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News Brief
Feb. 15, 2018DES MOINES, Iowa |
By: INS
Questions regarding "meat tax" are raised
Animal-rights advocates say the time is right for Americans who choose a meat-based diet to pay taxes on both the production and consumption of meat-based products. The countries of Denmark, Germany and Sweden have floated taxes on meat, but they have yet to gain traction.
Ashley Byrne with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says while there are no current legislative proposals, she believes "behavioral" or excise taxes on beef, pork and chicken could encourage people to modify their eating habits. She says if we accept that it's OK to tax tobacco, alcohol and, in some cities, soda because of their negative health impacts, meat belongs in the same category.
In a state such as Iowa, which raises more than 21 million hogs and pigs each year – more than any other state in the nation – a meat tax may be a non-starter. But health experts concur that certain red meats that are high in saturated fat raise blood cholesterol that increases the risk of heart disease, contributing to America's skyrocketing annual health costs.
While some health experts endorse meat in various amounts, almost none endorse the quantity Americans eat. The average US citizen consumes more than 200 pounds of meat each year, or twice the global average and nearly twice as much as they did in 1961. Byrne says non-meat eaters should not subsidize those choices.
In 2015, the World Health Organization announced a definitive connection between cancer and processed meat, such as bacon and hot dogs but stopped short of saying red meat also causes cancer.
