Professor Christina Hicks - Future of Food seminar
A reform of value-added taxes on foods can have health, environmental and economic benefits in Europe
A reform of value-added taxes on foods can have health, environmental and economic benefits in Europe
Professor Marco Springmann
Date: Wednesday 14 May, 16:00
Location: Oxford Martin School, seminar room 1 and online
Join us for a talk by Professor Marco Springmann, of University College London and the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.
Title: A reform of value-added taxes on foods can have health, environmental and economic benefits in Europe.
Abstract: Fiscal policies can provide important incentives for encouraging the dietary changes needed to achieve global policy targets. Across Europe, the foods relevant to health and the environment often incur reduced but non-zero value-added tax (VAT) rates at about half the maximum rates, which allows for providing both incentives and disincentives. Integrating economic, health and environmental modelling, we show that reforming VAT rates on foods, including increasing rates on meat and dairy, and reducing VAT rates on fruits and vegetables can improve diets and result in health, environmental and economic benefits in most European countries. The health improvements were primarily driven by reductions in VAT rates on fruits and vegetables, whereas most of the environmental and revenue benefits were driven by increased rates on meat and dairy. Our findings suggest that differentiating VAT rates based on health and environmental considerations can support changes towards healthier and more sustainable diets in Europe.
Register to join in person below.
Marco Springmann is a Professorial Research Fellow in Climate Change, Food Systems and Health at UCL's Institute for Global Health, and a Senior Researcher on Environment and Health at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute. He conducts multi-disciplinary research that connects food systems, climate change, and public health. His research has been published in leading journals, including Nature, Science, The Lancet, the BMJ, and others. In addition, he has contributed to high-level reports, including those of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems, the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, the Global Nutrition Report, and the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report.
move to carousel movement controls
The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – The journey so far and our pathway forward
