“Farting cows” have been buzzing on social media after the Green New Deal was announced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Many people are taking the opportunity to have a laugh by sharing MEMEs and cartoons about the controversial legislative, non-binding proposal.
The term “farting cows” started floating around after a FAQ sheet was released by Ocasio-Cortez’s office on Feb. 7 that mentioned the difficulty in getting “rid of farting cows” to reach zero emissions goals.
The statement on cows has since been backed away by Ocasio-Cortez, but it didn’t stop President Trump from taking a jab at the idea of not being able to “own cows anymore” during a recent rally.
There has also been criticism from farmers, ranchers and other social media users who have taken to platforms like Twitter and Facebook to have a laugh about “farting cows”:
A little Monday humor. #CowFarts. Actually they burp. pic.twitter.com/wv6nbEjMpk
— Sean Arians (@ag_guy04) February 11, 2019
Guys, i figured out how to save the planet pic.twitter.com/cn6a763eFU
— Jacob Reinecker (@jsreinecker) February 13, 2019
Cows For Trump! #CowFarts #GreenNewDisaster #GreeNewDeal @AOC @benshapiro @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/2yMZAj1JUS
— Uncle Bosey (@galantz28x) February 8, 2019
Wait....she really doesn’t want to regulate cow farts? pic.twitter.com/lMO5xpvFcd
— PardonMyFrench (@1PardonMyFrench) February 8, 2019
Despite the rhetoric on “cow farts” the methane gas that cattle emit is actually from cow burps that happen during the rumination process. Here are a few graphics and videos that address the issue:
Heard that cows are gassy? Please know that it’s burps (well, technically eructation), not farts. Cow farts are #fakenews. When cattle eat more grains, like 🌽, their methane emissions are ⬇️. Methane is an odorless gas. Methane from beef cattle is 1.9% of US GHGs accding to EPA pic.twitter.com/VB4wRFHAZ3
— Sara Place (@drsplace) February 14, 2019
Has someone ever told you cow farts are causing climate change? Watch this to get the facts on methane #ClimateFoodFacts #FactsNotFear #yes2meat pic.twitter.com/rpOFf3rUig
— Meat Institute (@MeatInstitute) January 17, 2019
Cow burps actually emit more carbon than cow farts. 🐄🐮
— VICE Canada (@vicecanada) January 3, 2019
(via @getstack) pic.twitter.com/0kyVO1RijM
And if you needed a little pep talk for your cows listen to Oregon dairy farmer Derrick Josi’s speech that he offered to his Jerseys:
