Thịt có thể cũng phải chịu thuế tiêu thụ đặc biệt?

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Rearing (nuôi nấng, nuôi dạy) livestock and growing crops to feed them has destroyed more tropical forest (rừng nhiệt đới) and killed more wildlife than any other industry. Animal agriculture also produces vast quantities of greenhouse gas emissions (phát thải khí nhà kính) and pollution (ô nhiễm).

The environmental consequences (hậu quả môi trường) are so profound that the world cannot meet climate goals (mục tiêu khí hậu) and keep ecosystems (hệ sinh thái) intact (không bị ảnh hưởng) without rich countries reducing their consumption of beef, pork and chicken.

To slash emissions, slow the loss of biodiversity (đa dạng sinh học) and secure food for a growing world population, there must be a change in the way meat and dairy is made and consumed.

A rapidly evolving market for novel alternatives, such as plant-based burgers, has made the switch from meat easier. Yet in countries such as Britain, meat consumption has not fallen fast enough in recent years to sufficiently rein in agricultural emissions.

Instead, prices on meat and other animal products will eventually need to reflect all this damage. There are several ways to do this, but each intervention poses its own difficulties.

In our view, the most likely result will be simple, direct taxes on meat and animal products. Our latest research, published in the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, considered how an environmental tax on meat could work.

Our calculations suggest that the average retail price for meat in high-income countries would need to increase by 35%-56% for beef, 25% for poultry, and 19% for lamb and pork to reflect the environmental costs of their production. In the UK, where the average price for a 200g beef steak is around £2.80, consumers would pay between £3.80 and £4.30 at the checkout instead.

Fortunately, our research found that a meat tax, if implemented correctly, need not increase the pressure on poorer households – or the farming industry.