ABSTRACT
Policy change is needed to adequately address the harms of animal agriculture. But there is substantial disagreement about what policy changes would be ethical and effective. For example, should we focus on relatively moderate interventions, such as informational and procurement policy changes, or should we also focus on relatively radical interventions such as meat taxes or bans? In this chapter, the authors consider the principled and practical pros and cons of meat taxes and bans. They argue that, to the extent that these interventions are (a) necessary to prevent massive and unnecessary harm and (b) can be implemented without violating basic rights, governments should implement them. The chapter closes by suggesting that a mixed approach involving taxes, bans, and other interventions will likely be best in many contexts in the short term.
