One Nebraska Congressman is not happy with some of the ideas coming out of the recent COP-28 event in Dubai. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization released a memo wanting the Western Hemisphere to eat less red meat. Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) introduced a resolution in the House pushing back against that idea.
“I thought whoa, the global elitists are up to it again. When you live in Nebraska and you hear what’s coming out of Dubai, it’s so nonsensical. Your first reaction is, ‘Who are these people and where did they come from?’ If we don’t push back when this stuff is said, you never know who buys into this garbage and all of this stuff going on in Dubai with all the world leaders. They’re serving big juicy, fat hamburgers at the conference, which I think is fantastic, but yet they want to reduce beef consumption in the name of climate change.”
Farmers and ranchers are the best environmentalists in the world.
“The true environmentalists are the farmers and ranchers that live and work in places like Nebraska in the middle of our country. We have more invested in the future health of the lands that we work in and the ecosystem that we contribute to. But one of the things that I think has gone completely off the rails is this idea that if we get rid of beef, somehow the world’s going to be better off, and the reality is there are a lot of places in this world that won’t be fed if beef producers are on the sidelines.”
Beef is the most efficient way to deliver protein to hungry people around the world. Flood says even other commodity groups recognize that fact.
“It only takes three ounces of beef to deliver the same amount of protein and three cups of quinoa. It’s one of the most efficient ways to deliver protein. In our beef state, cattle are a critical part of the Golden Triangle that’s supplying clean ethanol fuel around the world. I just met with a bunch of biofuels folks this morning, and they were reacting to this and just shaking their heads about what a disaster it would be if this got any traction. And the support that I’m getting from my colleagues in the House has been tremendous.”
He’s expecting a similar resolution to be introduced in the Senate.