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Today 2:00 PM – Matthijs Bremer
Oatly and Alpro Netherlands have joined a citizens’ initiative to exclude plant-based milk alternatives from the soft drink consumer tax. According to these companies, the prices of milk and milk substitutes are being unfairly driven further apart by the tax.
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The two companies have not only spoken out against the new legislation, but also expressed their support for a petition that is circulating. This calls for an end to the tax on plant-based alternatives. The petition has been signed by 28,000 people.
Unhealthy
The purpose of the consumer tax is part of the government’s strategy to demotivate the choice of unhealthy food. The hope is that people will choose water instead of sugary soft drinks or non-alcoholic beer. In addition to water, dairy products are also exempt from the soft drink tax. In the eyes of the Ministry of Health, dairy consumption offers clear health benefits. Milk and yoghurt are in the fifth bracket because they contain many essential nutrients. Because dairy alternatives do not have the same nutritional values as milk, no exception is made for this category.
This decision quickly proved controversial. Due to the lower nutritional values, milk substitutes are not necessarily unhealthier, according to the Party for the Animals and producers of milk substitutes. After all, the drinks often contain fewer calories and saturated fats. The government therefore decided to conduct a study into the effects of an exception for dairy substitutes. The results of this research are as yet unknown.