Tax on meat could offset health costs

Introducing a health tax on red and processed meat could prevent more than 220,000 deaths and save over US$40 billion in healthcare costs every year, new Oxford University research suggests. Published today in the journal PLoS One , the study conducted by the Oxford Martin School and the Nuffield Department of Population Health focused on optimal levels of taxation for red and processed meat in 149 world regions, to account for the cost burden on healthcare systems and spur changes in consumption patterns. In high income countries, it found, red meat would need to be 20% more expensive and processed meat, like bacon, sausages and jerky, would need to be more than double its current price to account for the health costs associated with their consumption. The World Health Organisation classifies beef, lamb and pork as carcinogenic when eaten in processed form, and as probably carcinogenic when eaten unprocessed. In addition, these three types of meat have been linked to increased rates of coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Rather than prohibiting their consumption, the research set out to estimate tax levels that would account for the healthcare costs related to it. The study was led by Dr Marco Springmann, of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford.