Mitigating climate change with a carbon tax on foods: What are the ethical implications?

Abstract

The global production of food is responsible for approximately 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions, a significant portion of which can be attributed to red meat. As the global population and growth in per capita income increases, the demand for red meat will continue to rise putting further pressure on the planet. Numerous recent studies have explored the environmental and health impacts of different diets and have identified red meat (and beef in particular) as one of the key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and adverse health outcomes. Shifting dietary patterns to reduce red meat intakes could help reduce greenhouse gas emission and improve health outcomes. In exploring strategies to mitigate such environmental and health impacts for current and future generations, a number of policy recommendations have been proposed. One popular proposal is carbon taxation of foods that capture the actual environmental cost of producing and consuming such foods. In Denmark, a carbon tax on red meat was recently proposed to help curb emissions and reduce population intakes. However, such recommendations are wrought with ethical dilemmas. Using an ethics framework for public health developed by Kass (2001), we critically analyzed the proposal of carbon taxation for its public health and environmental goals, potential burdens and minimization of burdens, fairness of distribution, and implications for individuals' autonomy. We determine that the distribution of burden resulting from such policies is inequitable and regressive, having negative tradeoffs for low‐income stakeholders and individuals from low‐income countries. We also determine that the potential burden and autonomy of future generations is not evenly distributed. Current policy proposals aimed at enhancing the sustainability of our diets often result in unethical tradeoffs. Policymakers and key stakeholders should consider the ethical dimensions of interventions and policies promoting sustainable diets, and should consider who bears the weight of such policy decisions before enacting them.Support or Funding InformationThis project does not have funding.