Geoengineering super low carbon cows:
food and the corporate carbon economy
in a low carbon world
Climatic Change , 163135–153(2020
Jim Ormond
"... This paper examines one of the less documented examples of climate geoengineering, namely the creation of ‘super low carbon cows’... the role of the cow within the Anthropocene now extends from meat machine and sentient being to climate change saviour.
... super low carbon cows represent part of a wider climate ‘responsibilisation’ in which business interests and corporate storytelling are governing and enacting everyday mundane practices of climate engineering as part of the corporate carbon economy...
I contrast the extensive efforts to change the everyday behaviours of a cow with the limited attempts to meaningfully challenge the everyday practices, consumption lifestyles and dietary choices of the general public."
VICE reports a corporation has risen to Ormond's challenge with a cow-based vodka to compete with Beefeater Gin for a Green market share:
MILK VODKA: DOUBLING DOWN ON THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF BEEFEATER GIN |
Milk Vodka
Black Cow is a company based in England’s West Dorset and boasts they’re the only company making vodka from milk and nothing else. Well, nothing but yeast.
Jason Barber is a dairy farmer who wanted to make different stuff with milk besides cheese and grocery store milk. Since he was interested in vodka already, he made the illogical connection between the two and started distilling milk vodka. We wish we were in the room with him when he made the decision, not because we want to talk him out of it, but because we can barely imagine a situation where we’re looking between a cow and a bottle of vodka thinking, “hey, wait a minute…”
To make the spirit, the milk is separated into curds and whey, just like your nursery rhymes used to tell you. The curds are taken off to make cheese while the whey is combined with a special yeast for converting the naturally present milk sugars into alcohol. We won’t go step by step, because it’s basically the same as making other types of alcohol and the weird part is right there at the beginning. Where we said milk.
ORMOND'S BOVINE RIFF SEEMS TO CHANNEL OBAMA'S EXECUTIVE ORDER 13707 , A PRODUCTION OF JOHN PODESTA'S CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS,