Desmond Bellamy, PETA Australia
The Australian Medical Association has just released a study recommending a 20 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. This would combat obesity and help pay for spiralling healthcare costs. AMA president, Omar Khorshid, told the National Press Club this week that it was a win-win scenario.
But let’s not ignore the elephant (or cow) in the room – the massive cost to human health of meat and other animal-sourced products. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans are less prone to develop heart disease, diabetes, and cancer than meat-eaters, and they’re also less likely to be obese. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of WHO) has classified the consumption of red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) and the consumption of processed meat as carcinogenic (Group 1), causing colorectal cancer.
Unlike sugar, demand for meat, dairy and eggs also drive soaring greenhouse emissions and, of course, result in appalling suffering to the gentle animals who are confined, tormented and agonisingly killed by these corporations.
We already pay taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and petrol to help offset the health and environmental costs of these items, so it’s reasonable to tax unhealthy – and unnecessary – foods that harm people and other animals, waste resources and contribute heavily to climate change. It’s time for a meat tax.
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