CSS 2023 Solved Essay | To Encourage Healthy Eating, Higher Taxes Should be Imposed on Soft Drinks and Junk Food
Syed Muhammad Hamza, a student of Sir Syed Kazim Ali, has attempted the CSS 2023 essay “ To Encourage Healthy Eating, Higher Taxes Should be Imposed on Soft Drinks and Junk Food ” on the given pattern, which Sir Syed Kazim Ali teaches his students. Sir Syed Kazim Ali has been Pakistan’s top English writing and CSS, PMS essay and precis coach with the highest success rate of his students. The essay is uploaded to help other competitive aspirants learn and practice essay writing techniques and patterns to qualify for the essay paper.
Outline
1- Introduction
- In today’s convenience–driven world, a culture of instant gratification has made a strong foothold
- The consumption of junk foods and soft drinks has increased rampantly in the last couple of decades, for they are more easily accessible and affordable than other meals
- To deal with the unhealthy eating trends across the world, the imposition of higher taxes on junk food and soft drinks seems the best and most pragmatic deterrent.
2- Deconstructing the term “Healthy Eating”
3- What are the implications of unhealthy eating?
- Social implications
- Burdening the healthcare sector of a state
- Case in point: In order to meet the needs of the healthcare sector, the state has to put extra efforts, resources and attention into it.
- Lowering the productivity of the human resource of a community
- Case in point: The stress laid by MNCs on consuming healthy meals in their cafeterias is all to assure the productivity and efficiency of the labour force do not decline as a healthy eating pattern is a guarantee of a productive environment.
- Paving the way to food insecurity
- Case in point: The research held by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) proclaims that food insecurity in developing countries is due to the excessive emphasis on the cattle farming sector rather than on the agricultural sector.
- Burdening the healthcare sector of a state
- Health implications
- Hampering the health of people
- Case in point: The high risk of diabetes type 2, cardiovascular diseases, and kidney failure is commonly caused by unhealthy eating.
- Resulting in malfunctioning of different systems of the body: theimmune system and digestive system
- Case in Point: As the study of Health and Life Insurance Company proves it, people with proper and organic meals, which are usually habitats of rural centres, are found less prone to coronavirus.
- Impacting the mental and psychological growth of a child
- Case in point: According to the research performed by The Lancet Commission on Health, the overall personality of a child becomes weak to adhere to the growth of society due to unhealthy eating practices.
- Hampering the health of people
- Environmental implications
- Causing deforestation
- Case in point: Brazil in an act to meet the meat demand of the US, adopted cattle farming on a large scale by clearing its huge evergreen forests.
- Contributing to pollution
- Case in point: According to the Union of Concerned Scientists published a report, which is titled “The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers” which examines the environmental impact of the beef industry, which is often associated with the production of hamburgers and other junk food products. The report discusses how beef production contributes to deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Disturbing the biodiversity of the resource pool
- Case in point: A very classical case study in this respect stands for Indonesia. The country to meet the demand of oil, risen by the junk food industries, misused its resources by cultivating only certain types of crops.
- Causing deforestation
4- How imposing higher taxes on junk foods and soft drinks would encourage healthy eating?
- Promoting healthier choices by making unhealthy options relatively more expensive
- Case in point: For instance, by imposing a 10 per cent tax on junk food and sugary beverages company, Mexico has been able to decrease the sale of unhealthy products by 20 per cent.
- Incentivising for healthy food and beverages manufacturers
- Case in point: One such example is of the Sugar Reduction Programme run in the UK. The success of the programme can be gauged by the fact that there has been a 20 per cent decrease in the usage of high sugar contents from the markets.
- Helping the state to address the issues of malnutrition – stricken populace
- Case in Point: The water shortage issue can be addressed by the states as it would be more stored because of the less demand by the junk food and soft drinks industries.
- Boosting advertising and sponsoring campaigns led by states
- Case in point: Smart Snacks programme runs in the UK state schools by the UK government to encourage the adoption of healthy eating practices by children.
5- Critical analysis
6- Conclusion
In today’s convenience–driven world, a culture of instant gratification, where people are attracted to easily attainable products and services, has made a strong foothold in almost every society. Like in the context of food, the consumption of junk foods and soft drinks has increased rampantly in the last couple of decades, for they are more easily accessible and affordable than other meals. Yet, the high consumption of junk foods or unhealthy items has given birth to myriad health, social, and environmental issues. The regular and excessive consumption of junk foods and soft drinks as regular meals has been a breeding ground for health issues like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity. Unfortunately, people have adopted unhealthy eating habits in the name of liberty of choice and affordability, ignoring their drastic implications on their physical and mental health. Turning our attention to the realm of junk food, a study conducted in America reveals that 80 per cent of people suffering from depression are addicted junk food consumers. Therefore, imposing higher taxes on junk food and soft drinks seems the best and most pragmatic deterrent to deal with the unhealthy eating trends worldwide. Through proper regulations and higher tax imposition, the manufacturer and consumer would contract to inbuilt reluctance towards adopting unhealthy eating patterns. In the subsequent essay, the meaning of healthy eating, the implications of unhealthy food on the environment, society, and economy, and the way the higher taxation framework may assist in abandoning unhealthy eating habits are discussed in detail.
Generally, healthy eating refers to the practice of consuming a balanced and nutritious diet. Such a consumption of diet helps in providing the body with all the essential nutrients, vitamins, and energy. A proper intake of healthy fats, proteins, low carbohydrate diet, low sugary added diet, and fruits is necessary for the physical and mental growth of a person. Moreover, healthy eating practices also include moderate and portion-wise eating, meaning thereby abstaining from excessive intake of any nutrient in the diet. For instance, the high consumption of meat is not recommended by dietitians, for healthy eating includes the consumption of the correct portion of each nutrient. Thus, healthy eating refers to a complete set of balanced diets.
There are multiple ways in which unhealthy eating leads to severe social, economic, and environmental implications. To begin with, social implications are crucial. It includes burdening the healthcare sector of a state. It is a proven fact, whenever the people of the state consume an unbalanced and unhealthy diet or show no importance to healthy eating habits, the overall state’s health sector becomes prone to inefficiency and shortage of resources. In order to meet the needs of the healthcare sector, the state has to put extra effort, resources and attention into it. Hence, the budget allotted for other development purposes is channelized to the overburdened healthcare sector.
Similarly, unhealthy eating trends in society also lowers the productivity of the human resource of a community. With a lack of essential nutrients and energy, the labour force becomes less productive. It overall hampers societal growth and development. One may easily gauge the importance of healthy eating by examining the eating trends of the cafeterias of Multi-National Companies (MNCs) across the world. One might ponder why are the MNCs too concerned about their healthy eating environment. It is all to assure the productivity and efficiency of the labour force do not decline as a healthy eating pattern is a guarantee of a productive environment.
Moreover, the unhealthy eating pattern paves the way to food insecurity. The major factor that contributes to the high consumption of junk foods and soft drinks is their affordability. The cheap price of junk food makes it easily purchasable by people. Hence, the economic restraints amongst the people of society lead to excessive dependence on junk food as a meal; consequently, it leads society to malnutrition, which is an important indicator of food insecurity. The research held by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) proclaims that food insecurity in developing countries is due to the excessive emphasis on the cattle farming sector rather than on the agricultural sector. Therefore, it is a proven fact that fostering junk foods and sugary beverages results in food insecurity.
Additionally, the trend of junk foods and soft drinks has distorted the cultural fabric of a state. According to food culture-related studies in the West, the deviation of the society from their traditional cuisines has been observed to such an extent that the traditional and cultural foods are only meant to be prepared at the time of some special events or festivals. The very trend has been engraved in the West due to the excessive dependence of people on junk foods and ready–made meals, which have flooded markets, in their hasty lifestyle. Therefore, the unhealthy eating contours of society are an alarm of cultural impact.
Other than the social implications, health implications are also obvious in the consumption of junk foods and soft drinks on a regular basis. The high risk of diabetes type 2, cardiovascular diseases, and kidney failure is commonly caused by unhealthy eating. Excessive functioning of the kidney in cleaning one’s impure blood, pumping thick blood across the body, and controlling the sugar level in the blood by the pancreas makes the kidney, heart, and pancreas exhausted from their functions. As a result, the abovementioned diseases grapple an individual. Hence, an unhealthy diet is a major source of health–related issues too.
Similarly, unhealthy eating patterns result in the malfunctioning of different systems of the body, such as the immune system and digestive system. With the consumption of insufficient amounts of minerals and vitamins by the body, the immune system becomes inadequate to combat different germs and viruses. As the study by Health and Life Insurance Company proves, people with proper and organic meals, which are usually habitats of rural centres, are found less prone to coronavirus. Now, by it is obvious that people who are taking proper meals with all the minerals, vitamins, and energy have the adequate immune system to fight viruses. Moreover, lacking dietary fibres in junk foods result in poor digestion of food, resulting in constipation, which is further a reason behind other several diseases.
Apart from the above-discussed implications, there are psychological and mental implications of unhealthy eating too. Consuming insufficient dietary nutrients, the physical and mental development of a child is seriously hampered. Owing to this mental and cognitive skills of a child remain impaired, leaving him amid learning difficulties and poor academic progress. According to the research performed by the Lancet Commission on Health, the overall personality of a child becomes weak to adhere to the growth of society due to unhealthy eating practices. Hence, the productivity and efficiency of the child decline, for he feels anaemic – deficient in iron – and lethargic.
The implication of an unhealthy diet isn’t isolated to social and health domains, it imposes an existential threat on the environment as well. Due to the high consumption of water and other natural resources by the junk food and soft drink sector, excessive resource allocation has to be done. For instance, meat–based foods require a high amount of water; as a result, the junk food sector imposes stress on the indigenous water resource of the country. In fact, to understand the environmental impact of junk food industries, have a look at the case study of Brazil. The country, to meet the meat demand of the US, adopted cattle farming on a large scale by clearing its huge evergreen forests. To cut it short, the junk food industry gives rise to deforestation to set up cattle farms at large scales.
Furthermore, the junk food industries are huge contributors to pollution. Cattle farming results in excessive emission of greenhouse gases. In fact, from production to transportation to the consumer, each step contributes to a certain type of pollution. The Union of Concerned Scientists published a report, which is titled “The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers” which examines the environmental impact of the beef industry, which is often associated with the production of hamburgers and other junk food products. The report discusses how beef production contributes to deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, certainly, the junk food sector has been a huge contributor to pollution.
As a matter of fact, with an excessive dependency on a certain resource or food crop, the biodiversity of the resource pool is disturbed, leading to environmental degradation. And, the same is the case for junk food. To meet the demand for oil in the junk food industries, soya bean and palm trees are excessively grown by the farming sectors of such countries, eroding the biodiversity of crops. A very classical case study in this respect stands for Indonesia. The country to meet the demand for oil, risen by the junk food industries, misused its resources by cultivating only certain types of crops. As a result, it builds resistance in the land to grow other types of crops, ending with the erosion of biodiversity in the farming sector.
Now that it is clear why unhealthy eating patterns should be abandoned by people, it is time to understand how imposing high taxes on junk foods and soft drinks may discourage the very trend. Certainly, banning junk foods and soft drinks isn’t a pragmatic approach for any country. In fact, there isn’t a single case study, which proclaims the banning of junk foods and soft drinks on behalf of any country. With the high possibility of public backlash and other economic restraints in society, regulation via high taxation policies seems a decent prerogative in discouraging unhealthy diets. All in all, higher taxation policy is a set of policies in itself. Therefore, the following part of the essay describes the way in which high taxation policies on junk foods and soft drinks may be helpful.
To begin with, the imposition of high taxes on junk foods and soft drinks would make the prices of the products high. As one of the basic reasons behind the hype of junk food and soft drinks is their cheap price, making it affordable for the people of the community to purchase it, the imposition of high taxes would bring a sufficient decrease in the sale of them. For instance, by imposing a 10 per cent tax on junk food and sugary beverages company, Mexico has been able to decrease the sale of unhealthy products by 20 per cent. Thus, like carbon tax and leisure taxes levied on industries by different countries, junk food and soft drinks taxes must be imposed.
Moreover, the collection of such taxes, imposed on unhealthy food-making companies, maybe channelized by the state for subsidies on healthy food items. One such example is the Sugar Reduction Programme run in the UK. The success of the programme can be gauged by the fact that there has been a 20 per cent decrease in the usage of high sugar contents from the markets. Therefore, for a state to run such programs is not a burden on its finance if the financial requirements are met by the inflow of such taxes. Indeed, it’s the best way to discourage unhealthy eating habits from society.
Moreover, the imposition of high taxes on junk foods and soft drinks may help the state to address the issues of malnutrition–stricken populace. The availability and encouraging financial policies may be drafted on the state level to encourage the farming sector to cultivate all types of crops. In this way, the biodiversity of lands and crops may be preserved. Moreover, the water shortage can also be addressed as it is used in abundance by the junk food and soft drinks industries. Hence, all such policies may help the state to allocate its resources at an optimal level to leap from malnutrition conditions.
Besides, the impact on the prices of unhealthy food items, the high taxation policies would result in a decrease in the revenue of the industries, ultimately resulting in the closure of such unhealthy food-making industries. A low revenue generation would allocate less advertising and sponsorship budgets for the companies, which is the backbone of junk food and beverages companies. Hence, in the low advertising campaigns atmosphere, parents may easily be aware and secure their children from falling prey to unhealthy eating patterns. Likewise, schools may initiate campaigns like the ‘Smart snacks’ programme run in the UK state schools, allowing only healthy meals at lunch time in school. Undoubtedly, the imposition of a high tax is an effective measure in regard to mitigating unhealthy eating practices in society.
On critical grounds, the regulation of unhealthy eating practices must be taken into serious consideration by every state across the globe. As discussed above, banning or imposing any strict policies would have the tendency to suffer a backlash from the public. Therefore, imposing high taxes, along with labelling of ingredients and putting ‘’injurious to health’’ signs, can be incorporated into the measures. Similarly, schools and recreational activity areas must be free from unhealthy meal carts so that children may be given a healthy eating environment.
In a nutshell, unhealthy eating habits have deeply engraved in today’s society. Willingly or unwillingly, people are falling into the trap of junk foods and soft drinks. Inflicting social, health, and environmental threats in today’s society, the imposition of high taxes on junk foods and soft drinks may ultimately help communities to abandon unhealthy meals. Promoting healthier choices by making unhealthy options relatively more expensive and incentivising healthy food and beverage manufacturers by imposing higher taxes are the arguments discussed in detail in the above essay. At last, for every state, its healthy human resource is an asset therefore, to protect it, the state must take steps in alerting and regulating the unhealthy eating trends.
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