According to the environmental protection organization Greenpeace, meat and dairy products should be burdened with higher taxes.
“The new federal government should adjust the value added tax for meat and dairy products to the regular rate of 19 percent.
In return, it can lower the VAT on fruit and vegetables or eliminate it entirely, ”said Greenpeace agricultural expert Matthias Lambrecht of the Funke media group (Thursday).
"This would relieve consumers and create incentives for more environmentally friendly and climate-friendly consumption of plant-based foods."
At the same time, the farms needed targeted support for improved animal husbandry, said Lambrecht. Those consumers who consumed meat and dairy products should pay for this through a tax or levy. “The consumption of meat and dairy products in Germany causes environmental and climate damage amounting to around 6 billion euros a year. The real costs are not reflected in the price, ”said the Greenpeace expert. The consumption of animal products is also promoted "with more than 5 billion euros annually because only the reduced VAT rate of 7 percent is levied on these products".
It is not about telling people what they should eat, but simply about enforcing the polluter pays principle if the market fails, said Lambrecht.
Greenpeace is thus also behind the Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens), who criticized junk prices for food in an interview at the weekend.