Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has received some heat lately - and not just in the kitchen. Through his #AdEnough campaign Oliver has been lobbying for a sugar tax which would increase the prices for fatty, sugary junk food. Oliver told MPs: "This a tax for good; this is a tax for love; this is designed to protect and give to the most disadvantaged communities," but others find his statement and campaign hypocritical and harmful.
According to the Sun, Oliver has a Cookies and Cream drink, served in a chocolate cup, which contains 46 teaspoons of sugar, which is six times the daily recommended amount of sugar for a child. This was not the only fact people took issue with. Twitter user Ketty Hopkins wrote a thread, that has since gone viral, which explains exactly why the tax would harm lower-income communities rather than help them.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been on a crusade to tax fatty and sugary junk food, which he said will help disadvantaged communities - but not everyone agrees
Image credits: jamieoliver
The name of his campaign is #AdEnough, which seeks to change the way junk food is advertised to children. Oliver has taken his cause to TV and can be seen in commercials saying, "am asking is it appropriate to advertise food that is high in salt, fat and sugar to children at prime time when obesity is crippling the NHS?"The NHS is the U.K.'s health service, one of Oliver's claims is that obesity is costing taxpayers, due to related medical issues.
Many found Oliver's words and campaign to be hypocritical
Image credits: praxxxxxis
And one Twitter user pointed out how, if he succeeded, it would harm the communities he claimed to help
Image credits: sibylpain
Twitter user Ketty Hopkins shared her own experience growing up in a low-income family and explained the harsh reality behind why healthy eating was not always an option. Hopkins addressed the situations that lead people into poverty in the first place using her own life.
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
And how when you were concerned with keeping your head above water, healthy food was not a realistic option due to lack of income. Hopkins called out people who judged their poor eating choices with simple assumptions such as laziness.
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
While Hopkins does not advocate for unhealthy eating, she simply shares that in her case, the result of her unhealthy eating did not significantly affect her health later on.
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
She points out that if her father had not been able to afford these sugary, fatty foods they might have had nothing to eat at all - which would be a worst-case scenario.
After sharing her story she pointed out that if the government really wanted to help these people they need to change the system that keeps them at disadvantaged
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: sibylpain
A foreigner in the U.K shared how she had been shocked at how expensive healthy eating was there compared to her country
Image credits: UrbanNathalia
Image credits: sibylpain
Image credits: UrbanNathalia
Others commended her for sharing the eye-opening thread
Image credits: CllrLawrie
Image credits: NarahSarah
Image credits: NarahSarah
Image credits: NarahSarah
Image credits: teaforpterosaur
Image credits: NotTimorous
Image credits: teaforpterosaur
Image credits: GordonWBell