WARNING: Europe’s Farmer Protests Send a Message as Ottawa Plans to Reduce Cattle Emissions
As Ottawa eyes Canadian farms and cattle as a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be quelled, the European experience is a cautionary tale.
In Europe, policies that impact farming operations, including the Netherlands’ plan to massively reduce livestock to cut down emissions, have led to widespread protests.
Ottawa’s attempts to mitigate cattle emissions are milder than Europe’s cow-culling plans. But University of Guelph economics professor Ross McKitrick says he wouldn’t be surprised if the Liberal government takes it nearly as far as that.
“It comes down to how zealous the government is,” Mr. McKitrick told The Epoch Times. “And right now we have an extremely zealous government that has determined to eliminate a lot of essential economic activity because it’s tied to greenhouse gas emissions.”
The move to decrease cattle methane emissions could be a first step in taking greater control of the beef industry, he said.
Farmers are encouraged to feed their cattle certain substances—including growth hormones, yeasts, essential oils, and more—to increase feed efficiency and reduce their methane emissions. Farmers will be rewarded with carbon credits they can sell to companies looking to offset their emissions.
The policy is voluntary, unlike the emissions cap the government recently announced for the oil and gas industry. The government will cap methane and carbon dioxide emissions for oil and gas, giving companies maximum allowances for their emissions. If they go beyond the allowances, they must buy carbon credits to offset the extra emissions. Though they can pay to offset some emissions, they must still significantly lower their emissions from current levels.
Mr. McKitrick says the oil and gas cap is one of several examples of how much control over an industry the Liberal government is willing to take.
The Canadian Cattle Association (CAA) told The Epoch Times via email that it’s not sure yet how the methane-reducing incentives will affect the industry. CCA says it is studying the plan and will be in talks with Ottawa until Feb. 6, 2024, when the consultation period ends.
Mr. McKitrick says climate policies could increasingly affect farmers, including beef farmers, and food prices in Canada. Environmental policies are hitting food production in many ways in Canada and abroad, and some say this may significantly diminish global food supply.
![Farmers gather with their vehicles next to a Germany/Netherlands border sign during a protest against the Dutch government's emission-cutting plans on June 29, 2022. (Vincent Jannink/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F07%2F26%2FGettyImages-1241609559-600x402.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
It includes testimony from Dutch dairy farmers who could have lost most of their cattle under their government’s plan to reduce emissions. It includes evidence from Sri Lankan farmers whose crops failed when the government decided in 2021 to ban agrochemicals imports, sending the country into turmoil. And it includes statements from farmers in California who rely on the Iron Gate Dam but are seeing it being removed to save a breed of salmon not native to the region.
Meanwhile, the United Nations, world leaders, celebrities, and many media outlets promote edible insects, the documentary notes. Edible insect producers are springing up all over the world, including in Canada, despite a lack of enthusiasm from consumers.
“As the price of staples goes through the roof, people will say, ‘OK, I’m really hungry, my kids are really hungry, I can’t afford a steak anymore. So, all right, I’ll eat your stupid crickets,'” says journalist Alex Newman in the documentary.
Impacts to Agricultural Land
In Canada, some prime agricultural land has been taken out of service, used for wind and solar farms instead.
Mr. Bennett is from Taber, Alta., part of a region the province is looking to expand as an agri-food corridor, a major centre for Canada’s food production. He told The Epoch Times in August that he knows landowners in the region who have opted for wind and solar because it’s more lucrative. But the wind turbines also make aerial spraying of crops impossible within a certain radius.
Economist and University of Calgary professor Jack Mintz told The Epoch Times in a Dec. 11 interview that carbon credits come with some uncertainty in general. “Right now the price is not well-known,” he said.
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