Loony Greens Demand Meat Tax

By Paul Homewood

h/t Patsy Lacey

From the Express:

A GREEN MP has called on Parliament to impose a tax on meat to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce climate change.

Caroline Lucas told delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference an overhaul of Britain’s agri-industrial food system is needed because it is in “crisis” and is favouring consolidation at the expense of human health, ecology and the livelihoods of farmers. In a speech entitled ‘A radical new vision for British agriculture’ delivered on Friday, Ms Lucas set out her vision for farming which included greater attention to animal welfare, fewer pesticides, a reduction in food waste, and adopting a diet with less meat and dairy products. Half of all farmed animal emissions come from beef and lamb, according to research by scientists Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek.

Ms Lucas referred to MP Claire Perry, who said if the Cabinet ate less beef to set an example it would lead to the introduction of a “nanny state”.

Ms Lucas said: “At the risk of incurring the wrath of the energy secretary in particular who said recently that encouraging people to eat less meat would be ‘the worst sort of nanny state ever’, I’d add that we need serious consideration of measures like a meat tax, particularly for beef.

“I accept that British sheep farming is one of the least intensive forms of livestock farming so perhaps a banded system according to production would help, offset for more sustainable meat producers through increased revenue from targeted agri-environment schemes.”

But NFU vice president Stuart Roberts hit back at her demands, tweeting: “We all share the ambition to address climate change but taxing isn’t the way.

“There’s great potential for market based drivers and future agriculture policy to underpin our positive direction of travel without looking at regressive tax solution. Let’s see market-based solutions.”

Earlier in the week, Minettte Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union called for zero farming emissions by 2040.

Ms Lucas said she felt “encouraged” to hear her comments and hopes she can count on the NFU to support her amendment to the Agriculture Bill to achieve it.

During a speech at the conference this week, Ms Batters said: “Our aim must be ambitious: to get our industry to net zero across all greenhouse gas inventories by 2040 or before.”

But critics argue that poor people will be hit hardest by a meat tax and say it will not bring greenhouse gas emissions down to safe levels.

Nick Allen, head of the British Meat Processors Association, said: “We have one of the best grass growing climate in the world. So we have the ability to turn good grass into good meat better than anyone else.

“I don’t believe it would achieve the desired result.”

Ms Lucas tweeted: “We need huge reduction in meat-eating to avoid climate breakdown. Better manure management and selection of feed can reduce farming emissions – but need to consider potential of #Meattax too.”

One person tweeted back: “So a regressive #Meattax is the answer? Let’s make meat a luxury item for the well-off, no @CarolineLucas. Don’t blame ordinary people for climate change, lecturing them about what they eat.”

Livestock accounts for five per cent of Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1067573/meat-tax-green-party-caroline-lucas-climate-change

It would be helpful if the NFU and others stopped being a patsy for global warming dogma. For instance:

“But NFU vice president Stuart Roberts hit back at her demands, tweeting: “We all share the ambition to address climate change but taxing isn’t the way.

Earlier in the week, Minettte Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union called for zero farming emissions by 2040. “

Isn’t it time the NFU made it clear that whatever British farmers do, it will make bugger all difference to global emissions?

Or that much of the land used by pastoral farming is pretty useless for crops? The end result would inevitable be reduced food production and higher food prices. Does anybody sane really want that?

Let’s not kid ourselves. There is one inevitable outcome from all of this. One we concede a meat tax, it will soon morph into a food tax. After all, arable farming is also carbon intensive, given all of the fertilisers, machinery and processing involved.

How long will it be be before eco-loons like Caroline Lucas are demanding that we all eat less, and that we need food taxes to enforce this?

And the poor? Let them eat cake.