Proposition 2 passed by a huge majority. The poultry industry now awaits its fate which could include the shuttering of many farms that have been producing eggs in California for over 100 years. But never mind as long as the chickens are “free to be you and me” as the song from the 1970s used to say.
At the time I warned that the animal activists’ mission was more far reaching than making chickens more comfortable while laying eggs. They don’t want you to eat eggs or meat period. They want us all to eat tofu in its many wonderful forms like tofu hot dogs and burgers and my personal favorite just in time for the holidays, tofurky. Just look at this yummy recipe from the Humane Society’s website and have your family and friends dive into this for Christmas dinner.
These same animal rights activists have formed an unofficial and unholy alliance with the global warming zealots. And they are embarked on a crusade to rid the planet of all products produced from livestock including, poultry, eggs, beef, and pork.
Pigs and cattle cause methane gas, which is considered a greenhouse gas, from their belching and flatulence. So do politicians in Washington and Sacramento but no one is suggesting we shut down Washington or Sacramento.
Just look at this blog entry from Wayne Pacelle the very politically savvy Executive Director of the Humane Society. He himself makes the link from “eating less meat” and “protecting the planet”. But the real mission, I suspect, is not less meat, but rather no meat or meat products period. In it he states the following:
“We must eat less meat and other animal products as a nation and as a global community. And we must begin to examine and adopt policies that do better for the environment and for the extraordinary number of farm animals raised and slaughtered every year. Factory farms need to be regulated like any other industry that pollutes the air, soil, and water, and punished with strict fines and other enforcement measures when they don’t comply. The Bush Administration wants to give them a free pass, and the incoming Obama Administration needs to hold them accountable—to protect the planet.”
The story gets even better. And here is where the two agendas intersect.
The bureaucrats at the United States Environmental Protection agency (EPA) recently filed a proposed rulemaking on having the federal government charge a fee to farmers and ranchers to mitigate the methane gas their animals produce.
Enter the “cow tax”.
For farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs an annual fee of $175 per dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef and $20 for each hog would be charged. So if you had a herd of 1000 dairy cows it would cost you $175,000 per year off the top!
Naturally PETA agrees with this proposal. Look at what they have said:
“It makes perfect sense if you are looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses,” said Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “We certainly support making factory farms pay their fair share,” he said.
Read the whole article here.
EPA officials are downplaying this report and say it is only for large operations. Yeah right. When the government smells a “cash cow” they will milk it right down to the family farmer who will then go out of business.
Is the federal government now going to tell us what we can eat and in what quantities?
This is akin to the radical environmentalist’s dreams of having the federal government tell Detroit what kind of cars they can build for us to drive.
Think the state has budget worries now? Wait until a “cow tax” kicks in and the industry is eviscerated.
And where does our very own Senator Barbara Boxer stand on this issue? She is now the Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and would have a big say on whether or not we have a “cow tax”. (The ironic thing is that Boxer hails from Marin County which was the birthplace of California’s dairy industry!)
What does Governor Schwarzenegger say about this threat to a key California industry? And what about Mary Nichols, head of CAL EPA, where does she stand?
And what about President-elect Obama? Where does he stand? Will his new “green team” at EPA try to push this through?
And how about the voters of Iowa who launched his winning campaign last January? Are they in favor of a “hog tax”?
What say you voters of Colorado, who went for Obama? Is this what you had in mind for the cattle industry in your state? You know what this will cost you in economic activity?
These questions need to be asked and these politicians need to go on the record about where they stand. Do they stand with the hard working men and women of America’s cattle, dairy and hog farms and ranches that put food on our tables? Or do they stand with the city slickers, vegans, animal rights activists and the elitist coastal environmentalists who want to regulate every facet of our lives and sacrifice the American way of life on the altar of their new religion?
The bottom line is this –The dairy and beef cattle industries are a part of America’s and California’s past and present. But will they be a part of our future?
If some environmentalist and animal rights activists have their way, it is doubtful either will survive.
Time to put an end to this environmental/animal rights jihad against juicy hamburgers, well-marbled steaks, sizzling bacon and plump pork chops. If we don’t, pretty soon we will hear the waiters in our favorite restaurants saying…”How would you like your tofu steak prepared?”