February 11, 2013

Sweden's board of agriculture is recommending a tax in order to reduce meat consumption in Europe.

The Swedish board said voluntary actions by consumers and firms are probably not enough to reach environmental and climate goals and a meat tax at EU level could be the solution.

"Regulation, environment taxes and subsidies can lead in the right direction. But it's crucial that this is at an international level. Or else we risk moving the production somewhere else where the tax burden is lower, not where the production is sustainable," Swedish Board of Agriculture spokeswoman Gabriella Cahlin was quoted as saying.

Swedish meat consumption has increased by a third in the past 30 years and is higher than average for the EU, according to a media report.