Should the U.S. Impose ‘Meat Taxes’?

What’s the story?

• Countless studies have found a link between meat consumption and increased risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes—is it time to impose a “meat tax”?
• According to a new study, a global “meat tax” could save 220,000 lives and cut health care costs by $41 billion, annually.
• The study, and proposals for a levy, come after the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer declared that cured, smoked, and other processed meats (including beef, lamb, and pork) cause cancer. WHO found the same was “probably” true for unprocessed red meat like steak and burgers.

What are both sides saying?

• The Cato Institute is against adding a “sin tax” to meat, arguing that after smoking, drinking, and sugar taxes “now, even the hallowed steak is not sacred.”

“The presence of external effects is no slam-dunk to justify taxes. One must also consider costs, unintended consequences and the ability of government to assess risk and harm accurately. In these areas, the meat tax advocates appear off-base. The result is their proposed tax rates look way too high, even in theory, and it’s doubtful they are the best means of improving economic welfare.”

• The institute also points out that eating red and processed meat is a way for the less well-off to enjoy a “clear revealed pleasure.”
• But Dr. Marco Springmann of the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University, the lead researcher of the study, said a tax would “not limit choices” in the same way as a ban, but help relieve pressure on health systems.
• “Nobody wants governments to tell people what they can and can’t eat,” Springmann said.

“However, our findings make it clear that the consumption of red and processed meat has a cost, not just to people’s health and to the planet, but also to the healthcare systems and the economy.”

What do you think?

Should the U.S. consider imposing a “meat tax” on red and processed meat? Take action above, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / RusN)