Livestock farmers who take steps to reduce their CO2 emissions must be financially rewarded for this. True Animal Protein Price Coalition (TAPP) advocates this in a letter and petition submitted to the House of Representatives this afternoon (March 29). Farmers who work in a sustainable manner should benefit financially through a levy and return system, such as that also exists for energy.
The money that farmers get back can be used to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce livestock numbers. The proceeds of higher taxes on meat and dairy can be used to make products with lower CO2 emissions (such as vegetables, fruit and meat substitutes) cheaper. In this way, healthy food is also affordable for low-income consumers, writes the TAPP Coalition.
The group is not the first to argue for a tax on meat and dairy. Rabobank CEO Wiebe Draaijer recently spoke in the podcast 'Money or your Life' about a CO2 tax on everything you buy. So also on meat. Researchers from Wageningen University (WUR) also argue in a research report for a tax on meat. Because this can be a way to achieve sustainable production and consumption.
Increase market demand
Tomorrow (30 March) the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality will discuss the report. In a separate letter to committee members, the TAPP Coalition asks them to consider the report's recommendations and present a study as soon as possible after the summer holidays on how consumers can contribute to sustainable livestock farming. The starting point must be the levy/recirculation system that they advocate in the petition. Because, according to the authors of the letter, livestock farmers often face major financial obstacles when it comes to sustainability, they make various proposals to make sustainably produced meat cheaper and more attractive, thereby increasing market demand.
One of these is a star system for food producers to objectively measure sustainability, looking at financial, environmental, social and human aspects. As an example they refer to the Eco-score or the Planet-Score that is already used abroad, a supermarket label such as the Nutriscore or the Energy label, which indicates the degree of sustainability of food in colours. According to TAPP, a price system can also be linked here. For example, all products with the most sustainable A & B label can fall into the 0% VAT rate, all products with the least sustainable label D and E fall into the high VAT rate; category C can remain in the low VAT rate.
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
