Food report: Fruit and veg on prescription and a tax on salt and sugar
How we eat now contributes to 64,000 deaths a year
There should be a tax on salt and sugar and GPs should be able to prescribe fruit and vegetables – that’s what new report has suggested.
The National Food Strategy was set up in 2019 to look into how we're eating and in its review published today it said the nation’s diets need to transform to save lives, protect the NHS and the environment.
It said people need to eat less sugar, salt and meat warning that what we eat, and how it is produced, is doing “terrible damage” to the environment and health, contributing to 64,000 deaths a year in England and driving wildlife loss and climate change.
Why do we need a tax on salt and sugar?
The independent report, commissioned by the Government calls for a sugar and salt tax to cut their use in products and curb obesity, strokes and heart disease.
There are concerns from the food industry that a tax would lead to higher prices for consumers, but the report says the idea would be for manufacturers to reformulate recipes to help cut the salt and sugar, rather than charging more.
The report says a £3 per kg tax on sugar and a £6 per kg tax on salt sold for use in processed foods or in restaurants and catering businesses would incentivise manufacturers to reformulate their recipes or reduce their portion sizes.
“We have a predilection for calorie-dense foods, which means food companies invest more time and money creating these foods, which makes us eat more of them and expands the market, which leads to more investment, which makes us eat more.
“Company bosses do not dare to stop investing in these foods, in case they lose their competitive edge. Both consumers and food companies are stuck in a reinforcing feedback loop – a Junk Food Cycle. The results are dire.”
Some money raised by the tax should be spent on addressing the inequalities around food, such as expanding free school meals to another 1.1 million children who need them, funding holiday activity and food clubs, and providing healthy food to low income families.
We need to eat less meat
The report says meat consumption should be cut by 30% in a decade to cut emissions and free up land for storing carbon and preserving nature but rules out a meat tax as politically impossible and unpopular.
Instead the review led by food entrepreneur Henry Dimbleby urges the Government to “nudge” consumers into changing their habits, suggesting a £50 million investment to support the development of alternative proteins such as lab-grown meat or plant-based foods, which could create thousands of jobs in factories and farming.
Fruit and veg on prescription?
The National Food strategy also suggests that doctors should be able to prescribe fruit and vegetables, as it revealed poor diets are contributing to around 64,000 deaths each year in England.
Food entrepreneur and report author Henry Dimbleby warned the way food is being consumed currently is “putting intolerable strain on the NHS”, which before the pandemic was costing the Government £130 billion a year.
A more cost-effective approach, the report said, would be to increase spending on “preventative measures, so that fewer people get to the point where they need expensive medical treatments”.
Eating healthily has a long-term economic benefit
The National Food Strategy estimates its recommendations will cost around £1.4 billion a year and bring in £2.9-3.4 billion a year in direct revenue to the Treasury, with a long term economic benefit of up to £126 billion.
Author of the report Henry Dimbleby said: “The food system is a logistical miracle, full of amazing, inventive people.
“With the right leadership from government, it is well within our power to change the system so it makes both us and the planet healthier.
“Currently, however, the way we produce food is doing terrible damage to the environment and to our bodies, and putting an intolerable strain on the NHS.
“Covid 19 has been a painful reality check.
“Our high obesity rate has been a major factor in the UK’s tragically high death rate.
“We must now seize the moment to build a better food system for our children and grandchildren.”