entremet
Member
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/world/americas/mexico-junk-food-tax-is-approved.html
Apparently sugared soft drinks are consumed at a high rate in Mexico as well. And like the US, high rates of obesity.
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Mexico Junk Food Tax Passed
- Thread starter entremet
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/world/americas/mexico-junk-food-tax-is-approved.html
Apparently sugared soft drinks are consumed at a high rate in Mexico as well. And like the US, high rates of obesity.
Mexico is actually the country with the highest obesity rates in the world right now, so yay?
Sure taxes suck but I fail to see why this is something to get mad over. People on my facebook feed bummed about paying more to consume their sugary shit in the same amounts. Destructive habits, in the end. If anything, this could serve as a wake up call.
Welp, that's one angle I deffinitely didn't consider in my post now did i
Don't worry though, I know people way too well in Mexico, they'll never quit coke and chips.
Sure taxes suck but I fail to see why this is something to get mad over. People on my facebook feed bummed about paying more to consume their sugary shit in the same amounts. Destructive habits, in the end. If anything, this could serve as a wake up call.
Welp, that's one angle I deffinitely didn't consider in my post now did i
Don't worry though, I know people way too well in Mexico, they'll never quit coke and chips.
as a mexican... I think the only outrage will be on the "one peso per liter" thing...
sadly, Coke it's very present on mexican tables, and oddly, it's more present on humble families with lower incomes... so, instead of paying 17 pesos for a 2 liter coke, they will have to pay 19... and considering a whole family can drink about two or three of those daily... instead of paying 1,000 pesos of coke in a month, they will have to pay around 1,200.
well, I hope those taxes make people eat and drink less shit... I can't really think on any of my closer friends or relatives who is in good shape.
sadly, Coke it's very present on mexican tables, and oddly, it's more present on humble families with lower incomes... so, instead of paying 17 pesos for a 2 liter coke, they will have to pay 19... and considering a whole family can drink about two or three of those daily... instead of paying 1,000 pesos of coke in a month, they will have to pay around 1,200.
well, I hope those taxes make people eat and drink less shit... I can't really think on any of my closer friends or relatives who is in good shape.
entremet
Member
How did soda become so popular in Mexico?
This tax will just hurt the poor in Mexico.
NY Times actually has an opinion piece on it that's amazing. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/o...ion&adxnnlx=1383669303-btn/f08gkL2A0hZkXVAyow
NY Times actually has an opinion piece on it that's amazing. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/o...ion&adxnnlx=1383669303-btn/f08gkL2A0hZkXVAyow
Mexico is actually the country with the highest obesity rates in the world right now, so yay?
Sure taxes suck but I fail to see why this is something to get mad over. People on my facebook feed bummed about paying more to consume their sugary s*** in the same amounts. Destructive habits, in the end. If anything, this could serve as a wake up call.
Welp, that's one angle I deffinitely didn't consider in my post now did i
Don't worry though, I know people way too well in Mexico, they'll never quit coke and chips.
In West Virginia, they recently got rid of grocery tax, except on soda, which is at 6%.
It doesn't work. People still buy it just as often. The only difference is that the government is getting more money.
entremet
Member
Welp, that's one angle I deffinitely didn't consider in my post now did i
Don't worry though, I know people way too well in Mexico, they'll never quit coke and chips.
no doubt
speculawyer
Member
On the contrary . . . they may benefit most. If they buy less junk food and buy some better food it won't hurt their wallets, their obesity rates should drop, and their life expectancy should rise.
Why is it that higher priced junk food is viewed as hurt instead of help? Would lowering the price of cigarettes help poor people?
There is a difference between a price hike for the unhealthy product and reducing the price of the other products.
People have shit habits and don't want to make actual effort towards improving themselves and their situation. Stop buying carbonated drinks and junk food? Nah, keep on stuffing your pie hole while watching shitty televisa soaps, Mexican people. Mediocrity at its finest.
Barbacoatl
Banned
Yeah, they should put to use their broadband internet to watch house of cards, get some good vegan recipes plus a lifestyle app for their ios devices.
Right because water, fruits and vegetables cost more thank junk food.
Taxing shit is lazy and ultimately going to fail.
Due to umbalances in accessibility yeah they can.
Due to umbalances in accessibility yeah they can.
General Patton
Banned
Bullshit, Australia taxes cigarettes to buggery and smoking rates have never been lower. Below 20% in males and 16% in females.
Is it lazy and shady? Perhaps. But it's working, in that less people are smoking.
well, not really sure... but it's crazy, I actually have some relatives that have a physical dependency. They asure they get headaches during the day if they don't drink soda.
particulary, where I live (Monterrey) we have a Coca-Cola subsidary, which means that they produce and bottle the sodas here, making them really accesible in terms of price and availability. And it's a really profitable industry that generate a lot of employment.
The marketing push it's crazy too, and both Coca-Cola and Pepsi always sponsor any big events, concerts, or sports teams. Also, a lot of restaurants offers "refill soda" with a really low price. Basically, it's cheaper to get unlimited soda instead of getting bottled water or something like that.
Oh, and in top of that, there's some stupid taboo that the "diet sodas" are disgusting. Many people don't like them because "they taste bad".
In general it's a very bad habit, and it's been like that since I remember. As I said, I hope that this tax cause that people reconsider their soda consumption.
SteveWinwood
Member
When you're talking about extremely poor areas that have shit water? It can be true that that is your reasoning.
When traveling I have certainly opted for something processed over water depending on the area. There is a reason they say 'don't drink the water'.
ITT: you don't understand water supply issues in underdeveloped countries.
entremet
Member
Wow. Didn't know it was so big in Mexican culture. That's pretty interwoven there. Soda is god awful for you too. I remember when I started eating healthy I just started eliminating soda and I lost 20 pounds on just that change.
Maybe in the most destitute, remote Indian villages, but this guy's trying to say Mexicans drink a lot of soda for lack of clean drinking water, which is bullshit.
Uhhh.... you do realize there is a significant problem with the quality of drinking water in some parts of Mexico, right?
Believe me, I've seen people in Mexico that belong to the the socioeconomic bracket that partakes of this kind of silly "beautiful people" lifestyle, and they're as mediocre and have habits just as destructive as the "poor" people in the end.
Taxes on top of education on the dangers of smoking, smoking bans, and making it illegal to advertise smoking.
Nikodemos
Member
Useless.
If they really wanted to fight obesity they should've done a study on the degrees Brix of most common food items (including conversion from starch, a cheap, common filler/binder). Then they should've imposed a lowering of Brix in all foodstuffs (with potential elimination of all sugars in a select number of them).
Evidently, the processed 'food' industry would've fought tooth and nail against it. Sugars are cheap and immensely effective flavour enhancers (meaning they use less of more expensive flavourings) and starch is cheap bulk (especially for meat 'products').
If they really wanted to fight obesity they should've done a study on the degrees Brix of most common food items (including conversion from starch, a cheap, common filler/binder). Then they should've imposed a lowering of Brix in all foodstuffs (with potential elimination of all sugars in a select number of them).
Evidently, the processed 'food' industry would've fought tooth and nail against it. Sugars are cheap and immensely effective flavour enhancers (meaning they use less of more expensive flavourings) and starch is cheap bulk (especially for meat 'products').
God Dayumm
Banned
Hopefully this tax will fund improvements to the water supply in Mexico!! lol
Seriously though, the quality of water in Mexico is not that bad. Some parts have it better than in the US. At least where I come from that's totally not the reason why people abuse or should abuse soda.
Don't Laugh
Banned
it's cheap and safer to drink than tap water
Starwolf_UK
Member
The problem with junk food tax is people may move to other junk food you did not tax that might be even worse for their health as an unintended side effect.
If people react strongly to the price rise then the coke bottles will get a little smaller and the price stay the same.
If people react strongly to the price rise then the coke bottles will get a little smaller and the price stay the same.
Yes, according a 2008 statistics cited in a completely unrelated 2013 UN agriculture report (why obesity? it is a form of malnutrition) if you exclude a load of countries for no logical reason (except looking for a good headline...there were at least 2 threads on GAF about it).
robertsan21
Member
The government needs to start selling healthy foods for cheap and everything unhealthy for high prices. The world is fucking backwards.
False and false, lol.
God Dayumm
Banned
I wouldn't say cheap but fair price. It is other countries who are scamming their prices on food.
Admiral Bone to Pick
Banned
Question: If the water quality in Mexico is so poor in some parts that they're forced to drink soda, why not get a Diet Coke? Or any other diet soda? No one is forcing them to consume massive amounts of sugary drinks. I know diet soda isn't ideal either, but it would be a decent start for the world's most obese nation.
You will now feel the wrath of GAF for even suggesting such a thing.
Get ready for "Diet soda is worse then sugary soda. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!!!"
lazer_bean
Member
i guess it's refreshing when the weather is hot ?
alfredofroylan
Member
Some companies are trying to avoid this tax by changing their formula. Marinela is one of them, they're trying to reduce the number of calories in their products. As for the sugary drinks, thi's pointless Mexico loves their "coca" and jarritos too much to pay whatever they want sadly.
It was pushed very heavily, especially in the poorer areas which are hotter, the public water supply is not reliable (mostly in terms of access, not even quality) and where it is sold extremely cheap. Every corner store in the country has them displayed pretty prominently and for a long time have been part of the regular diet, including for kids at school.
It costs about the same (small bottles) but it is often cheaper. Bottled water is as big a business in Mexico as soda is, actually. Mexico is also the biggest consumer of bottled water in the world, and Coca Cola and Pepsi carry their own brands, which they stick in the same fridges soda is in.
And at least in Mexico City tap water is OK to drink, and people who claim otherwise don't know what they are talking about. In the rest of the country, quality and availability varies a lot, but in a country where 50 million people are considered poor, you can imagine what kind of access to free, clean water most have.
yup.
Mexico has a good system of water cleansing, and according to CONAGUA (national water commision), 97% of the water in Mexico is drinkable straight from the faucet without any health risk.
The soda consume numbers in mexico is a cultural problem. People are too used to drink soda and I don't see what can we do to change that.
Our obesity rate is caused by three problems:
1. A lot of junk food, either commercial of "informal". So, the sodas and the chips are a problem, but also the tacos you can buy on every corner going to work, before taking the bus, on a lunch break, on a casual friday on the office... etc.
2. The basic mexican food involves a lot of carbohydrates and cereals, not many vegetables. Historically, we are used to eat bad, and there's no awareness about eating healthy.
3. People are not used to exercise, and there are very few public spaces to excercise, jog, ride bikes, etc. I ride bike to work, but I risk my life everyday because I have to share the road with cars and buses, and they don't give a shit about bikes. LOL.
I really hope that this tax helps to attack the problem #1.
Ugh. This is NOT w why Mexico drinks Coke. Bottled water is exponentially cheaper - it costs almost the same to get a 20 lts of bottled water replaced than buying a 2 or 2.5 lts bottle of Coke.
I just replaced a 20 lts bottle for my office, I paid $20 MXN. That's less than two dollars.
A post full of truth. Vegetables are freaking cheap and DELICIOUS (I have eaten vegetables in US and Europe, and it doesn't compare).
This is true. People don't eat healthy because they're lazy as hell. Only reason.
Holy shit.
It's not chlorinated?
Admiral Bone to Pick
Banned
Exactly my point. Even if soda was cheaper or safer than water, there's still no excuse for people to be guzzling sugary sodas. It's just BS excuses for bad habits.
Barbacoatl
Banned
I don't doubt it, I live here, and while your assertion has some truth to it, poor people (way) outnumber the privileged who can at least treat their diabetes better (if at all). I agree with the tax, not because it will deter Pedro from getting his 1lt coca tomorrow at lunch break, nor because of its great tributary outcome, but because it ignites a national discussion that I hope turns into a bigger movement; also, I hope to see companies coming up with new, healthier products because of it. I'm highly optimistic 'tho, truth is the fat kids of ol' mexico aren't getting the best example from their parents (and their society at large).
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