The U.N.'s calls for the West to cut back on beef to fight climate change is enshrined in hypocrisy as elites at the COP28 summit in Dubai reportedly dined on gourmet food options from vendors who serve beef, and it's raising red flags for one critic who says the double standard reminds her of growing up in communist China.
"When I was growing up, the Chinese government imposed a very strict food rationing system, including limitation on meat," Helen Raleigh, senior contributor at The Federalist, told "FOX & Friends Weekend" on Sunday.
Under a strict food rationing system, coupons allowed residents to purchase two pounds of meat per month, but, due to widespread food shortages, even that wasn't guaranteed.
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"Without having meat for weeks or months, without a good source of nutrition, the Chinese people's life expectancy back in the 1960s was only 44 years. But nowadays, when Chinese people actually have more meat in their diet, the life expectancy has improved to about 77 years."
Raleigh said the shift is indicative of how ruinous government policies can be to people's well-being.
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Outrage stirred after the United Nations called on countries that allegedly over-consume meat – including the U.S. – to curb such consumption to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. For years, the U.N. has called for people to ditch animal-based diets since they allegedly "have a high impact on our planet."
Meanwhile, those attending the summit were treated to dining options that included "juicy beef" and "slabs of succulent meat," among others, according to the summit's online portal.
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., who plans to introduce a resolution condemning the U.N.'s recommendations for reducing meat consumption, told Fox News Digital that the "hypocrisy" of the global elites "never ceases to amaze."
"They’re the same ones who want working people to swear off flying at all while they get to travel to glitzy conferences on private jets to push a radical green agenda," he continued.
Raleigh branded the climate alarmists as "eco-socialist[s]," telling FOX News co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy she believes their rationales are "derived directly from the Marxist playbook."
"It's not about the climate. They don't really care about lowering global warming or helping the climate," she said.
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"Their intent is control, to control the freedom people [have] to choose how they want to live their life. They want to tell us what car to drive, what source of energy we should use, what stove we should cook a meal on, and now, they're not satisfied with those restrictions. They want to actually tell us how much to eat and what to eat on a monthly basis."
"It's all about control of freedom. It has nothing to do with the environment," she continued.
FOX News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report
