Viewpoint: Last Saturday's Green House Gas Smelled Like BBQ
When Governor Polis declared last Saturday as MeatOut Day I wonder if he had an inkling of the backlash the non-binding proclamation would have.
For instance, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts issued his own proclamation for the same day and called it Meat on the Menu Day. He also referred to the Polis proclamation as a direct attack on our way of life. I’m sure some Colorado ranchers felt the same way.
Ricketts has had a thing or two to say about Colorado before. He wasn’t too excited about the legalization of recreational marijuana. Nebraska is one of three states that doesn’t allow marijuana in any form and Ricketts is an outspoken critic of the drug.
Meat is a big deal in Nebraska, which proclaims May as Beef Month and sells Beef State license plates. The Governor of Wyoming also promoted a meat day.
Colorado folks weren’t to excited about the meat-free diet day. More than two dozen counties declared a MeatIn Day.
“I think it's fine people don’t eat meat but I don’t enjoy a political figure telling us what to do,” said Erin Karney, Industry Advancement Director for Colorado Cattleman’s Association.
Polis tried to put a positive spin on the backlash. “Governor Polis is thrilled that his recent proclamation helped start a grassroots movement of support for cattlemen and the beef industry. Governor Polis is a strong supporter of Colorado jobs in the meat industry and was just in Greeley and Fort Morgan where the state partnered to provide the lifesaving vaccine to meat processing workers. Governor Polis is enthusiastic about how his proclamation is drawing needed attention and support for our ranchers and agriculture economy,” Shelby Wieman, Colorado Deputy Press Secretary stated.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture indicates that roughly $6.3 billion in cash receipts come in from livestock and crops, annually. Every Colorado county raises beef and agriculture is second only to oil and gas in Colorado’s economic impact.
It was nice to see the state rally around cattle and agriculture people. It was nice to see people rallying around anything that made sense. I can’t help but try and figure out why such a cry went up on this issue and not on others that are just as important.
Obviously, the cattle industry is a huge part of the state's income, but only about one percent of the people are actually employed by cattle ranching.
I’ve seen a number of states very quickly begin legislation to prohibit non-female, now-females participation in athletics. Certainly, a solid thing to rally around.
Several states have introduced legislation limiting or prohibiting abortion since the presidential election. That’s always a topic that brings people out to protest yea and nay.
Maybe it was the absurdity of the reasoning that the failure to eat meat would save the planet from greenhouse gases. The David Suzucki Foundation indicates that without greenhouse gases, cattle wouldn’t be the only thing that didn’t exist.
“Much like the glass of a greenhouse, gases in earth’s atmosphere sustain life by trapping the sun’s heat. These greenhouse gases allow the sun’s rays to pass through and warm the planet, but prevent this warmth from escaping the atmosphere into space. Without them, earth would be too cold to sustain life as we know it.”
Economic impact tends to motivate people. Although, we sure aren’t putting up much fuss on the southern border. Lots of jobs in the balance depending what we do or don’t do about illegal immigration, not to mention the drain on government services.
I think the beauty of the meat uprising was the spontaneity. No one had to pass around a petition to get anyone’s attention, it just erupted. It was truly grass roots. Thanks Colorado, how about picking another topic or two? There are plenty to choose from.Viewpoint: