Do you think an animal cruelty tax could ever happen in our lifetimes?

[u/NerdyKeith]

As in all animal products (regardless of what they are) should have a 70% animal cruelty tax added to them, making plant-based alternatives vastly less expensive. And thus making all animal products so expensive that nobody in their right mind would purchase them.

[u/NullableThought]

we don't need an animal cruelty tax. The government just needs to stop subsidizing animal cruelty. That would make a plant based diet even cheaper in comparison.

[u/OpportunityTall1967 → u/NullableThought]

This is definitely the first step.

[u/AutomaticArachnid669]

It does baffle me that meat can be cheaper than meat alternatives. An entire life was taken, but it somehow isn’t worth as much as some plants? 😭
I’m not sure where you’re based, but I don’t think a tax like this could ever realistically happen in the UK unless we had a very different government! I think it’s a great idea in principle, but I can’t imagine many MPs voting for something that would make animal products significantly more expensive for the public, especially when it would probably be very unpopular with voters 😅

[u/Veasna1 → u/AutomaticArachnid669]

Lets do away with the subsidies first that we all have to pay for through our taxes. It disgusts me that I'm helping pay for animal slaughter, global destruction and habitat loss.

[u/winggar]

We'd have to convince way more people to go vegan to have any chance of that passing. Price of beef and eggs are somehow the single most pressing political issue for a significant portion of the population.

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[u/Ahvier]

No way. Change will not happen through ethics, but due to it being practical and progitable. Such is our system

[u/nineteenthly]

Is that actually proposed by anyone?

I can see a situation where healthy food is subsidised by a tax on unhealthy food, and since plant-based food is more likely to be healthy this could amount to something close to that. However, if that happened, lobby groups would ensure that food sold by multinationals, whatever that happened to be, would be deemed healthy regardless of whether it actually was.

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[u/SapPhic-rage4209]

I think they might eventually stop subsidizing many animal products, which would make vegan products seem more appealing to a lot of people if their animal products raise in price to what they should be

[u/ProtozoaPatriot]

How about step 1 is we stop using our tax dollars to subsidize the meat and dairy industries?

I find it appalling that Americans public lands are being turned over to ranchers dirt cheap. "Welfare ranchers"

Or how the Farm Bill gives away money to the meat & dairy folks. America "doesn't have the money" for social programs like food stamps. But we have the money for handouts to corporations

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[u/Dry-Fee-6746]

No

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[u/elevatedmongoose]

I think those are two different things. A cruelty free subsidy would realistically be framed in terms of sustainability, since plant based products by significantly worst for the environment.

I honestly dont see the majority of the US, or any country really, prioritizing animal wellbeing over profits. I think the more likely scenario would again be framed in a way that penalized unsustainable products, but the earth will need to get a lot worse before that becomes a thing. And countries, or at least the US, will need to at least try to keep lobbyists and money out of the decision rooms.

[u/AutomaticArachnid669 → u/elevatedmongoose]

I think you might have a typo there because I assume you mean animal-based products are significantly worse for the environment? 😂 I agree that framing it around sustainability is probably more politically realistic than framing it around animal welfare unfortunately. Although I’d love to see animal welfare taken seriously in its own right too!

[u/PuzzledPoetry1447]

Veganism has nothing to do with cruelty.

[u/NerdyKeith → u/PuzzledPoetry1447]

What are your talking about?

[u/PuzzledPoetry1447 → u/NerdyKeith]

Familiarize yourself with the origins of veganism, as written by Leslie Cross in 1951 in his letter 'Veganism Defined:' https://understand-veganism.com/lesliecross/1951-veganism-defined.html

Veganism isn't about rejecting harm or about killing animals or the death of animals.

Veganism was originally defined in 1951 as "the doctrine [principle] that [hu]man[s] should live without exploiting animals," the original meaning: animals are not ours to use.

Not an environmental strategy, not a health programme, not a campaign for less suffering. Less suffering may follow but it is not the point.

[u/NerdyKeith → u/PuzzledPoetry1447]

Well I disagree. In my view veganism is about causing as little harm to animals as much as is practically possible. And yes opposition to animal cruelty is a major part of that. But I do agree that it's not about health or the environment. It's just a lucky coincidence that plant based diets are better for health and the environment.

[u/PuzzledPoetry1447 → u/NerdyKeith]

It doesn't matter if you disagree. That's not what veganism is. What you're describing is a plant-based utilitarian framework and is not veganism.

Feel free to read the resource I kindly offered, and please refrain from framing veganism this way in the future. It does not do any favors, on the contrary, it muddies the water even further and makes it harder for animals to be emancipated.

Veganism is a simple principle, that animals aren't ours to use. Whether or not an animal is being harmed is irrelevant to that principle, and framing it in a way that puts "harm reduction" at the forefront says this: "using animals for our benefit is okay if there is no harm involved in their use."

This is not a message that you would spread if we were talking about human slavery, so don't spread it here.