I think a better option might be to leave the meat industry alone entirely, and subsidize or otherwise drive down the prices of the plant based alternatives. Then it doesn’t hurt poor people, they can still buy it, and may even help them if they choose to switch.
If I could buy plant stuff for the same price as or less than meat, I absolutely would. But I simply can’t afford to pay the premium for plant products.
(I still don’t eat much meat, don’t get me wrong, maybe once a week on average. My stomach doesn’t like it. If I could replace it entirely I would, but sometimes you just need something that fits the meat texture/flavor profile)
Anytime a problem is solved by creating a financial instrument it isn’t solved. One might even wonder at that point whether it was even a problem to begin with.
I feel like adding a carbon tax to meat could be more effective than us just telling people to eat differently.
At this point, those that aren’t already switched to plant based diets need a carrot or stick.
That being said, adding a meat tax would be insanely hard to pass in the US
That’s true, but it would also increasingly make eating meat something for the rich and ‘punish’ the poor. Politically a hard sell.
I think a better option might be to leave the meat industry alone entirely, and subsidize or otherwise drive down the prices of the plant based alternatives. Then it doesn’t hurt poor people, they can still buy it, and may even help them if they choose to switch.
If I could buy plant stuff for the same price as or less than meat, I absolutely would. But I simply can’t afford to pay the premium for plant products.
(I still don’t eat much meat, don’t get me wrong, maybe once a week on average. My stomach doesn’t like it. If I could replace it entirely I would, but sometimes you just need something that fits the meat texture/flavor profile)
Anytime a problem is solved by creating a financial instrument it isn’t solved. One might even wonder at that point whether it was even a problem to begin with.