It is necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on fast food

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer:
Today, many health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, and so on, are stemmed from eating too much junk food. Many economists argue that government should intervene taxing on fast food when the market fails to provide the optimum amount of healthy food for society’s well-being. In the case, I share the view that the government ought to impose tax a high tax on fast food can play an important role in curbing health issues caused by fast food.

For a start, unhealthy eating habit is a consequence of economic hardship. The healthy food items are simply more expensive than unhealthy items. Over the last two decades, fruits and vegetable, in many parts of industrial world, have almost doubled in price. On the other hand, paradoxically, many processed foods’ cost has fallen sharply over the same period. This is because the magical development in manufacturing, packaging, and flavouring are lowering the price of processed foods. Consequently, people, particularly poor, tend to rely on unhealthy foods. That is why, the government have to levy a fat tax on fast food so that people are encouraged to choose healthier foods.

Apart from that, fat tax on fast food should be accompanied by subsidies on healthy food. A recent study, published in the British Medical Journal, revealed that fat tax ought to be accompanied by subsidies for healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables help encourage a noteworthy change in dietary habits. This means that the most effective solution to health problems caused by unhealthy foods is to levy on unhealthy foods accompanied by subsidies on healthy foods.

To recapitulate, the cost of healthy food has increased more than that of unhealthy items, thereby enticing diet that leads to excess weight. Levy on junk food couples with subsidies for healthy food would be the silver bullet for the problems stemmed from poor dietary habits.