Political divide in support for a meat tax

Meat consumption and willingness to reduce it may be linked to political ideology, with a common assumption that left-leaning individuals favour meat reduction policies more than right-leaning ones. However, rigorous evidence is lacking on this point. This study examines whether support for meat reduction policies varies by self-reported political ideology. Using a conjoint experiment with nationally representative samples from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK (N=8,000+), we randomly vary four attributes of a hypothetical meat tax: cost, revenue redistribution, motivation, and outreach. We find that right-wing voters support a baseline meat tax more than left-wing voters, but their support decreases when policies involve revenue redistribution, incorporate environmental costs, or emphasize health or animal welfare over environmental concerns. These patterns are partly explained by differences in Schwartz values across ideological groups. Overall, support for the tax decreases in cost imposed on the consumer and increases in redistribution and outreach. Our findings highlight the role of narratives in shaping political debates on meat taxation.

About Meike Morren

Meike Morren is an Assistant Professor at the department of Marketing, and the Scientific Coordinator of Sustainability at the Sustainability Office. Her research primarily focuses on sustainable consumer choices, ranging from support for meat tax policy to consumers’ perceptions of the environmental legitimacy of brands. She is affiliated with Health Economics Research Amsterdam (HERA) and to Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI). She is a visiting fellow at the Policy Institute in King’s College London.