The prospects for firms working in different parts of the UK food and drinks industry appear uncertain, amid a call for a tax on meat products.

Debates about climate change and consumer health and led to many people adopting vegetarian and vegan diets, while others have proposed government intervention to encourage healthier eating.

A soft drinks tax was introduced by the government in 2018, which has led to a rise in low and zero-sugar alternatives. However, so far the current administration under Boris Johnson has resisted the idea of taxing meat. In a recent interview with the Sun, Mr Johnson recently promised he had no plans to do so.

However, pressure remains for a meat tax, with the boss of vegan food firm Beyond Meat Ethan Brown telling the BBC he backed the idea, commenting that the idea “is an interesting one. I’m not an economist, but overall that type of thing does appeal to me”.

Even without such a tax, it is clear that vegan food firms should need little help with their profit improvement efforts, as Mr Brown noted surveys have shown 93 percent of people buying his firm’s products still include “animal protein” in their shopping basket. This, he notes, means people are cutting down on meat and dairy even if they are not eliminating it.

All this means the real profit challenges may be faced by companies in the meat and dairy sectors, as a shift in consumer tastes and attitudes could reduce their income and put some out of business.

There may be good reasons to resist a meat tax, with recent research by Bristol University finding that this could force grazing lifestock forms out of business altogether, even though this is the most efficient use of grassland habitat.

Nonetheless, the challenge to at least some parts of the food sector may be significant, meaning good accountancy will be needed to stay in profit and plan for the future.