British scientists plead for a tax on red meat

British scientists from the University of Oxford ask for a tax on red meat. The introduction of such a tax could benefit health care in many countries, They estimate that about 2.4 million deaths worldwide will be attributable to the consumption of red meat by 2020. In addition, this will result in public health costs of $ 285 billion. She published an article about their studies in the scientific journal Plos One

In collaboration with research centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, they tried to put in place an optimal tax on red meat in 149 countries to cover as much as possible the costs of health care associated with them, with a desired average tax rate of 16% on red meat and in Western countries it should be 20%. and the tax rate should be much higher.The optimal tax rate on red meat would generate about $ 172 billion worldwide and would cover 70% of the damage caused by the consumption of meat products in the world.

In their study, scientists focused mainly on the public health consequences, but they also indirectly indicated the effects on CO2 emissions in their publication. reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 100 million tonnes, mainly due to reduced consumption of beef.

For more information, see the publication Taxes for Red Meat and Processed Health-Driven: Modeling Study of Optimal Levels of Taxation Health Effects Associated on the Plos One Web Site

source: Plos One, 06/11/18

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