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While food is already set to become more expensive in 2021, a recent study argues meat prices should be raised to reflect the environmental costs of animal farming.
In the paper, German researchers examined the ecological impact of meat, dairy and vegetable production, and found that the cost of food rose dramatically when its carbon footprint was taken into account, Cloe Logan reports.
The researchers behind the study argue people with environmentally damaging diets should pay more for their food — and some food policy experts agree.
“When you look at it in that kind of context, it’s not at all dissimilar to a carbon tax. The whole idea is that you cause something to be increasingly expensive so as to encourage people to change their behaviours,” said Abra Brynne, executive director of the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council
But others are quick to note that pricing food at the cost of production doesn’t fix everything, and argue that governments must ensure low-income people can also afford to eat.
“If you want to increase food security, simply focusing on food prices isn’t going to solve it,” said Hannah Wittman, professor of land and food systems at the University of British Columbia.
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