First Course Blog

     It has become obvious that our current food system has been the cause of way too many cases of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  However, what has been less obvious to people is the solution to the problems caused by the quality, availability (specifically, the lack of available healthy foods), and the advertisement of foods.  Fortunately, as pointed out by Mark Bittman in his article Bad Food?  Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables, there is some action that the government can take in order to fix some of the main problems in the industrial food system.
     Bittman's main idea is a tax on unhealthy foods.  The question of which foods get taxed would be decided by experts.  With an increase in the cost of foods with negative health effects,  he believes that there should be very little incentive left to buy such foods. The most important part of Bittman's plan is that these taxes will turn into government subsidies for healthier foods.  This is key given that many low income families suffer serious health simply because they can't afford to buy organic foods.  Under this hypothetical situation, the reverse would be true as large companies would no longer be able to force the less fortunate to eat their food and suffer the negative health consequences associated with it.  Since the food produced by large companies would be less convenient to buy, the massive and seemingly inescapable food advertisements that draw in way too many customers would suddenly not be so effective.  They would have no strong sales pitch.  Fast?  Nope.  Cheap? Nope.  Healthy? Definitely not. As a result, the rate of heart disease and diabetes should sharply decline. Similarly, Alice Waters uses the school system as an example of the idea that the government needs to fund healthier foods.  Her main point is that more money should go into school lunches to ensure that children receive proper nutrition.
Topic: The effects of food advertisement on health
www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx.