Hands off my dinner plate, climate zealots!
Climate Zealots Gather at COP28 Conference in Dubai
Climate zealots and world leaders are gathering at the United Nations’s COP28 climate conference in Dubai this week to discuss how to make ordinary people’s lives miserable in the name of fighting climate change. It is a gathering that is full of ironies.
The United Arab Emirates, host nation and a U.N. member, plans to increase its oil production by 25 percent by 2027. Many wealthy and powerful people descended on Dubai in their gas-guzzling private jets this week. Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and King Charles III apparently cared about the climate so much that each jetted to Dubai separately. The only silver lining for conference organizers aiming to keep the conference carbon neutral is that some attendees couldn’t make it to Dubai yet because their private jets had been covered in snow and frozen on the runway at Munich airport.
Among all the climate zealots’ hypocrisies, what bothers me most is their call to drastically cut back meat consumption while they themselves enjoy prime ribs and smash burgers from the conference’s “1.5° C-aligned menu.”
I know a thing or two about being forced to eat less meat. Growing up in communist China, the government imposed a strict food-rationing system that limited individual food consumption every month. We received ration coupons for rice, flour, and meat. With meat coupons, each person could only purchase two pounds of pork monthly. But widespread food shortages meant that the meat counters at grocery stores were often empty. Due to a lack of good sources of protein and nutrition, the average Chinese life expectancy at birth in 1960 was only 44 years.
The Chinese government abolished the food rationing system in 1995 as limited market reform lifted the standard of living. Since then, the Chinese people have enjoyed more nutritious diets, including eating more meat. As of 2021, Chinese people reportedly consumed about 90 million metric tons of meat, twice the U.S. total. Not surprisingly, the average Chinese life span in 2017 was 76 years, a 72 percent increase from 1960. A similar phenomenon has happened in Africa too. According to The Economist, Africans live longer as they eat more meat.
But climate zealots have shown they are more than willing to sacrifice the well-being of ordinary people at the altar of climate change. They are no longer satisfied with declaring war on fossil fuels by shutting down coal plants, forcing people to switch from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles, and paying more for electricity generated from unreliable green energy sources such as solar and wind. The climate zealots now want to regulate people’s dinner plates by declaring war on meat.
A 2021 study from Nature Food Journal claimed that “the global food system generates 18 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year — one-third of total worldwide emissions. Livestock is responsible for about 14.5 percent of global emissions.” Another study published in Nature Communications insists that “going 50 percent vegan would reduce agriculture and land use, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 31 percent by 2050.” How scientifically accurate these studies’ predictions are is subject to debate. Still, some politicians and activists seized on these studies as scientific proof that people must eat less meat to save the climate.
‘Fart Tax’
The new war on meat is conducted on two fronts: production and consumption. Some governments have tried to restrict meat production through regulations and punitive taxation, aiming to drive farmers out of the meat production business by increasing their cost of operation. What’s happening in New Zealand and the Netherlands is telling. In 2009, New Zealand’s government imposed the so-called “Farmers Fight Back Against Emissions Taxes
In 2022, New Zealand attempted to implement a controversial “fart tax,” which would have required farmers to pay a levy on livestock’s methane gas emissions. However, strong opposition from farmers led to the abandonment of the taxation. But in 2019, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, known for her strict Covid-19 policies, reintroduced the measure, this time targeting methane emissions from cows and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock urine. Ardern resigned earlier this year to avoid a potential election defeat. Last year, the Netherlands government implemented even more draconian policies aimed at reducing the agricultural industry’s nitrogen emissions. The Wall Street Journal estimates that thousands of livestock farms would have to close and farmers would be forced to reduce their herds to meet the emissions targets. This would result in a massive slaughter of livestock. Non-compliant farmers could face legal consequences. Frustrated farmers played a role in helping conservative Dutch politician Geert Wilders win the nation’s general election. Despite losses at the ballot box, politicians and activists continue their war on meat by advocating for limitations on meat consumption. An EAT-Lancet study suggests that people should drastically reduce their intake of red meat and poultry to mitigate environmental degradation and increase human life expectancy. However, data from the United Nations and World Bank contradict these claims, showing that average life expectancy has actually increased alongside rising meat consumption. Nevertheless, climate crusaders like German Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach are determined to cut meat consumption by 80% globally. Lauterbach proposes taxing meat to make it less affordable and subsidizing alternative meat products. However, a study from the University of California, Davis, reveals that lab-grown meat is up to 25 times worse for the climate than beef. Despite Germans paying nearly 50% more for electricity and consuming less meat, the nation has failed to meet its emission reduction goals. Climate zealots refuse to acknowledge that their policies will have minimal impact as long as China remains the largest emitter of greenhouse gases among developed nations. As The Wall Street Journal’s Allysia Finley points out, climate has become a religion for the global left, with the ultimate goal being to force people to live ascetic lives devoid of material joys. However, history has shown that policies detrimental to human flourishing are also harmful to the environment. We can protect the planet through innovation without sacrificing our quality of life. It’s time to reject ruinous climate policies and defend our right to enjoy our meals without interference.The Battle to Limit Meat Consumption
What is the historical evidence from China and Africa that challenges the climate zealots’ call to cut back on meat consumption?
Climate Zealots Gather at COP28 Conference in Dubai
Climate zealots and world leaders have gathered at the United Nations’ COP28 climate conference in Dubai this week to discuss how to make ordinary people’s lives miserable in the name of fighting climate change. However, this gathering is filled with ironies.
The host nation and a member of the United Nations, the United Arab Emirates, plans to increase its oil production by 25 percent by 2027. Many wealthy and powerful individuals have descended on Dubai in their gas-guzzling private jets this week, including Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and King Charles III, who apparently cared so much about the climate that they each took separate private jets to Dubai. The conference organizers were aiming to keep the conference carbon neutral, but some attendees couldn’t make it due to their private jets being covered in snow and frozen on the runway at Munich airport.
Among all the climate zealots’ hypocrisies, what bothers me most is their call to drastically cut back meat consumption while they themselves enjoy prime ribs and smash burgers from the conference’s “1.5°C-aligned menu.”
I have firsthand experience of being forced to eat less meat. Growing up in communist China, the government imposed strict food-rationing systems that limited individual food consumption every month. We received ration coupons for rice, flour, and meat. However, due to widespread food shortages, the meat counters at grocery stores were often empty. As a result, the average Chinese life expectancy at birth in 1960 was only 44 years, largely due to a lack of good sources of protein and nutrition.
The Chinese government abolished the food rationing system in 1995, and since then, the Chinese people have enjoyed more nutritious diets, including eating more meat. As of 2021, Chinese people reportedly consumed about 90 million metric tons of meat, twice the U.S. total. Not surprisingly, the average Chinese life span in 2017 was 76 years, a 72 percent increase from 1960. A similar phenomenon has occurred in Africa, where Africans live longer as they eat more meat.
However, climate zealots have shown that they are willing to sacrifice the well-being of ordinary people at the altar of climate change. They are no longer satisfied with declaring war on fossil fuels and promoting renewable energy sources. They now want to regulate people’s dinner plates by declaring war on meat.
These climate zealots rely on studies that claim the global food system generates a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions, with livestock being responsible for a large portion of global emissions. However, the scientific accuracy of these studies’ predictions is subject to debate.
The new war on meat is conducted on two fronts: production and consumption. Some governments try to restrict meat production through regulations and punitive taxation, aiming to drive farmers out of the meat production business by increasing their cost of operation. Examples of such measures can be seen in New Zealand and the Netherlands.
In 2022, New Zealand attempted to implement a controversial “fart tax,” which would have required farmers to pay a levy on livestock’s methane gas emissions. However, strong opposition from farmers led to the abandonment of the taxation. But in 2019, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reintroduced the measure, this time targeting methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock. Ardern resigned earlier this year to avoid potential election defeat.
Last year, the Netherlands government implemented even more draconian policies aimed at reducing the agricultural industry’s nitrogen emissions. Thousands of livestock farms would have to close, and farmers would be forced to reduce their herds to meet the emissions targets, resulting in a massive slaughter of livestock. Non-compliant farmers could face legal consequences.
In conclusion, while climate zealots may claim to fight for the environment, their actions and demands often contradict their own lifestyles and disregard the well-being of ordinary people. Instead of imposing strict regulations and restrictions on meat consumption, a more balanced approach is needed that considers the livelihoods of farmers and the cultural significance of food choices. It is essential to address climate change, but not at the expense of the people it claims to protect.
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