The Waco Tribune-Herald's April 24 editorial "No junk food tax"
incorrectly suggests Texas lawmakers are weighing a new tax on foods. No
Austin lawmaker filed legislation to tax food. Instead, several bills
would target sugary junk that is not food but is responsible for 40
percent of the increased calories in toda's diet.
Sugar-loaded beverages differ from orange juice and food -- even junk
food -- in crucial ways. These beverages have no nutrients. They send no
signal of fullness to the body. Yet with current serving sizes, they
often add as many calories as a meal. . . .
Despite the headline's suggestion ["Proposals to regulate food
behavior would unfairly penalize Texas consumers"], a penny-per-ounce
soft drink tax is more public service than penalty.
Children's health groups supporting the tax include Texas Pediatric
Society, the Children's Hospital Association of Texas, Methodist
Healthcare Ministries and Texans Care for Children, on whose board I
serve. All these groups have seen the research, backed by numerous
studies, suggesting a soft drink tax could do to childhood obesity what
the tobacco tax did to smoking: which would be to turn around a harmful,
growing trend.
Sugary drinks are more insidious than cigarettes. Few families and
even fewer youth know the calorie-count in these drinks. While sending a
message about overindulgence, the tax would hardly prevent all
indulgences. Just ask the state's lucrative beer and wine industries.
One population in particular -- children -- would stop making these
purchases every time there's a dollar to spare because minors are the
most price-sensitive group. Extensively targeted by soft drink
marketing, minors drink the most sodas, and they often purchase these
while at school or out-of-school activities with friends.
All taxes are controversial, but not having this tax is costly as well. Would taxpayers prefer to spend billions more paying for
obesity-related diseases through our state's Medicaid system and private
health premiums? Do they prefer the future costs to Texas when about 1 million young Texans today develop type 2 diabetes in childhood?
The USDA predicts a soft drink tax like this would lead the average
overweight child to lose nearly five pounds per year, while adults would
lose approximately four pounds. If the Trib's editorial board believes that freedoms and wide-open
spaces are "the cornerstone of our state," then surely health and
livelihood are foundational.
Only two months ago, this newspaper declared in another editorial
that, "Childhood obesity is our smoking hot issue that we must change
now. With data showing 70 percent of overweight children will grow up
to be obese adults, we must reprogram our society toward healthier
living -- for all of our sakes." Deflecting all the blame onto families
and ignoring the evidence for a vital public policy will not help move
society toward healthier living. To do that requires taking real, bold
steps to address obesity head-on.
Kris Kaiser Olson is board chairwoman of Texans Care for Children,
a statewide nonprofit children's advocacy group. She lives in Waco.
