Carbon tax on beef? Ain't gonna happen in North America, no matter how much those cows belch. The farm/ranch lobby is very powerful in both the US and Canada and they have disproportionate direct political power in both countries because a rural vote carries much more weight than an urban vote. No matter that the lobby is skewed to protect big corporate agriculture.
But, in the coming at it from another angle dept. - at the Vancouver cleantech forum last week a private Saskatchewan company pitched their recycled carbon products one of which is a pure carbon, cattle feed additive. It is well established by peer reviewed research that the carbon added improves nutrient uptake, improves cattle health and so reduces antibiotic use, and reduces methane farting and belching. The company produces food grade carbon by recycling mostly waste wood but also agricultural waste.
The same company, Titan Clean Energy Products, manufactures and markets other recycled carbon products including an additive for soils, so called biochar. Biochar soils, terra preta as they are known in Latin America, are extremely fertile soils in the Amazon with a high carbon content derived from deliberately added wood charcoal. They are very resistant to nutrient leaching - some of the Terra Preta soils, easily dated because of the carbon content, have been cropped for 1000-1500 years. There is more and more research (from a group at Cornell Univ and another group in Sweden) showing that carbon added to temperate zone soils has a similar effect in building nutrient stores while at the same time permanently sequestering carbon.
Titan has also developed a market for carbon with a large plastic auto parts manufacturer that uses it as an additive in plastic moldings, up to 10% by weight. It adds strength and reduces costs.
Titan is a small startup, already with a significant revenue stream, at the stage of rapid scale up and looking for $10-20 million or so to take them to larger volume production. They are confident their markets can be scaled internationally. The gyro gearloose, MacGyver types who started the company recognize that they need to make way for manufacturing process, financial and marketing management expertise to take the company to the next level. The young co pres. said one of the next steps needed is to replace him. Not your usual outfit.