Do vegetarians and vegans deserve some sort of tax credit?!
Do vegetarians and vegans deserve some sort of tax credit?
Since it not only benefits the environment but much of our taxes are used for subsidies to the meat industry. I read once that if beef were not subsidized it would cost 30 dollars a pound. Is it really fair that those of us who don't eat it still have to pay for it?
Answers:
Hey, I want my money back.
And yes I do also want all my money back that went toward making bombs.
Perhaps the amount of taxes people would pay could stay the same, but we could check a box or two to decide where our money goes. I would put all mine toward schools and health care because I actually care about living in a country of healthy, educated people even though I don't have kids... go fig.
Yes it is fair
now that i think about it, they shouldn't have to pay
Sorry about your no meat eating habits. Pay the man!!!!
NO. We all pay for what we don't use...I know a part of my tax is used for schools...I'm not in school or I don't have kids who are students...but I pay for it.
How is that supposed to be regulated? Then everyone and their dog would claim to be vegan just to receive the tax credit. You'd end up paying a lot more in taxes to hire people to determine whether or not these people actually did eat meat or not.
The unfortunate fact of life is that you have to pay taxes for all sorts of things that have absolutely nothing to do with you & your life choices. I can't stand that I am paying to give various drugs to addicts. Their poor life choices cost me money. It sucks, but such is life. If you don't like it move to a 3rd world country where no one helps to pay for anyone else's problems and see how you fare there.
I think this leads to some pretty tricky territiory. Some women argue that they should pay less since most crime is committed by men and they cost society more. Some think we should charge Latinos more to pay for the enforcement of the border with Mexico. Some believe African-Americans should get a tax break, since they still suffer from the ravages of slavery. And on and on.
Now if you want to talk about why we give billions of dollars a year to wealthy corporations who don't need the handout, you've got my attention.
wait, wait!!
you guys actually pay your taxes!?
Considering a vast majority of vegans are in so a low tax bracket that they don't pay taxes to begin with the point is moot.
But if they did no they don't the meat industry is a vital part of the American economy and vegans do nothing to support it. In fact your vegan beliefs are costing people jobs and making the rest of us have to spend more money.
People who have hybrid cars get to drive in the carpool lane even if they are alone,maybe we should get to do that since you do more by being vegan then you'd do by driving hybrid cars?
We all pay taxes for things we don't use. In my city there is a transit levy on top of regular fuel taxes - I don't take the bus, yet whenver I pay for gas I'm helping the public transit system pay for theirs. I don't have kids in school yet part of my taxes go to schools.
You might as well say that you want to stop paying your portion of taxes that go to the military if you don't support war.
No read this! Organic food still leaves environmental footprint: study
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 5, 2007 | 12:38 PM CT
CBC News
While organic farmers may tout the environmental benefits of food produced without pesticides, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted through shipping is about the same as with non-organic food, University of Alberta researchers suggest.
Sean Cash, a professor in the department of rural economy, said consumers who buy organic products to be eco-friendly should also be mindful of other considerations. He encourages consumers to read labels carefully and ask retailers where the produce was grown.
'It doesn't mean that buying organic is bad … but it's not necessarily a black and white issue.'―Sean Cash, University of Alberta
"Think about what you purchase and what impact it might have on the environment or on other people," he said.
"When we rely on things like an organic label or other types of products that people are interested in such as fair trade products, having a simple label that can point us to products also means that we're maybe missing other parts of the story if we don't dig a little deeper."
Cash's student researchers collected information from six Edmonton grocery stores and asked suppliers about their shipping methods to calculate the emissions produced in transporting the food from the field to the grocery store.
For a city the size of Edmonton, between 5,492 and 7,426 tonnes of carbon dioxide were produced for conventional produce as compared with 6,348 to 7,124 tonnes of CO2 for organic produce.
Still, Cash notes that there are still benefits to buying organic produce, including concern over pesticides.
The Certified Organic Growers Association says there were 3,618 certified organic growers in Canada in 2005.
(CBC)
"There are just a lot of trade-offs around this and it doesn't mean that buying organic is bad. There are certainly benefits ― you are using fewer pesticides and other production chemicals ― but it's not necessarily a black and white issue."
Consumers concerned about pesticide use: survey
Organic foods have grown in popularity in recent years, according to a Certified Organics Report released in May. Over half of Canadian households purchased organically grown food last year, citing pesticide use as their primary concern.
Source: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency What qualifies as an organic food?
Organic foods are grown without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics.
The products have been grown without the use of technologies including genetic engineering or radiation.
The Certified Organic Growers Association says there were 3,618 certified organic growers in Canada in 2005, with another 241 farmers in the process of converting their conventional farms to organic. More than 530,000 hectares of land are dedicated to growing organic food, the largest crop being wheat.
Last December, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency published a new set of rules for farmers wanting to carry a new "Canada Organic" label.
The federal watchdog says farmers will have to submit an application for certification with information on the substances used in production and methods of production.
Well, yeah.
There are two constants in life:
Death and taxes.
I know I pay taxes on stupid things that I never use but I also recognise that it is part of the society I choose to live in.
In Canada, income tax was only a war tax for WWII and yet we still keep on paying. Does it tick me off? Hell ya! Am I going to lament on petty issues like that? NO!!
Vegans and vegetarians deserve a tax credit as do those who choose to not have children, and for many of the same reasons. Instead, its the other way around, people who contribute to the demise of the planet by over-populating are rewarded with tax credits. Lets start a movement......
Don't forget about subsidies to the fruit and veggie industries....
Just to be fair.
I don't think I'd like to go through the hassle of 'proving' my vegetarianism everytime tax season rolls around...something tells me the government would make it a hassle. Lets just tax the hell out of the meat eaters...wait, can't do that either, wouldn't be 'fair'. *Sigh*
that makes perfect sense to me. i didn't know some of our tax goes to the meat industry, and i don't want any of mine to because i don't support it.