Why Reduce Food Imports In EU
I find it hard to believe that the EU is incapable of producing cheap unhealthy food. It seems that some EU countries (eg. UK, Germany) are actually more obese than the US. It's just hard to believe that cheap, high-sugar, high-salt food is "not a problem" in the EU.
We've seen the EU and EU states regulate many things, but unhealthy food tends to always find ways around these regulations. That's why I find it hard to believe the EU has completely solved the obesity problem with its regulations alone.
And I'm not referring to the taste of food. I'm specifically talking about the nutritional content and cost. It's cheaper to buy sugary and fatty foods than it is to buy a nutritious and healthy meal. This causes people to buy lots of snacks instead of a healthy meal.
This is why I argue that reducing food imports would help reduce this problem, as people would be more incentivized to buy healthier meals due to the higher cost of buying imported unhealthy food.
My point was that it's cheaper to eat sugary foods in Europe than it is to eat healthy food options such as fruits and vegetables. That's really the case most places.
I still want to know though, how much do a regular bottle of soda and a small bag of potato chips cost in Denmark? In the US, an average bag costs around 1.5 USD. Even cheaper if you buy a larger bag in a store. A soda from a vending machine will cost you more, but these are still cheaper than buying fruits and vegetables.
What you're saying makes some sense if applied to things like soda. What about potato chips (what you might call crisps)? Can you buy a bag of them for very cheap anywhere in the EU? Or how about cookies? Surely those exist and are abundant in the EU.
I think obesity is caused by a combination of cheap sugar, fat and salt, and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle.
