A groundbreaking study has revealed that the European Union could significantly reduce the environmental damage caused by meat consumption by simply ending its generous tax breaks on products like beef, pork, and chicken. The research, published in the journal Nature Food, suggests this straightforward policy change could slash the ecological footprint of household diets for a minimal net cost to consumers.
The Hidden Cost of Cheap Meat
The environmental burden of the EU's meat consumption is substantial. Animal-based products are responsible for almost a quarter of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of biodiversity loss and phosphorus pollution, and nearly three-quarters of water consumption. Despite this, most EU governments actively subsidise this damage through reduced Value-Added Tax (VAT) rates on meat, shielding shoppers from the true cost.
Currently, 22 of the 27 EU member states apply a lower VAT rate to meat than their standard rate. The most extreme example is Ireland, where fresh meat is taxed at 0%, compared to the general VAT rate of 23%. Significant gaps also exist in Croatia (20 percentage points), France (15 points), Germany and Italy (12 points), and Spain (11 points). Only Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania tax meat at the full standard rate.
Modest Price, Major Impact
Researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research calculated the effects of two potential reforms: applying the full standard VAT rate to meat, or introducing a carbon price on food. Their findings are striking.
Ending the VAT privilege for meat across the EU would increase the average household's annual food bill by €109. However, if the extra tax revenue were redistributed to citizens through direct payments, the net cost would plummet to just €26 per household per year. For this small price, the policy would cut the environmental damage from food consumption by between 3.48% and 5.7%, depending on the metric. For climate change alone, it would reduce emissions by 29.9 megatons of CO2 equivalent annually—roughly 5% of the total from household diets.
A More Effective but Complex Alternative
The study also modelled a carbon price of €52 per ton on food products. This policy would yield greater environmental benefits and could reduce the net annual cost for households to about €12. However, the authors acknowledge that designing and implementing such a carbon pricing mechanism is politically and economically more complex.
Therefore, removing the VAT subsidy on meat is presented as the most feasible and immediate first step. "Our numbers show the policies we investigated can be effective," said study author Charlotte Plinke. "It’s important to have exact information of what the impacts actually are, and then to be transparent about the goals of the policy and the use of revenues."
The research underscores that society would be better off once the costs of environmental destruction are factored into prices. By correcting this market signal, the EU could take a cost-effective leap towards its sustainability goals, starting with the dinner plate.
