The proposal, the latest in a string of "green" plans that threaten to increase the cost of living, drew accusations that ministers were imposing taxes and regulations in the name of environmental policy.
The paper also attacks supermarkets' "buy-one-get-one-free" discounts, saying they contribute to households wasting more than four million tons of food a year.
The 124-page Food Matters report promises that ministers will pay greater attention to animal farming's contribution to global warming, and suggests consumers will pay the price.
Methane is produced by the digestive processes of livestock. Scientists say it contributes to global warming, along with carbon dioxide (CO2).
Current emissions trading schemes apply only to CO2, and the Cabinet Office study says methane and nitrous oxide should also carry a price that reflects their environmental impact.
"There is no equivalent to a carbon price on emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, which account for around 80 per cent of the global warming potential of farming’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is not sustainable or efficient in the long term."
Ministers are working on plans “to bring agriculture into a carbon market framework”, the paper says.
The food strategy paper is the latest government proposal to increase household bills in pursuit of environmental goals.
The Department for Business and Enterprise’s new renewable energy strategy warned last month that household electricity bills could rise by 13 per cent and gas by 37 per cent to subsidise green energy sources, and ministers remain under pressure to raise road taxes in an effort to cut emissions.
The Government’s committee on climate change is now examining whether the UK should set targets for methane and nitrous oxide similar to those currently applied to CO2, the food report said.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is looking at “mechanisms for internalising the external greenhouse gas costs of agriculture” that would put a price on the environmental consequences of farming.
The food strategy paper is the latest government proposal to increase household bills in pursuit of environmental goals.
The Department for Business and Enterprise’s new renewable energy strategy warned last month that household electricity bills could rise by 13 per cent and gas by 37 per cent to subsidise green energy sources, and ministers remain under pressure to raise road taxes in an effort to cut emissions.
The Government’s committee on climate change is now examining whether the UK should set targets for methane and nitrous oxide similar to those currently applied to CO2, the food report said.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is looking at “mechanisms for internalising the external greenhouse gas costs of agriculture” that would put a price on the environmental consequences of farming.
