Before Friday’s meeting of the Federal Council, where a proposal from Schleswig‑Holstein to discuss a sugar tax will be reviewed, Foodwatch has called for such a tax with urgency. “Those who oppose the sugar tax are mainly representing the interests of soft‑drink manufacturers” said Luise Molling, Foodwatch’s nutrition‑policy expert.
She warned that not imposing a tax on sweetened beverages would hurt public health. “Liquid sugar is especially harmful” Molling said. Soft drinks, she added, are one of the main contributors to type‑2 diabetes and obesity.
Molling also pointed out the economic benefits of a tax. “A sugar tax could prevent hundreds of thousands of illnesses and save Germany 16 billion euros in healthcare costs” she said.
Germany needs to catch up and bring itself in line with the more than 100 nations that already have a sugar tax. “In Britain the tax led manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of their drinks” Molling noted. In England, Coca‑Cola’s Fanta contains only half the sugar of its German counterpart. “Countries must now back Daniel Günther’s initiative and support the Federal Council’s proposal” she urged.