Republicans have claimed Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional resolutions will mean the end of ice cream, hamburgers and the US military. Where are they getting it from?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the American political right’s objet socialiste du jour, recently introduced a Green New Deal – a joint Congressional resolution with Democratic senator Ed Markey calling for a “10-year national mobilization” overhauling nearly every aspect of American society to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Those who have read through it will find a hopeful and ambitious but dry legislative document.

However, Ocasio-Cortez says that all Democratic presidential candidates support the Green New Deal, which has sent conservatives into a nonsensical tailspin, claiming it would mean the end of ice cream, hamburgers and the US military.

Much of the opposition isn’t based on the text of the deal at all, but a draft FAQ that was released by Ocasio-Cortez’s office before they quickly retracted it, saying it “doesn’t represent the GND resolution”.

Here’s a roundup:

A Fox News op-ed says that the Green New Deal “would eliminate millions of jobs in the oil, gas, and coal industries by banning nearly all fossil fuel use in just 10 years”.

Senator Marsha Blackburn told the Fox News Business Network that under the proposals “you couldn’t go grab a steak or a hamburger” because Ocasio-Cortez wanted to “end that cattle farming”.

Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) Democrat 2020 message: Elect us. We'll let caravans of MS-13 gang members come right in our open borders, but we'll stop cow farts! Sounds like a winning strategy. I think @realDonaldTrump will be reelected. https://t.co/IyVYPReE0T

Senator John Barrasso said the deal would mean the end of milkshakes and ice cream. “There’s another victim of the Green New Deal, it’s ice cream! Livestock will be banned. Say goodbye to dairy, to beef, to family farms, to ranches. American favorites like cheeseburgers and milkshake would become a thing of the past.”

Liz Cheney, the Wyoming congresswomen, said the bill would probably outlaw the entire US military.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) I think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal. It would be great for the so-called “Carbon Footprint” to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military - even if no other country would do the same. Brilliant!

Perhaps the most bizarre claim came from the co-hosts of Fox & Friends: the deal will “build trains over oceans” or even “under the water” to cut emissions.

In actuality, the proposed resolution doesn’t mention any regulations or bans whatsoever. It mostly provides broad ideological goals for legislation to aim towards, such as “guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage” for all workers.

Corbin Trent, Ocasio-Cortez’s director of communications, has since said that the goal is to reach net zero emissions, rather than no emissions at all, “because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast”.