Liz Warren Dismisses Iowa Farmer’s Concerns That Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Might Kill His Cows

Sen. Elizabeth Warren appeared to dismiss an Iowa farmer’s fears that the Green New Deal might destroy what he considers the backbone of the American agricultural system.

The Massachusetts Democrat took a moment out of her presidential campaign Thursday to discuss the plight of Iowa’s farmlands with a man who came prepared to tell her why he believes the progressive climate plan could negatively affect the country’s bovine. She gave a word reply: “Ehhh.”

Warren is visiting Iowa right now as she tries to make inroads with rural communities ahead of the 2020 presidential election. She rolled out plans Wednesday that seek to increase government investments in rural America and build what she calls a “new farm economy.”

The GND resolution calls for a World War II-style mobilization effort to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural operations. If that’s the case, that means any subsequent “Green New Deal” legislation would have to deal with a major source of methane emissions — cow flatulence and burps. The initial version of the resolution appears to flesh out a solution.

“We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast,” reads the initial version of the resolution’s fact-sheet, which was published on the internet in February. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s staffers removed “farting” from fact-sheet.

Methane makes up 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that scientists blame for global warming. Enteric fermentation, the digestive process in cows and other ruminant animals, is the largest source of U.S. methane emissions, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.

Warren’s campaign has not responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment about the nature of her interaction with the farmer.