The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 39
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- The WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health refers to the need to rethink fiscal and agricultural policies to align them with public health concerns (paras. 41 (2) and (4)). The introduction of food taxes and subsidies to promote a healthy diet constitutes a cost-effective and low-cost population-wide intervention that can have a significant impact (A/66/83, para. 42). As acknowledged by the recent introduction of such taxes in Denmark, Finland, France and Hungary, the taxation of HFSS foods and beverages can be an effective tool. Price is an important determining factor in consumption levels, and demand elasticity is especially high for snacks and drinks consumed outside the home. Research shows that a 10 per cent tax on soft drinks, which have considerable negative health impacts, could lead to an 8 to 10 per cent reduction in purchases of these beverages. The standard concern raised when such taxes are discussed is that they could penalize the poorest segment of the population, who spend proportionally more of their incomes on food and often are pushed into adopting unhealthy diets. But that concern can be met by using the public revenue from the tax to make healthy foods more affordable, for it is relative prices that must change. The poor are penalized for being poor, both because HFSS foods and soft drinks are cheap and because healthy diets are expensive.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Reference
- SR Food, Report to the HRC (2012), A/HRC/19/59, para. 39.
- Paragraph number
- 39
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