Taxing Toxic Foods

New York Governor David Paterson’s obesity tax proposal on sugary soft drinks has a fat chance of shrinking New Yorkers’ expanding waistlines unless meat and dairy are levied, too. Studies have shown consuming too much red meat and dairy can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high sugar levels, and bad cholesterol. PETA recently urged Paterson to impose a 10-cent “sin tax” on every pound of meat sold in grocery stores and restaurants in an effort to decrease health risks and save the lives of animals. Paterson’s fat tax may help close the deficit gap by $404 million a year, but waistlines are bound to widen even more.