Wow. Denmark is becoming the most progressive Food Nation.
On Saturday, the Danes (remember Hamlet?) introduced a “fat tax” on foods like butter and oil, with the goal of a healthier nation with higher life expectancy. With the significant issues facing American health plans, we should watch how this succeeds or fails.
The Nordic country introduced the tax Saturday, of 16 kroner ($3.00) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saturated fat in a product. The tax is relatively small – a spokesman for Denmark’s Confederation of Industries says the tax will increase the price of a burger by around $0.15 and raise the price of a small package of butter by around $0.40. It is probably the world’s first fat tax.
"But, look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1.1
They are taking this step to fight off obesity. Their obesity rate is less than 10%, which is below the European average of 15%. We Americans are 33.8%. Hoosiers are slightly larger than that.
I am reminded of the effort in a state legislature a few years back that would have made it illegal to sell any “high fat junk food” from a “quick service restaurant” to anyone with a Body Mass Index over 30 – the threshold for obesity. It didn’t pass the full legislature and died in committee…
Full article here: http://tinyurl.com/43pt46w
Karl Ahlrichs' Uncommon Experience 