XPost: soc.culture.canada, can.atlantic.general, can.general   
   XPost: can.politics, can.taxes, soc.culture.quebec   
   From: abc@a123.ca   
      
   Growing debate over fat tax   
      
   BY CHRISTINA FRANGOU,MARCH 1, 2011   
      
   Customers won’t be deterred by a few extra cents in tax, says Marvin   
   Garriott, behind the counter at Marv’s Classic Soda Shop in Black   
   Diamond. He opposes a tax on sugary drinks, saying education would be   
   more effective.   
      
   Will Canadians be healthier if they pay a few pennies of extra tax on   
   junk food and pop?   
      
   That's a hot question lately — particularly in Ottawa, where a number of   
   prominent organizations have presented arguments to the standing   
   committee on health this month.   
      
   They're calling for reforms to Canada's rules on food taxes. Put simply,   
   they want food taxes brought closer in line with Health Canada's   
   recommendations on healthy eating.   
      
   "Right now, it doesn't make any sense," says Manuel Arango, assistant   
   director of health policy at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.   
   "For instance, one doughnut is taxed but if you buy six, they're not.   
   That's perverse."   
      
   Other groups that support tax changes to encourage healthier eating   
   habits include the Canadian Medical Association, Centre for Science in   
   the Public Interest and Quebec's Weight Coalition.   
      
   Calgarian Chris Bruggencate wholeheartedly supports the idea of taxing   
   junk foods and high-calorie drinks. He eats healthily but the good-for-   
   him choice is rarely the most affordable, he says.   
      
   He doesn't expect the food industry to change without a push from   
   government and consumers. "Their goal isn't the well-being of the   
   consumer — their goal, understandably, is to make a profit."   
      
   A tax on candy, high-calorie takeout food and the like would make   
   vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables more attractive to consumers, says   
   Bruggencate.   
      
   In Canada, the GST is applied to some foods and drinks but not all, with   
   some provinces adding additional levies. Among the tax quirks in Canada:   
   a tray of cut fruit is taxed but salty caviar, depending on where it's   
   bought, is not. A pre-made salad is taxed but six brownies are not.   
      
   "There's not even anything approximating coherence between what Health   
   Canada advises people to eat and what the Department of Finance applies   
   taxes to," said Bill Jeffery, the Canadian director of the Centre for   
   Science in the Public Interest.   
      
   Jeffery wants to see an end to all taxes on fruits and vegetables, no   
   matter where they are sold. "French fries, OK. But don't tax broccoli and   
   cauliflower and peas and sweet potatoes."   
      
   "And for heavens' sake," he adds, "don't exempt bacon, lard and chicken   
   wings."   
      
   The debate isn't just being waged in Ottawa. It's impacting the lives of   
   people across the country.   
      
   "Healthy groceries are so expensive — I'd love it if healthier foods were   
   cheaper," says Brie Roche, a Calgary mom to a three-month-old girl.   
      
   But getting a tax on unhealthy food — a tax that's often crudely referred   
   to as a "fat tax," much to the ire of both critics and advocates — is no   
   piece of cake. The idea is a controversial one with critics who include   
   economists, the food and beverage industry, small business owners and   
   many consumers.   
      
   They protest for several reasons: the tax would be difficult to   
   implement, the benefits are questionable and the poorest Canadians are   
   likely to feel it the most.   
      
   "I don't think a tax is going to make any difference to anyone's diet,"   
   says Marvin Garriott, owner of Marv's Classic Soda Shop in Black Diamond,   
   Alta., a 1950s-style shop that serves candy, ice cream, malts, burgers   
   and a dozen kinds of soda.   
      
   Customers who want a soda, burger or steak won't be deterred by a few   
   extra cents in tax, he says.   
      
   "If they've got the money, they'll spend it. If they want it, they'll   
   order it."   
      
   Education about portion sizes would do more to whittle down appetites   
   than a tax on pop, he says. "To me, that's nothing but a tax grab."   
      
   But advocates argue that a junk food or soda tax would offer significant   
   benefits even if Canadians keep tucking into foods like chips and   
   chocolate.   
      
   The revenue generated by these taxes could be used to combat obesity   
   through education programs or by subsidizing healthier foods, they say.   
      
   The percentage of Canadians who are overweight or obese has risen   
   dramatically over the last two decades, mirroring a worldwide phenomenon.   
   Currently, 59 per cent of adult Canadians are either overweight or obese.   
      
   No study has conclusively set a dollar figure on how much obesity costs   
   the Canadian health care system but it is believed to be substantial. One   
   analysis from researchers in British Columbia found the total direct   
   costs attributable to overweight and obese Canadians were $6 billion in   
   2006 — or about 4.1 per cent of the total health expenditures.   
      
   The key is to make high-quality food available to more people, says Dr.   
   John Turnbull, an Ottawa doctor and president of the Canadian Medical   
   Association.   
      
   Turnbull treats Ottawa's homeless and working poor — people who would   
   have a very hard time paying extra tax on things like a large pop or a   
   high-calorie takeout meal. Often, those are foods his patients rely on.   
   They lack the money for fruits and vegetables, and the kitchens to   
   prepare them. They don't own cars to get to a grocery store.   
      
   Yet Turnbull supports taxing unhealthy foods if the money generated is   
   used to make healthy foods more affordable.   
      
   "That's a good opportunity," he says, adding that funds raised should   
   also be used to improve exercise programs and increase education about   
   nutrition.   
      
   It will take community-wide efforts to reverse obesity trends, he adds.   
      
   "We've had some very significant societal changes that have contributed   
   to this problem and now we have to think how do we, as a society,   
   encourage a more active lifestyle, an improved diet. Taxation may be one   
   part of that."   
      
   A tax on junk food is one way the government can "nudge" people toward   
   better eating habits, says Kim Wagner-Jones, a dietitian at the   
   University of Calgary Sports Medicine Centre.   
      
   With enough nudges, people will change, she says. Previous research has   
   shown that little changes do impact people's food choices. Put healthy   
   food at eye level and youth are more likely to buy it. Take away food   
   trays in cafeterias, and food and beverage waste dropped between 30 and   
   50 per cent.   
      
   "A tax is another small nudge. Some others would be things like better   
   urban planning, more walkable communities, more variety of healthy foods   
   in the grocery stores."   
      
   Research shows people are influenced by small changes in food prices.   
      
   In one analysis from researchers at Yale University's Rudd Center for   
   Food Policy and Obesity, researchers found that a 10 per cent increase in   
   soft drink prices could reduce consumption by eight per cent to 10 per   
   cent — although they caution the results vary greatly.   
      
   In another American study, researchers tested whether a drop in the price   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)