3 ms·

Might make sense to net zero tax sugar (and hand consumers the taxes at the end of the year). Obesity is the main correlate according to most of these studies.

ronnier 2y ago
I used to be on the freedom side. Now in some areas it's becoming clear to me that we as a population do not have any self control and both sugar addiction and drug addiction is out of control and causing mass suffering
- nielsbot 2y ago
  Just wanted to add: we should also hold vendors of these things accountable.
  - ronnier 2y ago
    Driving through some towns recently I saw fast food chains as the main source of food for people. These corporations are like vultures feeding on people who are not able to control their own behavior. Looking at the people you could see years of overeating of very unhealthy food as they were extremely overweight, sometimes by hundreds of pounds. I used to live in Japan and the population looked normal and healthy. Coming back to the US and looking around me is astonishing and sad.
    - xeromal 2y ago
      I live in N. GA part of the year and compared to SoCal, it is damn near impossible to even get a salad. The food available outside of the grocery store is pure garbage. It definitely contributes to a lot of negative ills
- lovethevoid 2y ago
  A tax is a disincentive, not a restriction of freedom. As in, if you want that sugar, you will pay extra for it due to the increased strain on the healthcare system you likely will add to down the line. You can still consume as much as you want at the end of the day.
  - balfirevic 2y ago
    If it turns out that there is no increased strain on the healthcare system (because, for example, people who consume a lot of sugar die younger and so don't require as much old-age care), would you then advocate removing the disincentive?
    - kergonath 2y ago
      This is way over-simplified. Dying young does not mean that they don’t need expensive invasive treatment before they do, possibly for a couple of decades. It’s also a completely inhumane way of looking at these problems.
    - yadaeno 2y ago
      Young people dying early puts huge strains on other parts of the system so this argument doesn’t work.
  - t0bia_s 2y ago
    By removing options from people you take responsibility from individuals. Do you stop on red because of possible fine or danger from collison with other vehicle?
- energy123 2y ago
  Their food scientists and data scientists have hacked our evolved primitive addiction circuits. It's closer to coerced consumption than a truly free decision.
msandford 2y ago
I think sugar consumption is a symptom of a deeper problem like food not actually being nutritious anymore and glyphosate on everything chelates what nutrition you do actually get. It's really hard to have self control and just not eat despite being hungry when even the "good" options aren't satisfying unless you know to buy organic. I'm not saying self control isn't a problem too. But saying that's the only problem is to kind of gloss over how primal the instinct to "not starve" is. The modern food environment makes it possible to feel like you're starving while you're obese because while you have plenty of calories you don't have enough protein or minerals or anything important.
foxyv 2y ago
I would probably tax the producers of foods with sugar in them. It would encourage reduction of sugar content in everything while increasing the price of purely sugar filled stuff like candy and ice cream. But you would probably be better off just subsidizing healthier options rather than taxing the unhealthy ones. Or just removing subsidies for sugar and corn.
- lambdaba 2y ago
  At minimum there should be mandated warning labels like on cigarette packs. The contribution of sugar to inflammation, obesity, and cancer cell growth is well-established.
lambdaba 2y ago
It does, and most importantly, parents should be warned and assisted to not feed these products to their children, it's insane we let children form these powerful addictions and that it's legal to advertise it. We need drastic measures for this, I think the vast majority of people are aware of the harm by now, it certainly wasn't the case when I was growing up, but not taking action now is unconscionable.

ronnier 2y ago

I used to be on the freedom side. Now in some areas it's becoming clear to me that we as a population do not have any self control and both sugar addiction and drug addiction is out of control and causing mass suffering

nielsbot 2y ago
Just wanted to add: we should also hold vendors of these things accountable.
- ronnier 2y ago
  Driving through some towns recently I saw fast food chains as the main source of food for people. These corporations are like vultures feeding on people who are not able to control their own behavior. Looking at the people you could see years of overeating of very unhealthy food as they were extremely overweight, sometimes by hundreds of pounds. I used to live in Japan and the population looked normal and healthy. Coming back to the US and looking around me is astonishing and sad.
  - xeromal 2y ago
    I live in N. GA part of the year and compared to SoCal, it is damn near impossible to even get a salad. The food available outside of the grocery store is pure garbage. It definitely contributes to a lot of negative ills
lovethevoid 2y ago
A tax is a disincentive, not a restriction of freedom. As in, if you want that sugar, you will pay extra for it due to the increased strain on the healthcare system you likely will add to down the line. You can still consume as much as you want at the end of the day.
- balfirevic 2y ago
  If it turns out that there is no increased strain on the healthcare system (because, for example, people who consume a lot of sugar die younger and so don't require as much old-age care), would you then advocate removing the disincentive?
  - kergonath 2y ago
    This is way over-simplified. Dying young does not mean that they don’t need expensive invasive treatment before they do, possibly for a couple of decades. It’s also a completely inhumane way of looking at these problems.
  - yadaeno 2y ago
    Young people dying early puts huge strains on other parts of the system so this argument doesn’t work.
- t0bia_s 2y ago
  By removing options from people you take responsibility from individuals. Do you stop on red because of possible fine or danger from collison with other vehicle?
energy123 2y ago
Their food scientists and data scientists have hacked our evolved primitive addiction circuits. It's closer to coerced consumption than a truly free decision.

msandford 2y ago

I think sugar consumption is a symptom of a deeper problem like food not actually being nutritious anymore and glyphosate on everything chelates what nutrition you do actually get. It's really hard to have self control and just not eat despite being hungry when even the "good" options aren't satisfying unless you know to buy organic. I'm not saying self control isn't a problem too. But saying that's the only problem is to kind of gloss over how primal the instinct to "not starve" is. The modern food environment makes it possible to feel like you're starving while you're obese because while you have plenty of calories you don't have enough protein or minerals or anything important.

foxyv 2y ago

I would probably tax the producers of foods with sugar in them. It would encourage reduction of sugar content in everything while increasing the price of purely sugar filled stuff like candy and ice cream. But you would probably be better off just subsidizing healthier options rather than taxing the unhealthy ones. Or just removing subsidies for sugar and corn.

lambdaba 2y ago
At minimum there should be mandated warning labels like on cigarette packs. The contribution of sugar to inflammation, obesity, and cancer cell growth is well-established.

lambdaba 2y ago

It does, and most importantly, parents should be warned and assisted to not feed these products to their children, it's insane we let children form these powerful addictions and that it's legal to advertise it. We need drastic measures for this, I think the vast majority of people are aware of the harm by now, it certainly wasn't the case when I was growing up, but not taking action now is unconscionable.