How expensive is a health must be harmful to the product, so that consumers buy less of it or completely leave it alone? In the case of cigarettes and alcohol has been seized in the last few years, already hard. In particular, the prices for tobacco were raised substantially. The consumption is decreased. A team of researchers from the University of Oxford, argues in a new study, meat is much higher taxed. This allows the meat to reduce consumption less attractive and health risks. At the end of life would be saved and in the long term, billions of euros can be saved.
Meat tax could save 220,000 people per year
The study by the research teams to Marco Springmann, the assessment of the world health organization (WHO) is based on that processed meat spreads, for example, in the Form of sausages, bacon, or Bread – clearly is a carcinogen. In addition, the researchers rely on the 2015 given the WHO estimate that even unprocessed red meat, such as beef, pig, or sheep is classified as “probably carcinogenic”.
As the researchers in the study of writing, published in the journal “Plos One”, die each year more than two million people to the consequences of their meat consumption. And the trend is rising: by 2020 it will be 2.4 million Dead. Most common causes are: stroke, heart failure, type 2 Diabetes, and cancer. Each year, the average consumed German 60 kilograms of meat, with no health consequences.
Germany: tax for processed meat would have to rise by 166 percent
However, as the high meat consumption and the associated health risks be minimised? The authors of the study to pursue in their investigation of a market-based approach. You have calculated an optimal rate of tax for red and processed meat for a total of 149 regions of the earth. The number of deaths could be reduced with a meat tax 220,000 per year. Could also be minimized according to the researchers, the cost of health care to up to 36 billion euros. To achieve this would be to the global average of the taxes for processed meat were to rise by 25 per cent for unprocessed red meat the taxes would have to rise by four percent. For so-called “high income countries” such as Germany, the increase would be even much more extreme. In this country the tax for processed meat would have to be increased by almost 166 percent. For unprocessed meat of cattle, sheep, and pigs, it would be a little more than 28 percent. (Here you can use the data from the study.)
The approach to regulate the meat consumption taxes, is not entirely uncontroversial. Such a tax could also result in especially high-earners, meat. Other approaches call for tighter rules and generally binding Standards in meat production. So the price would rise even without a control and the animals – in particular, in the mass-animal husbandry – would benefit.
