By Melissa Hart Ever wonder where people get the gumption to tell the world they need to do one thing while they themselves are doing the opposite? Or simply, “Do as I say, not as I do.” That’s fine if you’re a parent, we all have to take those prerogatives at one point or another, but when one of the richest men in the world and the largest landowner in America makes a proclamation and thinks we all should agree – I don’t think so Bill. Yes, that’s right, climate-change-fear-mongering Bill Gates told Technology Review, “I do think all rich countries should move to 100 percent synthetic beef.” He has written a new book and the hypocrisy couldn’t get any louder as he jet-sets around the world in his private aircraft that consumes 486 gallons of fuel per hour while trying to convince everyone that cows emit too much methane, it’s going to ruin the climate, the world will end in 12 years and we all need to eat plastic instead of animal protein. Gates went on to say, “You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behavior of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.” In other words, if you don’t want to get used to eating fake beef, the government will wave its magic wand of regulation and make it too difficult for farmers to do their job, and they won’t be able to produce the best dietary source of animal protein, B12, zinc, selenium, iron, niacin and vitamin B6. So just pop a pill and enjoy that 3-D ribeye. I don’t think so, Bill. While you wander around in your 66,000 square foot house in Seattle, you can hide away from the real world where farmers and ranchers are adopting innovative technology. You are surrounded by producers who are capturing methane to use for power while irrigating and fertilizing crops in one application with nutrient management plans. Yes, that’s right Bill, farmers have been saving the soil, enriching the earth and producing enough food and fiber for a world to thrive for decades. Cover crops, nutrient management plans, water conservation techniques continue to be developed while you fly around telling the free-thinking citizens of this country what to eat and how to behave. While you enjoy your warm house and eat with your five-course meal, the farmers and ranchers are chipping ice in stock tanks, keeping teats from freezing and making sure lambs are jugged up with their mamas to get a good start in life. Stay in your bunker and wait for the world to end, Bill. In the meantime, we will help the rest of the world keep the lights on, their fridge filled and their bellies full.
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