Ecological Integrity: ‘Applying the “polluter pays” principle, a Cornell University ecologist and author suggests a way to improve the
environmental sustainability of agriculture: Levy taxes according to food-chain ranking so that products with the worst environmental
impact cost the most.

“We should internalize the costs of dietary preferences. If one chooses to eat high-impact food, one should pay the full costs of such a
choice,” says David Pimentel, the professor of ecology and agricultural science who is a co-editor and co-author of the newly published
book Ecological Integrity: Integrating Environment, Conservation, and Health‘.