Denmark’s fat tax: Could it happen in the U.S.?

The Danish government makes global history by imposing a tax on saturated fats. Could that levy be coming to a McDonald's near you?

A supermarket in Denmark: A bag of chips will cost 12 cents more, thanks to a newly instituted tax on saturated fats.
(Image credit: Francis Dean/Corbis)

Would you still eat fatty foods if they suddenly made your wallet skinnier? That's a question being asked in Denmark, which recently became the world's first country to tax foods high in saturated fat. (Saturated fats, a major cause of high cholesterol levels, are found in "butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream, and fatty meats," reports The New York Times.) Could this fat tax catch on? Here's what you should know:

How does the tax work?

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