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Tony Blair says junk food should be made too expensive for the poor to afford through new sugar and salt taxes to tackle obesity (vnexplorer.net)

submitted 1 year ago by shish_mish@lemmy.world to c/unitedkingdom

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[–] wiccan2 109 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (9 children)

How about instead of punishing "the poor" with new taxes we just made healthy food cheaper.

How about actually giving people the time to actually prepare a healthy meal.

No one wants to spend 30mins to an hour cooking a good meal when they only get 4 hours of time to themselves a day. Reduce everyone's working hours and make them actually want to live a healthy life rather than treating them like consumables to be used up by businesses and replaced with their offspring.

This is exactly the kind of thing is expect from someone so far removed from the day to day reality of normal people.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I said it above, but buying the fresh produce and ingredients to cook up a meal, note costs me just as much as it would to go grab fast food. And like you said, it saves me the time and saves me having to be in a hot kitchen for an hour when it's 35⁰ c outside.

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[–] Kevin11@lemdro.id 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What if, instead of perpetuating the narrative of diet culture and "healthy food" vs. "junk food", we worked harder to provide food for those who actually need food. What if, and hear me out here, we educated people on making healthy decisions and more importantly, maintaining a healthy, positive relationship with food and their bodies?

[–] SnipingNinja@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Isn't healthier eating more about convenience than education or anything else. If it's easier for people to eat healthy compared to eating unhealthy, they'll take that up.

Path of least resistance and all that

[–] Kevin11@lemdro.id 2 points 1 year ago

That's a good point, I hadn't considered that! Have a lovely day.

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[–] DoneItDuncan 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Can people please stop asking Tony Blair for his opinions?

[–] warmaster@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Let's ask Tony Blair what he thinks about your idea.

[–] raoul@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 1 year ago (5 children)

It's me or this is stupid and paternalist? What are "the poors" gonna eat then?

[–] czarrie@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

The rich at this rate

[–] Jabbawacky 5 points 1 year ago

Soylent green! Made from their unfortunate neighbours.

[–] WraithGear@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Sugar free cake

[+] AProfessional@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] naught@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 year ago

Do you mean government subsidized highly addictive, processed, junk food with predatory marketing pushed by gigantic multinational corporations? Do not shirk their responsibility in this. It's not the average person's fault.

[–] raoul@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My problem is the whole "poor people eat poorly because they are stupid. I will force them to take the good decision"

[–] TheaoneAndOnly27@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

100%. I did my undergraduate degree in public health, and one thing that I constantly saw about program development for nutrition and food subsidy programs was people thinking that the main issue to an individual getting proper nutrition was not having an education on how to cook or recognize nutritious versus non-nutritious foods. So they wanted to have stupid bullshit like nutrition classes for snap benefits. Where you wouldn't get the benefits unless you took the classes, how fucking shortsighted and missing the entirety of the issue. As if a single parent who's working two jobs is going to have the time to cook or even the time to grocery shop well.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why is every politicians answer to everything "make the poor pay more money!"?

If I go buy the ingredients to make cheeseburgers for my family nowadays, out will cost just as much as if I went to burger king to buy them. The so called junk food is many times the cheapest option. These fucks just want to kill off the poor with taxes

[+] NuPNuA@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yeah but you're missing the point. It costs the same, and I'm wrecked from work and don't have time or energy to cook, so I'll take the fast food every time

[–] Borkingheck@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

How is BK cheaper, they are so expensive? It's like 5.99 for a whopper. Or is this something like feeding your family the 280 calories saver burger which is £1.50?

[–] TheaoneAndOnly27@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How about instead of taxing junk food we just start eating the rich.

[–] Emperor 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Eat Tony Blair.

[–] mannycalavera 4 points 1 year ago

Kinky

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Better also reduce the cost of healthier food, ya knobhead.

[–] butterypowered 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ve thought that for years. Tax the high sugar/fat/alcohol stuff and use 100% of that tax to subsidise fresh fruit and veg.

[–] throw4w4y5@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago

that will just become profit for supermarkets. even if you legislate maximum prices for certain foods, it will still become profit for supermarkets but the quality will be reduced.

[–] tal@kbin.social 19 points 1 year ago

Tony Blair says junk food should be made too expensive for the poor to afford through new sugar and salt taxes to tackle obesity

You're on an island surrounded by salt water, Tony. If people want salt, they're gonna get salt.

[–] Guntrigger@feddit.ch 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Who knew Tony Blair and Jamie Oliver had so much in common. Maybe Jamie Oliver is a secret war criminal.

[–] Emperor 4 points 1 year ago

He uses Bosch an awful lot now I think about it. 🤔

[–] Neato@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

Just another way to rob workers of more time and money and treat them like the serfs the leech class sees them as.

[–] wewbull 8 points 1 year ago

Tony Blair: Well if they have no bread, let them eat cake.

[–] donutaud15@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

How about we take these fuckers champagne and shove it up where the sun don't shine?! Seriously how dare they think of more ways to starve people?! Surely if he gives a damn then he should tackle the fact people are struggling to eat and live rather than worry about some so called obesity crisis?!

[–] HeartyBeast@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

If you want the slightly less sensational version here's the original reporting on what he said: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blair-calls-for-tax-on-junk-food-times-health-commission-2gd7hhh69

[–] boatsnhos931@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

LONDON CHEETO PARTY FAM

[–] Wage_slave@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

Sounds like someone needs a reminder to have his fucking cake cake and shit the fuck up up while eating it too or else it's going to be shoved up his ass.

Rich fuck.