A tax on meat could help address climate impact and animal welfare issues. A referendum choice experiment with over 2,800 German citizens showed that support for a meat tax is strongest at the lowest tax level. Support is higher when the tax is justified by animal welfare rather than climate change mitigation. Differentiated taxes did not receive higher support than uniform taxes, and this wasn't due to a lack of understanding of differential consumption impacts. Clear communication of the tax's rationale and intended behavioral effects is crucial for policy success.

Grischa Perino, Henrike Schwickert