

For further reading, please check the links below:

https://food.berkeley.edu/from-the-field/transforming-our-food-system-an-update-on-sugar-sweetened-beverage-taxes/

https://abc30.com/health/california-organizations-fight-for-soda-tax/5500063/

Cheers,

Matthew