Even if a French dairy company starts putting diapers and masks on cows as it has proposed, don’t expect any Wyoming farmers or ranchers to follow its example.
Danone announced earlier this month its plans to combat climate change by attempting to capture methane gasses through the use of facemarks, diapers and improving cows’ diets.
The director of public and governmental affairs for the Wyoming Farm Bureau said his first reaction to a FOX News story discussing the proposal was “unprintable,” but upon composing himself said the idea was “asinine.”
“I just can’t come up with proper words for this,” Brett Mollne said while laughing.
“It tells me we have a damn good life if people are worried about things like this,” he said.
Reducing Emissions
A spokesperson for Danone said the company’s goal is to reduce cattle emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
Moline said before putting masks and diapers on cattle, someone is going to have to do something about wildlife.
“What about deer, elk, moose, antelope?” Moline questioned. “They’re processing and producing methane too. You’re going to have to put diapers and masks on all of our wildlife too.”
Moline said masks really aren’t enough, however.
“You’re going to need some type of agent to neutralize the methane so we better mass produce cow gas masks if we’re serious about this,” he said.
Disappointing
Moline said that, in “all seriousness,” the whole conversation was “disappointing.”
That’s because there are people who have real needs, he said, mentioning those who don’t have heat, a home or enough to eat.
“And we’re more worried about putting diapers and face masks on livestock rather than about taking care of those people,” Moline said. “Where are our priorities?”
Ludicrous
Jim Magagna, the executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, sighed when he saw the report.
Things have become much more ludicrous over the last 10 years, not to mention unrealistic, he said.
“So much of this just defies logic,” Magagna said. “It’s ridiculous to think about.”
He said no one is going to put diapers on cows, nor should they.
“Fertilizing our soils encourage healthier plant growth, which in turn leads to more carbon dioxide sequestration,” he said.
“Over time, these cows are contributing less to climate change because they’re helping our soils sequester more carbon,” he said.
Misplaced Priorities
Moline compared the conversation to the outrage former Denver Broncos football player Derek Wolfe was receiving for taking down a mountain lion that had been killing dogs in a Denver suburb.
“They’d rather have people get killed because that’s what was going to happen next,” he said.
If a mountain lion was in town, that means things are pretty tough out in the country, he said.
“The easiest prey will be a child,” he said. “That was coming.”
“Our priorities are out of whack,” Moline said.
