‘Meat tax’ could have significant impact on environmental footprint, study finds

Full VAT on meat products could cost EU households as little as €26 a year but cut impact by 3-6%, says paper

The environmental impacts of meat consumption could be rapidly and cheaply reduced if governments applied full VAT on products such as beef, pork, lamb and chicken, a study has shown.

Depending on how the additional tax revenues were redistributed, such a change could cost households as little as €26 (£23) a year, while cutting ecological destruction by between 3% and 6%, the paper found.

Animal-based products have the biggest share of the EU’s ecological footprint related to household diet, which is responsible for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of biodiversity loss and phosphorus pollution, and almost three-quarters of water consumption.

Despite this, 22 of the 27 EU member states levy a reduced tax rate on meat purchases, compared with the general level of VAT. In effect this price signal screens citizens from the environmental and social costs of their consumption.

‘Meat tax’ could have significant impact on environmental footprint, study finds

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