Like petty potentates throughout history, Columbus city leaders have decreed the commoners should have less meat on their tables.
After seizing England’s throne in 1066, William the Conqueror declared much of the country as royal forest, reserved for the king’s hunting. His heirs even cut off poachers’ hands so they couldn’t draw a bow to feed their families. Almost 1,000 years later, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and a unanimous vote of City Council determined that William might have had a good idea after all — minus the limb-lopping, of course.
Last month, these politicians affixed their names — on our behalf — to “The Plant-Based Treaty.” While their endorsement is nonbinding, the “treaty” is nonetheless an animal-rights activist ploy couched in the all-purpose, power-seizing language of climate change.
If enacted as written, it would accomplish much of what William’s forest law did — making meat scarcer and costlier for ordinary people. It would also do essentially nothing to save the planet. But preying on people’s climate fears is a convenient ploy to create economic and legal barriers to eating meat.
Ignoring consumer demand and population growth, the treaty’s 40 proposals include banning all new or expanded animal farms and new meatpacking plants, effectively limiting the meat supply to current levels. Combined with the treaty’s proposed new taxes on meat and the gaseous emissions from the animals themselves, prices would rise even faster than that hot air.
Lest anyone think that taxing cow farts is just a crude joke, Denmark’s parliament passed a law in 2024 that will levy methane taxes of nearly $250 per cow by 2035.
Back in Columbus, Council member Christopher Wyche headlined the promotional Plant-Based Treaty video featuring vegan foods. He acknowledged he isn’t vegan but said he enjoys vegan dishes from time to time. So do I.
My wife and I have vegan friends and, being the consummate hostess, she eagerly seeks out recipes we might all enjoy together. But because our friends aren’t overbearing scolds, they don’t expect or demand that we follow their dietary habits.
While the metaphor might vex a vegan, most government proclamations are little more than benign bones politicians toss to friendly constituencies. This one is different: It explicitly endorses the treaty itself. By the treaty’s own definition, that means Columbus citizens are “expressing their support for national governments to come together to negotiate a global Plant Based Treaty, including the three core principles and 40 suggested proposals.”
I share City Council’s desire for a cleaner environment and healthier diet. But there are far more effective and less costly ways to achieve those goals.
Environmental stewardship tends to follow prosperity, not austerity. A nation’s wealth is “a strong predictor” of its environmental performance. Taxing food doesn’t help.
And according to a Penn State estimate, the massive herds of bison, elk, and deer that once roamed what is now the United States produced nearly as much methane as today’s cattle, sheep, and goats.
In addition, most current grazing land can’t be converted to food crops, and well-managed integrated crop/livestock systems can be better for soil health.
Council’s resolution says the treaty promotes “healthier, more sustainable plant-based diets.” But animal foods are often a better and more complete source of nutrients that are difficult or impossible to get from plants. Vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, and choline are particularly important for children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Supplements can fill some gaps, but they aren’t always as effective as food. And a family juggling several of them faces costs and complications that a hamburger, a carton of eggs, and a gallon of milk don’t.
Animal agriculture supplies food the overwhelming majority of Americans prefer. It’s also a vital part of our state’s economy. Livestock, poultry, dairy, and eggs brought Ohio farmers nearly $7 billion in 2022 sales. More than 40,000 Ohioans work on livestock farms, not even counting the many more thousands of processors, truckers, and grocers they support.
None of that seems to have crossed Council’s mind. Its resolution boasts that the endorsement solidifies Columbus’s “status as a climate leader.” Kings, too, mistook proclamations for leadership. At least William knew what his forest laws said. Did Council members even read all 40 proposals before signing them on our behalf? If so, they owe voters an explanation. If not, a retraction.
Marie Antoinette probably never said, “Let them eat cake.” But Columbus leaders will still be able to afford their steak, while the rest of us will be stuck with the spinach.