A report produced by Cambridge University academics has called for foods with so-called high carbon footprints, such as dairy and meat, to be made more expensive in order to save the planet.
The Cambridge University-led study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says that “education” alone on changing diets towards more plant-based habits and abandoning car ownership is not enough.
The report, “Changing Behaviour for Net Zero 2050” instead suggests there be “rapid, radical changes” to pricing in order to make normal food consumption and travel prohibitively expensive.
“Interventions that decrease the affordability of unhealthy unsustainable options and increase the affordability of healthier sustainable options would also help change public behavior,” the report said, including “using taxes and other price-based mechanisms to reflect the emissions associated with different products and activities”.
“Increase prices of carbon-intense foods, including processed and red meat, dairy products and ultra-processed foods” and “reduce prices of low-processed and plant-based foods”, the report advised, while saying that package sizes and portions for meat, dairy, and other “energy-dense foods” should also be reduced.
Subsidies for livestock farming should also be cut, they said.
The report also claimed that even if public support for taxing meat off their plates was low now, they would accept it once the interventions are implemented, comparing it to the acceptance in large cities of the introduction of congestion charges, “reflecting both changes in attitudes and acceptance of the status quo”.
In forcing people to abandon their cars, the scientists suggest increasing prices of fossil fuels and charging private car owners for road use, including “congestion zone charging and increased parking costs”.
“Restricting availability and attractiveness of car use — eg, car-free zones, limited parking, traffic calming measures, and low-speed limits” was also recommended.
This is not the first time a body has recommended certain foods be taxed. In July, a review by the National Food Strategy group commissioned by the government said salt and sugar used to produce foods or in catering to be taxed.
The NFS stopped short of calling for a meat tax but said that Britons should eat one-third less meat in order for the UK to reach the net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.
Millions in taxpayers’ money should go into the development of “alternative proteins” such as lab-grown meat, according to the review, which also recommended fruits and vegetables be prescribed on the NHS.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s initial response to the report was that he did not feel “attracted to the idea of extra taxes on hard-working people, let me just signal that”.
However, the government’s existing environmental and public health proposals could already hurt poorer Britons, according to a report from the Food and Drink Federation from July.
Read rest at Breitbart
Its all part of Agenda 21 with Gates owning all the Farms and who knows what else they want it all Gates and his fellow Globalists
Do they know that UK produces one per cent of global CO2 ? So it’s all virtue signalling. Disgusting self-importance.
“alternative proteins”
Long pig? It’s happened before in Europe in hard times.
All we get from these Universties anymore is a bunch of knownothings who cant find their own home town on a map and they carry out some stupid study by these mindless little pricks?
Typical: a band of well heeled “Academics” comes along with a kind of fascist state control in the supposed dream of watermelons for us all (green outside red inside). All so well documented in Rupert Darwell’s book “Green Tyranny”. One of the first basic models for this was Hiter’s Germany: Hitler Youth, all vegetarians, all “green” saviours, calisthenics, hair plaited Thunberg type girls and blond Arian boys, and massive propaganda from its vegetarian animal loving ruler, Herr Adolf.
Rubbish. The National Socialists had the best animal welfare programmes in the world.
I just love standing in the queue for a coffee when the self righteous vegan asks for an almond milk latte. I ask them how many birds were shot or poisoned for that fake milk.? it’s enough to p**s them for the day.
And those idiots from PETA will support this stupid Study and push it big time
From the article, “even if public support for taxing meat off their plates was low now, they would accept it once the interventions are implemented, comparing it to the acceptance in large cities of the introduction of congestion charge.” There are two problems with this assumption. One, congestion charge are a much less significant intrusion into peoples lives than forcing a change of diet. Forcing people to give up meat and diary is huge and wouldn’t be tolerated. The second assumption is assuming that the entire population is like those in large cities. Large city residents put up with a lot of BS. People not willing to do so have left the cities.