New Zealand just revealed a plan to fight climate change by taxing farmers for their livestock's emissions beginning in 2025. This new type of "gas tax" would make them the first nation in the world to tax the belching and flatulence of animals.
I'm not sure how taxing burps would actually reduce the gases that cows and sheep are emitting with their bodily functions, but at least the government can earn a few bucks. Or maybe some farmers would rather kill their livestock (and livelihood) than fork over more money to the government.
According to the Daily Wire, the actual plan is meant to
...incentivize farmers to reduce methane emissions via additives to animal feed or carbon capture methods such as planting more trees on farms. The revenue from the tax would finance research and development as well as advisory services for farmers.
Andrew Hoggard, the president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand, told the BBC,
We've been working with the government and other organisations on this for years to get an approach that won't shut down farming in New Zealand, so we've signed off on a lot of stuff we're happy with.
Shutting down farming in New Zealand would definitely be a worse alternative, but ultimately that seems to be what the radical climate change activists want. I just wish they would realize that cows are gonna keep on farting whether we eat beef or not, so we might as well just enjoy that steak.
Medium-rare, please!
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