Monday, June 17, 2013

Reward sales of fresh, healthy food?

A recent letter published in the British Medical Journal suggests that providing incentives for the sale of healthy foods at supermarket checkouts could be more effective than putting a tax (e.g. "fat tax") on unhealthy foods. 

This guy sounds like he’s got his thinking cap on straight. Rather than taxing the unhealthy foods, let’s give the healthy ones a tax break ... Dr. Ian Lake, general practitioner and obesity researcher has made a novel proposal. Taking the example of the five major UK supermarkets, Lake suggests linking loyalty cards to an incentive scheme that rewards those stores that reach a target of spending on healthy foods. While he admits that the identification of those foods which are healthy could prove contentious, he also suggests that the carrot might work better than the stick. 

I agree and while we’re at it, let’s reward those individuals who through their own positive actions, keep themselves and their familes healthy. 


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