A recent study from European academics suggests that an environmental tax should be placed on meat and animal products to reign in the “damage” of animal agriculture.
“Toward Optimal Meat Pricing: Is It Time to Tax Meat Consumption?” was published in the journal Review of Environmental Economics and Policy.
In the study, the researchers say consumption taxes on meat can address “multiple environmental externalities” as well as “improve diet-related public health.”
The study claims with the environmental social costs—e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient pollution and ecosystem loss—associated with meat consumption, meat is significantly underpriced. The researchers suggest the average retail price for meat in high-income countries should increase 35-56 percent for beef, 25 percent for poultry and 19 percent for lamb and pork.
“Fortunately, our research found that a meat tax, if implemented correctly, need not increase the pressure on poorer households—or the farming industry,” the academics claim.
The research notes that while “under certain conditions” animal agriculture can have positive impacts, such as carbon sequestration from grazing, globally, “These positive effects are far outweighed by the negative impacts.”
