Make meat-eaters pay: Ethicist proposes radical tax, says they're killing themselves and the planet

Make meat-eaters pay: Ethicist proposes radical tax, says they're killing themselves and the planet

Peter Singer

The purpose of this article is to propose a tax on meat consumption. The idea draws inspiration from the taxation of cigarettes for reasons of public health. Eating meat increases the risk of suffering from serious illnesses, and taxes would serve both as a deterrent and as a means to offset the associated healthcare costs imposed on society. There are further costs imposed by meat consumption: it sustains a major part of the demand of the world’s production of crops, which elevates their prices while much of the nutritional value of the crops used to produce meat is wasted. The production of meat is also highly polluting and it contributes very significantly to global warming. Finally, meat-eaters are in effect supporting the cruel practices commonly inflicted on the animals themselves. By applying a tax on meat it is hoped that patterns of consumption would change, thereby reducing the mentioned costs.

2010

Salud, calentamiento global, consumo de carne, costes asociados al consumo de carne, impuestos, producción de carne

10.5565/rev/da.215

Derecho Animal

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Dret

Animal culture, Law in general. Comparative and uniform law. Jurisprudence