Opposition to Greenhouse Gas Tax On Farm Animals!

Why would your animals be taxed?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on whether it is appropriate to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from automobiles under the Clean Air Act. In order to regulate automobile emissions in this fashion, EPA would first have to make a finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and safety and should be classified as a “pollutant.”

The problem with this approach is that once an endangerment finding is made, other provisions of the Clean Air Act are automatically triggered, creating much broader regulation of other sectors of the economy, including agriculture. One such unintended consequence for agriculture is the imposition of fees that, for all practical purposes, will function like a tax on cows and other livestock.

* Once an endangerment finding is made, Title V of the Clean Air Act is automatically triggered. Title V requires that any entity emitting more than 100 tons per year of a regulated pollutant must obtain a permit in order to continue to operate. EPA has no choice but to require these permits once an endangerment finding is made.

* USDA has stated that any operation with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs emits more than 100 tons of carbon and would have to obtain permits under Title V in order to continue to operate if GHG are regulated. According to USDA statistics, this would cover about 99 percent of dairy production, more than 90 percent of beef production, and more than 95 percent of all hog production in the United States.

* Title V is administered by the states, and permit fees vary from state to state. The tax for dairy cows could be $175 per cow, for beef $87.50 per head, and the tax on hogs would be a little more than $20 per hog.

* Unlike other regulated pollutants, GHGs are global in scope and distribute evenly across the planet. A ton emitted in New York has the same impact as a ton emitted in China. Regulating the ton in New York without addressing emission in China and other nations will do little to address the global issue, and only penalizes the NewYork producer.

In a related article, PETA asks Ben & Jerry’s to use Human Breast Milk to make their ice cream because:

“producing milk from cows for human consumption is hazardous to the animals and to the people who are drinking it.”
MONTPELIER — The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream this week to consider using human breast milk instead of cow’s milk in their products.

PETA, an animal rights and vegetarian organization known for outrageous stunts, sent a letter to company co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield on Tuesday saying consumers and cows would benefit from a switch to human breast milk.

“The breast is best!” wrote PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in the letter to the company. “Won’t you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow’s milk to breast milk in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream?”

Sources:

New York Farm Bureau

159 Wolf Road, PO Box 5330
Albany, NY 12205-0330
518-436-8495 / 800-342-4143
www.nyfb.org

Take action on this and other issues at the New York Farm Bureau Action Alerts web page

Rutland Herald