So is the answer sugar and salt taxes? I guess they may make a small difference. The way I see it is that too many people have become addicted to fast food, takeaways and ready meals. Processed food generally includes much higher levels of salt and sugar to enhance the taste. This amounts to creating an addiction. And also a mountain of waste packaging. there is nothing wrong with treats occasionally;ly. Chocolate bars and crisps are lovely until consumed in huge numbers.
To my mind the same goes for meat. The government is getting a trade deal with Australia that might make beef and lamb cheaper! Please explain how this helps anyone? and then the food miles? Ready availability of cheap meat has made it a staple of many diets. Meat is also quick and easy to cook. Especially when bought from a drive through. How many beef burgers would be consumed if we had to make them ourselves, it would be a special treat, and I suspect that even in the bbq weather we are expecting, it would not be more than once or twice a week.
What is needed is a change in attitudes across society. I was gently mocked for wearing an apron by a neighbour who claimed not to do any cooking. No wonder we revert to fast food at times. Living by myself the temptation is often there for fast food – my weaknesses are tinned tomato soup and beans on cheese on toast, or tinned sardines and salad cream on toast.
fresh fruit and vegetables is ok if you have a decent outlet near you. To often it is packed in plastic and these have more than is required. Retaining;ers rightly hate waste as it hits their profits, and loose products result in more waste. Therefore we need a tax system that can reduce the cost of fresh loose vegetables vis a vie pre-packaged. In my experience the saving on wastage by the retailer is passed on to the individual – I regularly waste carrots and potatoes, and very guiltily avocados (not ripe when bought, then forgotten!
Cooking fresh food does not necessarily take longer – and to be honest what would most people do with the time saved? Watch Neighbours?