that is the MOST rediculous thing I have EVER heard! I myself have owned cattle and they crap themselves every five seconds! How could they even consider charging for that!?

Medium and small ranchers would all go bankrupt.

Only if they can prove that there is a definite cause-effect link...

Yes that is up in the top 10 idiotic government dumbass policy making. When they're all crying for meat because the farmers give up raising livestock just shove manure into the politicians mouth.

Why not tax the 360 million Americans who freaking fart everyday too?

No, that sounds a little silly. If they're trying to save the environment or whatever, I'm pretty sure it's humans that are killing it, not the cows. "Belching and flatulent" animals have been around for a very long time, and air quality took its dive after the industrial revolution.

There weren't that many cows then - today, I think something like half of American land is taken up by cattle. Red meat is horribly damaging to the environment...

http://www.youthink.com/questions.c...

There weren't many cows then, but there were a lot more buffalo back then- - probably in numbers comparable to the cattle population that we have today...

cow: "thbbbbbbt" that'll be $12.95

i don't think so

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. And if it even goes through, a ton of small ranchers will be forced to quit- or will because they can make more money in other ways, and then the price of meat will go up.

It's silly, it's changing a tiny part of the problem instead of a general part. It's like how they want to euthanize the majority of wild mustangs because they're eating all the vegetation- but the goverment won't say anything to the cattle farmers in the same area.

thats gross

no, if they are worried about cow farts they should figure a way to collect it from their bums and pay for it. If you lean on farmers too hard they will just stop doing it, i would - and then i hope you like the taste of fish cause thats all youd get.

I can't believe people actually answered this yes; are you joking me?? We should start charging the government taxes for their private jets and SUVs before we put taxes on cow sh*t.

On Sunday 12/7/08 - 1:18:46 AM cszulins wrote: Medium and small ranchers would all go bankrupt.

what do you consider a small rancher? 50 beef cattle seems like a high number, no?

On Sunday 12/7/08 - 1:22:17 AM handys003 wrote: Why not tax the 360 million Americans who freaking fart everyday too?

Well, only 50% of people have methanogens living inside of them, so not all farts are farts have methane in them

Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, which is why cattle farming accounts for I think 15% of our greenhouse gas emissions.

While I'm not so sure that I agree that methane generation should be so much of a concern, it does seem like this bill would benefit small farmers which I'm certainly not opposed to.

Also, if the livestock-raising practices used in this country by large farms remains legal, they should at the least be taxed. I don't know about you, but I think that if God made cows and chickens to be herbivores, than we shouldn't be feeding them the unused parts of other animals to cut costs....