Cows in the Irish countryside. By Fabiano’s_Photo @ Shutterstock.com
Cow Farts Blamed for Killing the Planet
How to get to the Holy Grail (Zero Admissions) of the eco-movement? First, tank the economy. Next, leave about 50,000+ involved in Ireland’s agrarian economy without jobs. In Spectator, Ian O’Doherty, explains the latest scheme to guarantee a fiscal, environmental, and political boondoggle.
Ireland, a country with low-lying mountains surrounded by verdant green plains, is the product of a changeable climate free of extremes in temperature. That’s one reason Irish butter is so highly prized in the American market. The climate and quality of the Irish grass make for happy cows. Happy cows make good meat and dairy, children.
Under Ian O’Doherty’s list of “Very Bad Ideas,” a scheme for Irish cows and cattle tops the list. It also is a contender for the daftest idea yet, accuses Ian O’Doherty in Spectator.
Ireland wants to kill its cattle. Really? Really …
In what would normally be dismissed as little more than the frenzied imagination of a cranky conspiracy theorist who thinks the government really is out to get them, the Irish department of agriculture has come up with a plan to spend €600 million ($653 million) over the next three years, killing 200,000 dairy cattle.
What’s the Beef?
O’Doherty brings up one of the great unpleasant contradictions inherent in the green movement: “even if the powers that be massively reduce the beef herd, they won’t massively reduce the appetite for beef.”
That means that stores will start importing cheap and inadequate beef from Brazil instead. Yes, the same Brazil that has been cutting down swathes of the Amazon to make way for pastureland for their own beef herds which they then export to countries like Ireland.
Dairy Cows – a Grave Threat
… it’s all down to their methane. Yes, cow farts are apparently killing the planet.
Ireland’s Environmental Protective Agency claims that the agriculture sector accounted for 38 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 and, as they strive to reduce all agricultural emissions by 25 percent by 2030, that means the cows have to go.
Voluntary Dairy Reduction
Addressing the Environment and Climate committee last March, Charlie McConalogue, minister of agriculture and food, revealed one of the bright ideas conjured up by the Dairy Food Division Group was to “explore a voluntary dairy reduction scheme as part of its Climate Action Plan for 2023.”
How’d That Go Over?
“Hell, no,” yawped every beef and dairy farmer.
Although Ireland’s political elites (civil service, media, academia) aren’t about to admit it, Ireland is still “a predominately agrarian society.”
Many elements of the Irish media like to present the country as a vast tech-hub, home to giant data centers and where all the major social media companies have established their European headquarters. That is undoubtedly true, but it doesn’t tell the full story.
What’s That Stink?
It’s as if some form of collective madness, a strange miasma, worries Mr. O’Doherty, “has descended on our politicians and other advocates of this plan. It’s a madness which ignores reality and replaces it with a quasi-religious hunt for that Holy Grail of the eco-movement: net zero.”
The elites in this country don’t care if this move tanks the economy and leaves tens of thousands jobless. After all, they have their secure jobs and index linked pensions to look forward to. And they will still be able to engage in their most cherished pastime — boasting to other European countries about how Ireland “is leading the way.”
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