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BEST IELTS Writing Task 2, 25th August
IELTS WRITING TASK 2
IELTS WRITING TASK 2
Some people believe there should be a tax on junk food to stop people consuming so much. Discuss this view and give your own opinion
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience
SAMPLE ANSWER
I do not agree with putting a tax on junk food in order to stop people eating so much of it. If such food is so dangerous to our health, it should probably be restricted, or not be available at all. Apart from the fact that a tax would probably not dissuade people from buying and eating it, how would a junk food be defined? There are many perfectly healthy foods that are high in calories, sugar or fat, which could fall into a definition that would mean they too would be taxed. I believe that once it is decided what a junk food actually is, it would be a much more effective measure to give its packaging warning labels.
Take the case of cigarette smoking for example. It had been known for forty years that smoking was harmful, but people continued to do it despite the health risk and high taxes that many countries put on them. In countries where smoking has been banned in most places, and where there are graphic warning notices printed on the packets, the rate of smoking has been drastically reduced. The same could be the case for junk food.
Another option could be to force manufacturers to only produce healthy food and take junk food off the market altogether. Alternative recipes might be used to make our unhealthy old favourites into guilt-free health foods. If it were impossible to create healthy versions, then the food would have to be removed from shelves. This of course is very unlikely to happen as the food industry is very powerful and would pressure governments not to pass such laws. So putting a scary warning label on the packet might be the best option.
As I do not believe taxing junk food would change people’s eating habits and that banning certain foods is probably not an option, the best way to approach the battle against fast food is to mark the packaging with warnings. It is difficult to imagine a world without crisps and chocolate bars, but we may be able to reduce their consumption.
IELTS Writing Task 2