First Gas Stoves, Now Cows

Two hundred thousand Irish cows could be slaughtered, according to a report from the Irish Department of Agriculture.

The report, obtained last week by the Irish Independent, suggests that Ireland should reduce dairy herds by culling 10 percent of cows — costing the Irish taxpayers 600 million euros — in order to reduce methane emissions and meet the European Union’s aim of net-zero emissions by 2050.

It’s yet another example of how harmful the goals proposed by climate-intoxicated globalists can be to the common man. (READ MORE: Is the Earth Cooling Itself?)

According to the Telegraph, the Irish Department of Agriculture said the report was just a “modeling document.”

Cows, ironically enough, help curb carbon dioxide emissions. Ruminating animals, like cows, fertilize the ground by integrating carbon dioxide back into the soil and keeping it there. According to a 2018 study from the University of Florida, grazing soil contains between 10 and 30 percent of global carbon.

Ultimately, measures like this will only drive food prices up for the consumer — and, as Irish Farmers’ Association President Tim Cullinan pointed out, beef and dairy production will simply shift to other countries, undermining any attempt to reduce global emissions.

“Reports like this only serve to further fuel the view that the government is working behind the scenes to undermine our dairy and livestock sectors,” he said.

The Irish government assured farmers that the program, if enacted, would likely be voluntary, suggesting that it could be applied to the herds of retiring farmers. However, Irish farmers remain skeptical that the program could meet the department’s goals by remaining voluntary.  (RELATED: European Farmers Are Once Again Protesting Net-Zero Plans)

Elon Musk recently commented on the report, criticizing the measure on Twitter.

“This really needs to stop. Killing some cows doesn’t matter for climate change,” Musk said.

This really needs to stop. Killing some cows doesn’t matter for climate change.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2023

While Irish farmers are understandably furious, the report should also concern American farmers — there has been talk that the U.S. might take similar steps.

In 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that indicated his administration’s goal to make the United States carbon neutral by 2050.

Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry, confirmed this intent at D.C.’s AIM for Climate Summit last month, emphasizing the need for the U.S. to curb agricultural emissions to meet that net-zero emissions goal.

“We can’t get to net zero, we don’t get this job done, unless agriculture is front and center as part of the solution,” Kerry said.

As with many proposed climate change solutions, killing 200,000 cows does more harm than good.

“We’re the one industry with a significant roadmap, and, to be quite honest with you, our herd isn’t any larger than it was 25 to 30 years ago,” Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, said. “Can the same be said for the transport industry? Can the same be said for the aviation industry?”

Aubrey Gulick is a recent graduate from Hillsdale College and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute Fellow at The American Spectator. When she isn’t writing, Aubrey enjoys long runs, solving rock climbs, and rattling windows with the 32-foot pipes on the organ. Follow her on Twitter @AubGulick.

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Canadian Policy Would Reduce by One One-Thousandth of a Percent — And Cripple Agriculture Industry

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