Advantages of Meat Taxation

Paying compulsory taxes on the income you earned and for other services to contribute to the revenue of the Government has become a general practice, at the same time adding taxes and duties on certain products like cigarettes, alcohol and other products which are harmful for human consumption and which the Government doesn’t want people to use has been a great tactic.  But the recent proposal to introduce tax on meat to the above list with the intention of reducing the consumption of meat by the common man and to reduce the high costs associated with the consumption of meat will definitely be hard on the Americans, as they are the highest consumers of meat.

As per statistics every American on an average consumes 44kg of meat per year compared to Indians who consume 5kg of meat per person.  The number of pigs, cows and lambs has grown 10 folds; farming for livestock covers 1/3^rd of the land in the world, which could have been used to grow crops to feed the malnourished people.  With the growing consumption of meat, the prices of staple food also have seen a steep rise, and this is also the main reason for obesity among Americans.  Results also show that compared to vegetarians, non vegetarians showed a greater tendency in facing the risk of obesity, which clearly shows that meat consumption is directly linked to obesity.  Studies have also revealed that due to the high amount of antibiotics used on animals there is a danger of widespread infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, smallpox, measles and even the recent highly prevailing Swine flu which killed so many people.

 

The increase in production of meat also has a negative impact on the environment in the form of effluents released by the livestock and also as a major part of the green house gases emitted is by the livestock as a result of which we face a high risk of global warming.  Also when compared to consumption of water, the water required for growing crops such as wheat and rice is very less when compared to water consumption by livestock, due to which we may face a severe scarcity of water. The increase in meat production is also the reason for the gradual declination in the number of fishes being killed to produce fish oil and dry feed every year so that they can be fed to chicken and pigs.

With America being the highest consumer of meat, the proposal to introduce tax on meat maybe seen as a move to discourage the usage of meat by the Government, and might deter people from the lower income groups in buying meat, but it certainly will be not be a restriction for meat lovers, who are bound to consume meat despite the taxation on meat.  But taking into consideration all the benefits of abstaining from meat consumption, like good health, decreased risk to diseases, better environment, decrease in obesity and many more, this proposal should be definitely finalized as introducing taxes on meat would at least temporarily reduce the consumption of meat, and people would think twice while purchasing meat.  Studies also reveal that by taxing meat, the average consumption per person in a year would definitely fall even though we cannot expect a total fall in meat consumption, which would help in curtailing the rising prices of staple food and encourage the cultivation of crops.  We will definitely help in having a better environment which will have a positive impact on the planet by reducing the consumption of meat.

The Hudhud Cyclone at Vishakhapatnam

Vishakhapatnam the port city, beautiful city and excellent tourist spot with its breathtaking beaches and greenery and a haven for tourists and now after the devastation caused by the Hudhud cyclone, the initial place of welcome to tourists, the airport remains as a mute witness to the disaster caused by the storm. Even with all the warnings issued by the Government and the Disaster Management Department fully geared up, one still wonders what went wrong to cause such a major scale catastrophe. The Government has to retrospect on the reason behind the huge damage caused to the airport, all the factors that went into causing the damage should be deeply studied and remedial steps taken so that the structure can withstand any sort of natural calamities it is exposed to in the future.

The first thing that comes to the notice with regards to the damage caused to the Vishakhapatnam airport is that probably the structure was not designed to withstand the required wind speed which is a consideration which should not have been overlooked especially in the coastal areas. Structures can be designed to withstand a wind speed of more than 200 Kmph also; the destruction caused by the Hudhud cyclone was at a wind speed of 170-190 Kmph, so if the wind speed was considered during the construction of the airport such major damage could not have been caused. It is very important that in coastal areas the structures are constructed in such a manner that the roof is properly connected to the body of the structure and the body to the foundation, the connections between the roof to the wall provide uplift resistance which is very important for the roof to be intact during cyclones. In high cyclone prone areas it is always better to go with a hipped or pyramidal roof compared to a gable roof, as it offers more resistance to wind with its increased slope. The other major damage caused during gusty winds and cyclones is the widespread breakage of glass panes due to the high wind pressure and effect of flying objects. To overcome this problem it’s advisable to opt for thicker glass panes, smaller size panels and by pasting paper or plastic strips across the panels.

If all these precautions were taken during the construction of the airport structure the damage caused to the Vishakhapatnam airport probably would not have been so severe. The Hudhud cyclone and its after effects should be taken as a lesson learnt and any future constructions in the coastal areas should be constructed in such a manner so as to withstand wind speed during severe storms and cyclones.