Additional tax on ultra-processed foods (UPF) to help promote farm fresh produce

Background

Implement an additional tax on UPFs of 10-20%, rising to 20-40% with higher levels of salt, fat or sugar. Fully ringfence this revenue to fund provision of affordable fresh produce, working with farmers and growers to provide fresh food to local shops. We think this would help end fresh food deserts

Additional details

We believe there is an obesity crisis, and that it's driven in part by the UPF industry. Meanwhile, our farming sector - part of our food provision that supplies healthy fresh food - is in our view on its knees. We think the answer is not costly weight loss jabs for the nearly 2/3 of the adult population that are overweight and obese. We think only minimally processed food can be healthy, and that it has the fibre and composition that the human body needs. Farm fresh food is key.

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