Cattlemen's Association Explains how Cow Burps are Bad For the Climate on Fox News

NCBA CEO Colin Woodall explaining the most pressing issue facing the beef industry, climate change.

By Jim Mundorf

After two years of complete turmoil and the cattle market being so dysfunctional and manipulated that there now have been two senate hearings on the subject along with multiple continuing investigations, the NCBA has come out of their yearly convention with a strong and clear message. That message is that cattle are damaging to the environment and they are going to do something about it.

On August 12 NCBA put out a press release, Cattle Industry Commits to Climate Neutrality by 2040. In it, past NCBA President Marty Smith states, “As our country and the world examine risks associated with climate change and other sustainability challenges, our commitment to sustainability positions us to play an even bigger role in mitigating these risks in the future.” NCBA CEO Colin Woodall also went on Fox News Business to tell the world, that it is not cattle farts damaging the climate, but actually cattle belches that are doing the polluting. He also agreed that the new phenomenon’s of droughts and floods are being caused by climate change.

Simply by stating that you’re dedicated to reducing the beef industries impact on the environment, shows that you think the beef industry is currently doing great harm to the environment. It’s not. At least its not anywhere near as damaging as the media and the animal rights nuts would like you to believe. In his Fox News interview Woodall actually explains how cattle and the grasslands they inhabit reduce carbon, but then he goes on to talk about how the beef industry needs to decrease its environmental impact. This statement and press release just reaffirms the lie that the animal rights nuts started. What’s to stop a plant based meat company from taking that interview and saying, “See we told you cattle are bad for the environment, now cattlemen are admitting it. Why wait until 2040 when you could stop the pollution now by eating our plant based goop.”

Why Now

One day earlier the NCBA put out a press release bragging about the current consumer demand for beef, stating, “Beef prices are near record high, and consumer and wholesale beef demand are both at 30-year highs as the U.S. and global economy recover.” At a time when cattle producers are receiving the smallest percentage of the dollars spent on beef, these facts simply show how much of an absolute failure NCBA is when it comes to working for the cattle producer. NCBA should be completely embarrassed by the fact that demand is so high and cattle prices are so low. Unless of course their loyalties lie with beef packers.

Another interesting take away about the current demand for beef is that for the last few years consumers have been beaten over the head by the media and fake meat companies telling them cattle are destroying the environment, and everyone should stop eating beef. Now after all this, demand for beef is at a record high. So you could come to the conclusion that consumers simply don’t care about the impact of cattle, or they don’t believe the lie that the media keeps telling. This makes the timing of the NCBA’s new commitment to the environment a completely obvious attempt at changing the current subject from cattle market manipulation back to cattle’s impact on the environment. Like I said earlier, there have been two Senate hearings this summer focusing on beef packer concentration and market manipulation. The NCBA supposedly represents both the beef packer and the cattle producer, but it has now become beyond obvious where their loyalties lie.

A frightening joke

Over the past 30 years the NCBA has overseen the massive concentration of cattle feeding facilities and beef packing facilities without a word, which makes their new focus on the environment even more of a joke. The joke would be pretty funny if it wasn’t so scary. The frightening part about this is that NCBA is a political lobbying organization that controls beef checkoff dollars. Meaning they are well financed and have direct access to law makers. If they are so committed to the environment and changing the current practices to reduce cattle’s impact, what is stopping them from lobbying for more environmental regulations of the cattle industry. They already force some cattle producers to take tests and prove they handle cattle the right way through their Beef Quality Assurance program. What’s to stop them from doing the same thing with a Beef Environmental Assurance program?

If you take an objective look at what the NCBA and Beef Checkoff (practically one in the same) have accomplished over the past few years the only conclusion you can come up with is that they are a complete failure. Their job is to increase cattle producer profits by increasing beef demand. Yes, beef demand is up, but the cattle producers that pay for the checkoff to promote beef have not seen any of the increased profits from the massive profits packers are raking in. Now while most cattle producers are left wondering if there will be anything left for the next generation, the NCBA has decided that their main focus should be the environment.

The Stranglehold

The reason the NCBA is allowed to thrive while they continuously fail is because they have a stranglehold on checkoff dollars. According to my calculations, last year they received $68,578,773 from the checkoff. Unfortunately because of the way that the checkoff was set up there is only one way to change how the checkoff is distributed, and that is for the USDA to hold a referendum vote on whether to continue the checkoff as it is or to end it. Then if it can be ended a new checkoff could be created hopefully with competent leadership that has to answer for their failings. The Secretary of the USDA Tom Vilsack could ask for a referendum vote at any time. Right now there is a petition to ask the Secretary to call for a referendum vote. If you are a cattle producer and believe that you deserve a vote on how your checkoff dollars are used please sign the petition at: https://form.jotform.com/201785981248062

If you’re wondering as to how I have become so critical and biased against the NCBA, I explain how I got here in the below video.

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Jim Mundorf- Owner of Lonesome Lands and The Drover House. He also works on his families farm and cattle ranch in Iowa