The Boondoggle Of Climate Change Policies

To quote a good friend of mine, the “boondoggle” of the climate change agenda is seemingly gaining traction amongst liberals and conservatives alike in popular culture today.

When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (D-NY) infamously proposed we reduce cow farts through her Green New Deal, most of us laughed and thought how ridiculous she sounded.

Because we know the truth – the U.S. beef industry contributes less than four percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, and we produce more beef today than in the 1970s while using fewer natural resources to do it. 

And, at the end of the day, when we compare calorie to calorie of plant-based alternatives, we simply can’t beat the bio-available nutrition provided by beef. 

Let’s not forget the additional byproducts we get from beef cattle. From nose-to-tail, these products enrich our lives and to create each and every one from a synthetic method would have a dramatic carbon footprint. 

I could go on, but you get the point. The fact was 2+2=4, and the Green New Deal just didn’t add up.

But now, the rhetoric has been repackaged. We are told cattle must go – lab meat and plant-based meat will replace the livestock industry. 

As an example, JBS, one of our four major packers, just announced it was building a lab-grown meat facility in Brazil. The media boldly proclaims the end of meat is near, and these alternative products are the future. 

The rhetoric has also been repackaged in the form of carbon pipelines, carbon capturing and measuring every emission. It’s anti-life, anti-human and anti-food. Shockingly, it has those who originally scoffed at AOC’s silly ideas now gobbling up the message, eager to take part in the nonsense.

Why is this, one might ask?

Money. And lots of it. 

There are billions – yes with a B – of tax dollar incentives being thrown at programs to incentivize landowners to produce nothing, to provide nothing and to do nothing with their land. These deals would allow bad actors to ride the coattails of America’s farmers and ranchers and our great ability to be stewards of the land and natural resources, all while they continue to pollute. 

The devil is in the details. I constantly ask the audiences I speak to, “Who are you letting in the door when you sign on the dotted line with these deals?”

It’s an alarming trend I believe needs more people to speak out on. The simple truth is carbon is plant food, and these programs are now trying to convince us 2+2=5.

I borrow this math equation from the book “1984,” written by George Orwell. 

In the novel, he writes, “In the end, the party would announce two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable they should make this claim sooner or later – the logic of their position demanded it.”

It’s quite fitting, isn’t it? What this book once forecasted appears to be here now. 

The motivation behind this column is this – to remind my agricultural family across the country not everyone has our best interests in mind when it comes to climate programs. It might look like a good way to make a little extra cash when inputs are high and competition for land is fierce, but at the end of the day, we are just helping our adversaries along in their true agenda.

This agenda is, over time, these environmental extremists will chip away at our private property rights through litigation, legislation and lobbying efforts. We can go along with it willingly, thinking they are reasonable and compromise is a good thing.

Or, we can realize after the quick cash comes our way, the long game is to take control of the land. 

George Washington once said, “Private property rights are inseparable. You can’t have one without the other.”

I’ll add this – a nation that cannot feed itself is not free.

So to close, I believe it’s the responsibility and duty of every farmer, rancher and landowner in this country to hold firm to what is true, to hold onto our private property rights and to see the agenda for what it is – a land grab wrapped up with a pretty bow in the form of billions of dollars to attempt to alter the climate. 

I would love your thoughts on this. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail and we will discuss.

Amanda Radke is a rancher, author, motivational speaker and podcast host. For more from Radke, visit amandaradke.com.