4 ms·

I'm not opposed to the idea, but there are some counterpoints that suggest it may not be as effective as you think. Look at gasoline tax. California has the hig

by lhorie 5y ago

I'm not opposed to the idea, but there are some counterpoints that suggest it may not be as effective as you think. Look at gasoline tax. California has the highest tax in the country, yet it's also the largest consumer. I think other commenters have it right when they say there's a culture problem. In Niagara Falls, for example, it's a fairly common occurrence for Americans going into the Canadian side to get into arguments with Starbucks employees because they think they're being scammed/ripped off, when the reality is simply that canadian sizes are smaller than the american ones. Japanese snack sizes look minuscule in comparison with american ones. Take out food in many places is pretty much restricted to just burgers and pizza, (compare to Japan selling oden at 7-eleven). "Healthy" food like salads is often drizzled with oily, high sodium dressings, the list goes on.

brundolf 5y ago
But the culture problem is a result of the corporate problem. Expectations are set by what people are used to being offered - heck, your stomach physically grows when you're regularly eating larger portions - it should be no surprise that those norms carry over when people leave their environment for short periods. I don't think it's fair to call it a moral failing of consumers. We've been set up to fail.
- lhorie 5y ago
  I mean, it's partly its fault, sure. To see what happens if you completely let corporations dictate your diet, look no further than Super Size Me. But also, that's kinda abdicating responsibility a bit, don't you think? My in-laws live in North America, but cook traditional homemade chinese food (and they were teachers by trade in China, so the "low income peeps don't have time" argument doesn't exactly fly either). It costs them something to the tune of $150 a month in groceries to feed 6 lavishly when we go visit (probably even less otherwise because they're even thriftier when cooking for themselves). The fact that the vast majority of americans don't know how to cook rice in a regular pot, or pickle their own radishes is largely due to its culinary culture (or rather, a lack of it). In Japan, there's the concept of Yamato Nadeshiko, a desirable set of traits in a romantic partner which involves among other things being excellent at home cooking. I'm not aware of this kind of intertwining between cooking and other aspects of life in the US. IME, cooking is mostly just seen as an annoying chore, or associated with snobbishness. Another example: there's animes/mangas portraying cooking in home economics class in school (like cutting veggies and making rice). The closest I've seen in the US so far is third graders making homemade ice cream (which is basically just dumping cream in a bag of ice). Point being, I think there's more than just corporate narratives when it comes to culture.
ryandrake 5y ago
I guess a question would be is demand for sugar and sugary additives as inelastic as gasoline? People are going to fill up their cars no matter what it costs, but if a 32oz soda or bag of Skittles all of a sudden cost $10, maybe people switch to alternatives?
- lostmsu 5y ago
  People could have also been incentivized to buy cars with higher MPG.

by lhorie 5y ago

brundolf 5y ago

But the culture problem is a result of the corporate problem. Expectations are set by what people are used to being offered - heck, your stomach physically grows when you're regularly eating larger portions - it should be no surprise that those norms carry over when people leave their environment for short periods. I don't think it's fair to call it a moral failing of consumers. We've been set up to fail.

lhorie 5y ago
I mean, it's partly its fault, sure. To see what happens if you completely let corporations dictate your diet, look no further than Super Size Me. But also, that's kinda abdicating responsibility a bit, don't you think? My in-laws live in North America, but cook traditional homemade chinese food (and they were teachers by trade in China, so the "low income peeps don't have time" argument doesn't exactly fly either). It costs them something to the tune of $150 a month in groceries to feed 6 lavishly when we go visit (probably even less otherwise because they're even thriftier when cooking for themselves). The fact that the vast majority of americans don't know how to cook rice in a regular pot, or pickle their own radishes is largely due to its culinary culture (or rather, a lack of it). In Japan, there's the concept of Yamato Nadeshiko, a desirable set of traits in a romantic partner which involves among other things being excellent at home cooking. I'm not aware of this kind of intertwining between cooking and other aspects of life in the US. IME, cooking is mostly just seen as an annoying chore, or associated with snobbishness. Another example: there's animes/mangas portraying cooking in home economics class in school (like cutting veggies and making rice). The closest I've seen in the US so far is third graders making homemade ice cream (which is basically just dumping cream in a bag of ice). Point being, I think there's more than just corporate narratives when it comes to culture.

ryandrake 5y ago

I guess a question would be is demand for sugar and sugary additives as inelastic as gasoline? People are going to fill up their cars no matter what it costs, but if a 32oz soda or bag of Skittles all of a sudden cost $10, maybe people switch to alternatives?

lostmsu 5y ago
People could have also been incentivized to buy cars with higher MPG.