Annotated Bibliography assignment

October 9,2018

“Legal and Administrative Feasibility of a Federal Junk Food and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax to Improve Diet” is an article by Pomeranz et al. that looks into the poor feeding habits and how a tax on junk food including sugar-sweetened drinks can help to address the matter. As such, the authors engage in a research that seeks ways and suggestions that can help to discourage poor diet for a healthy one (Pomeranz et al., 2018). The underlying concern in the article is the poor diet that is leading to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes 1 and 2. The authors argue that unhealthy diet can be reduced through the ratification of policies that dictate the pricing of food and drinks. By this, Promeranza and peers argue the need for taxation of unhealthy food and beverages and introducing incentives on healthy food and drinks.

According to Pomeranz et al (2018), local taxes on sweetened products have gained popularity and political acceptance. The methodology of the article includes reviewing historical data to identify existing justification concerning prospective methods for a federal junk tax. The literature contributes by availing information concerning the classification of food as junk, which according to the author would help to identify the right type of tax. In addition, the data on taxes that have been imposed on food and drinks in the past helps the researchers to assess the rate of success of the proposed assumption.

The literature review includes the use of peer-reviewed journals. These resources provide the researchers with in-depth discussions, which target products for junk food taxes and are guided by keywords such as tax, nutrient, unhealthy, snack, product, and energy dense (Pomeranz et al., 2018). However, literature that discusses fast food taxes and beverage product taxes are not included under this category. The article also includes a number of evaluations on the historical data, which is listed under the ‘selection of policies.’ The researchers look at the policies made by the United States and international policies on tax as well. The scientific review of literature on this section comprises the use of articles that meets the criteria of recommended tax and product classification. This literature commends the use of product category, broad nutrition standards, specific nutrients or calories, and a mixture of these methods to categorize foods to be taxed.

The study reveals the practicability of enforcing federal taxes on junk food. The study is supported by a definition of taxed products in a number of factors. The literatures examined by the researchers offer a number of considerations that could be used in offering an explanation of the identified metrics for labeling taxed food products. The comparison made by the researchers offers a combination of group and nutrition criteria, which maintains the various advantages of a class tax in a way when addressing the established limitations. The purpose of the study stands as it is backed by historical evidence that supports the notion of enforcing national taxes on junk food and drinks (Pomeranz et al., 2018). National tax enforcement would help to influence the consumer’s purchase decisions as they would opt for the healthier products that have attractive incentives on them.

The strengths of the study include its approach of evaluating different sources of evidence. These resources include scientific literature, federal taxing methods, US bills and laws, as well as international laws. The limitations of the study include its inability to capture all significant bills and laws. It also fails to analyze the practicability of evaluating a tax straightforwardly on sugar processors and refiners.

Reference

Pomeranz, J., Wilde, P., Huang, Y., Micha, R., & Mozaffarian, D. (February, 2018). Legal and Administrative Feasibility of a Federal Junk Food and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax to Improve Diet. AJPH Law & Ethics, Vol. 108, No. 2.