This paper seeks to examine the justifiability of the implementation of a so-called “meat tax”, recommended by a report published January 2014 in Nature Climate Change. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, meat-production contributes up to 20% of all human-caused global greenhouse gases. It is claimed that introducing a tax on meat would effectively reduce this percentage by forcing change in consumer habits. I argue that the implementation of a meat tax is unjustifiable because of its foreseeable futility. If we wish to effectively change consumer habits regarding meat-consumption, what is of upmost importance is to foster a genuine attitude toward animal welfare and environmental protection within consumer behaviour. Not only will a meat tax fail to achieve this goal, it is also highly doubtful the implementation of this policy would even reduce meat-consumption in the first instance.
