Taxing Sweets: Sweetener Input Tax or Final Consumption Tax?

In order to reduce obesity and associated costs, policymakers are considering various policies, including taxes, to change consumers’ high-calorie consumption habits. We investigate two sweet tax policies aimed at reducing added sweetener consumption. Both a consumption tax on sweet goods and a sweetener input tax can reach the same policy target of reducing added sweetener consumption. Both tax instruments are regressive but the associated surplus losses are limited. The tax on sweetener inputs targets sweeteners directly and causes about five times less surplus loss than the final consumption tax. Previous analyzes have overlooked this important point.consumption tax, sugar, added sweeteners, demand, health policy, soda tax, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,

Thrifty Food Plan, 2006

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), a fundamental part of the U.S. food guidance system and the basis for maximum food stamp allotments, has been revised by USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Economic Research Service (ERS), and Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The TFP provides a representative healthful and minimal cost meal plan that shows how a nutritious diet may be achieved with limited resources. The Plan assumes that all purchased food is consumed at home. The TFP was last revised in 1999. The newly revised (2006) TFP differs from, and improves upon, the previous TFP in a number of ways. The 2006 TFP: • Is based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as the 2005 MyPyramid Food Guidance System. • Uses the prices low-income people paid for many foods. • Uses the latest data on food consumption, nutrient content, and food prices: the 2001- 2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and 2001-2002 Food Price Database. • Offers a more realistic reflection of the time available for food preparation, especially with increased expectations for work in assistance programs. Hence, it allows more prepared foods and requires somewhat fewer preparations from scratch. Although different from the previous TFP, the revised TFP is similar in one important respect: It is set at the same inflation-adjusted cost as the previous TFP. CNPP determined it was possible, for the 2001-2002 period, to obtain a healthful diet meeting current nutritional standards at a cost equal to the previous TFP’s cost.Thrifty Food Plan, USDA Food Plans, Diet Quality, Food Stamps, Cost of Food, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

Agricultural and Finance Intervention Increased Dietary Intake and Weight of Children Living in HIV-Affected Households in Western Kenya.

We tested whether a multisectoral household agricultural and finance intervention increased the dietary intake and improved the nutritional status of HIV-affected children. Two hospitals in rural Kenya were randomly assigned to be either the intervention or the control arm. The intervention comprised a human-powered water pump, microfinance loan for farm commodities, and training in sustainable farming practices and financial management. In each arm, 100 children (0-59 mo of age) were enrolled from households with HIV-infected adults 18-49 y old. Children were assessed beginning in April 2012 and every 3 mo for 1 y for dietary intake and anthropometry. Children in the intervention arm had a larger increase in weight (β: 0.025 kg/mo, P = 0.030), overall frequency of food consumption (β: 0.610 times · wk-1 · mo-1, P = 0.048), and intakes of staples (β: 0.222, P = 0.024), fruits and vegetables (β: 0.425, P = 0.005), meat (β: 0.074, P < 0.001), and fat (β: 0.057, P = 0.041). Livelihood interventions have potential to improve the nutrition of HIV-affected children. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01548599

Taxing Sweets: Sweetener Input Tax or Final Consumption Tax?

In order to reduce obesity and associated costs, policymakers are considering various policies, including taxes, to change consumers’ high-calorie consumption habits. We investigate two tax policies aimed at reducing added sweetener consumption. Both a consumption tax on sweet goods and a sweetener input tax can reach the same policy target of reducing added sweetener consumption. Both tax instruments are regressive, but the associated surplus losses are limited. The tax on sweetener inputs targets sweeteners directly and causes about five times less surplus loss than the final consumption tax. Previous analyses have overlooked this important point.consumption tax; demand; health policy; soda tax; sugar; added sweeteners

Three Traditional Fermented Baobab Foods from Benin, Mutchayan, Dikouanyouri and Tayohounta: Preparation, Properties and Consumption

Forest food resources contribute significantly to food supply in areas where they grow. Three fermented baobab foods were studied: Dikouanyouri (from seeds, pH = 6.5); Tayohounta (from seed kernels, pH = 7), and Mutchayan (from baobab pulp and sorghum, pH = 4.2). Bacillus spp. (8.5 and 9.5 Log cfu /g) and lactic acid bacteria (8.9 and 8.4 Log cfu /g,) dominate in Dikouanyouri and Tayohounta, respectively. In Mutchayan, lactic acid bacteria (8.1 Log cfu/g) and yeasts (7.2 Log cfu/g) predominated. The arbitrary index of protein cleavage increases from 2.3% (unfermented products) to 13.7% in Dikouanyouri and 21.3% in Tayohounta, indicating significant protein degradation. Mutchayan is the most frequently consumed produc

Trends in serving size, energy, and selected micronutrients for fast food restaurants in the United States, 1986-2016

An integral part of the average American diet, fast food accounted for 4% of total caloric intake in 1977-78; in 2007-10, fast food made up 11% of daily total caloric intake. The same can be said for obesity: approximately 36% of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese, up from around 14% in the late 1970s. These parallel trends in fast food consumption and obesity have warranted examination of trends in fast food composition, but a more recent and more expansive analysis of how fast food composition has changed is necessary. This study describes trends in serving size (g), energy (kcal), energy density (kcal/g), sodium (mg), sodium density (mg/g), calcium (% RDA), calcium density (%RDA/g), iron (%RDA), and iron density (%RDA/g) in fast food restaurants from 1986-2016 for fast foods by restaurant and by menu category. Fast food data for 1986, 1991, and 2016 were compiled from primary and secondary sources for eight restaurants: Arby’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Hardee’s, Jack in the Box, Long John Silver’s, McDonald’s and Wendy’s. Each food item (N=1,558) was then classified under a menu category: entrees, sides, desserts or condiments. Descriptive statistics by restaurant and by menu category were calculated to give the results as follows: median serving size, energy, sodium, sodium density, calcium, and calcium density increased by (25%, 22%, 33%, 20%, 200%, and 67%), respectively. Energy density decreased by 4%, and though iron remained consistent over time, iron density decreased by 17% from 1986 to 2016. Entrees showed the highest median sodium value each year and were consistently in the top two highest values compared to foods in the other menu categories each year. Desserts- in 1986, 1991, and 2016- showed the highest median serving size and calcium density. Each of the 8 restaurants analyzed showed an increase in the median energy and sodium of their food items, while four of eight showed an increase in energy density as well. Serving size increased for six of the eight restaurants from 1986 to 2016. The results show that widespread serving size increases influenced increases in the other variables, but examination of energy and nutrient densities helped illuminate trends of increases in energy, sodium and calcium densities and a slight decrease in iron density. Due to the associations of fast foods with concerning factors of overall health, fast food should be consumed occasionally in one’s diet. Although these results are not surprising, they highlight the need to educate and provide the resources for enabling Americans to make healthier food choices when consuming fast food. These results also support the call for fast food restaurants to offer more reasonable serving sizes and healthier options.2018-07-11T00:00:00

Development of nutritionally balanced and acceptable army ration packs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Product Development at Massey University

Pg 198 not in original - misnumberedNutritionally balanced and consumer acceptable one man ration packs were developed for the N.Z. Army. The rations were designed quantitatively, using firstly mixed integer linear programming and secondly, menu planning techniques with spread sheet analysis. For the mixed integer linear programming model, nutritional and food quantity constraints were obtained from a literature search and from a consumer survey on the present ration packs. The four menus of the first prototype ration pack, developed using mixed integer linear programming model, were consumer tested with a small group of soldiers during a field exercise in New Zealand. Focus groups determined the soldiers' attitudes to the new pack. The results showed that the first prototype ration pack was superior to the present ration pack, though improvements were still required. Redesigning of the ration pack menus included the selection of commercially available foods and the development of 5 canned meat meals with army personnel consumer groups. The final menu planning used spreadsheet analysis, as it provided a quicker output of results. A second prototype ration pack, with four menus, was finally developed. This second prototype ration pack was consumer tested with larger groups of soldiers in Malaysia and New Zealand, on separate field exercises. Both trials indicated high acceptance of the second prototype ration pack, with only the weight and the bulkiness being major problems. A final prototype ration pack was developed based on the foods included in the second prototype. This pack included two main meals in the form of canned meat meals, several snack foods and beverages. The average weight and cost of this final prototype ration pack were 1.411 kg and $10.62, compared to 1.275 kg and$8.10 for the present ration pack. The nutritional composition of this final prototype did not meet all the human requirements, as it was based on the foods in the second prototype ration pack. Some of these foods, particularly the canned meals, need to be reformulated to ensure that the pack provides the complete requirements of the soldiers over the period of an exercise

Taxing Sweets: Sweetener Input Tax or Final Consumption Tax?

In order to reduce obesity and associated costs, policymakers are considering various policies, including taxes, to change consumers’ high-calorie consumption habits. We investigate two tax policies aimed at reducing added sweetener consumption. Both a consumption tax on sweet goods and a sweetener input tax can reach the same policy target of reducing added sweetener consumption. Both tax instruments are regressive, but the associated surplus losses are limited. The tax on sweetener inputs targets sweeteners directly and causes about five times less surplus loss than the final consumption tax. Previous analyses have overlooked this important point.

A Demand System Analysis of Food for Poor and Non Poor Households. The Case of Argentina

The purpose of this paper is to provide some microeconomics tools to discuss and evaluate public policies that imply transfers of income from the public sector to the poor and their impact on their food demand and calories and nutrient intakes. This study is concerned with the differences in subsistence expenditures, own-price elasticities and income elasticities for two households groups segmented by income: those people below the poverty guideline and those above it. The attention of our research is focused on a demand system for all food groups included in a National Consumption Survey and examines the household food consumption behavior by partitioning the sample. A complete system of demand equations, the Linear Expenditure System (LES), has been used due to its relative empirical expediency. Some additional econometric techniques to correct the bias in the parameter estimates were also applied because of the large number of zero observations in the data. Preliminary estimations following the procedure suggested in the Park et al. (1996) paper, gave some results that they were not as good as we expected and we finally use an alternative one based on Shonkwiler and Yen (1999).Food Demand System, Censored Sample, Own-Price and Income Elasticities, Poverty Status, Demand and Price Analysis,