President Biden’s recent proposal to cut 50-52% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 got people talking…a lot. And not necessarily for good reason.
The meat of the matter: After the announcement, a British news site suggested that to reach those levels, Americans would have to reduce their meat intake by 90%, or a max of four pounds of red meat per year.
Let’s just say things then went a little viral…
Other news sources took the report and ran, creating media buzz about an anti-meat agenda.
Vilsack to the rescue. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is adamantly denying the reports that the Biden Administration is trying to cut meat out of diets, saying, “There is no effort designed to limit people’s intake of beef coming out of President Biden’s White House or coming out of the USDA.”
On high alert: This plan to reduce emissions called 30X30 has been a contentious topic for those in agriculture, some citing additional concerns of potential land grabs from the government.
Again, Vilsack explained to the North American Agricultural Journalists in an interview Monday that the plan to protect 30% of land by 2030 does not mean federal overreach in taking possession of land.
Rather, Vilsack says there is no intent to take land away from farmers, and the goal is to “give farmers opportunities.”