Meat and dairy giants have been accused of derailing global climate action in a new report analysing the actions of some of the largest companies in the sector.
The report, titled ‘The New Merchants of Doubt’, by the Changing Markets Foundation, accused some of the world’s biggest food businesses of convincing policy makers of “agricultural exceptionalism”, delpoying “PR hype” and downplaying their impact on climate breakdown through “misleading science on methane emissions”.
The investigation, published today, spanned four continents and scrutinised the top 22 global meat and dairy companies including, Danish Crown, Tyson Foods, JBS, Fonterra and Nestlé. It followed 18-months of work from 15 investigative journalists and expert researchers.
Insights included claims companies such as Arla, Fonterra and Nestlé were spending more on advertising than climate change solutions, while JBS spent just 0.3% of its global revenue on its net zero plan.
Only 15 of the 22 companies in the report had a net zero target and none met UN standards. Danone was the only business to have formulated a specific methane reduction target.
The net zero plans of these companies focused largely on scope 1 and 2 emissions, despite 90% of emissions coming via scope 3 – an area where companies’ targets were far more vague, with businesses typically setting “ill-defined regenerative practices, emissions intensity reductions or yet unproven fixes such as seaweed feed additives for cattle”.
The companies and their trade groups derailed ten environmental policies promised in the European Green Deal, plus New Zealand’s recently scrapped agriculture emissions tax, the report claimed.
It added that the companies had also secured an “all-carrot and no-stick” approach to agriculture in the Global Methane Pledge and US Inflation Reduction Act.
European farming group Copa-Cogeca was accused of employing tactics like intimidation and fearmongering about double regulation and food security and emissions leakage.
Read more: Calls for UN report on meat consumption impact to be retracted
The report also revealed that meat and dairy lobbies had held over 600 top level meetings with the European Commission in the past decade.
Companies were also accused of targeting younger generations who consume less meat and dairy with “misleading” advertising campaigns on TikTok and Instagram pushing meat and dairy against World health Organization recommendations.
These adverts include one from Dairy Farmers of America that used YouTubers to claim milk helps reduce emissions and one from Arla in the UK calling on Gen-Z not to ‘cancel’ dairy over similar concerns about young people’s purchasing intent.
’Distract, delay and derail meaningful action’
“This report exposes the blatant hypocrisy of big meat and dairy, which claim to be committed to climate solutions while employing deceptive tactics to distract, delay and derail meaningful action,” said Nusa Urbancic, CEO of the Changing Markets Foundation.
“These tactics mirror those of big oil and big tobacco, allowing them to continue their harmful practices unchecked.
“Instead of addressing this issue seriously, our research reveals they have lobbied against progressive legislation, greenwashed products to mislead consumers and resisted the shift towards healthier plant-based diets,” she added.
Changing Markets’ report also claimed the Global Warming Potential (GWP) methane metric had been used by and promoted by at least ten scrutinised companies, with data part of action to downplay livestock’s climate impact. The metric was created by an Oxford professor who had received funding from Beef and Lamb New Zealand and the NFU, the report highlighted.
Meanwhile, Frank Mitloehner from the industry-funded UC Davis CLEAR Center used the metric to argue that minor methane reductions made the industry ‘climate neutral’ or even contribute to ‘cooling’, it added.
“This report further proves that the real battle lies not in telling people what to eat but in regulating corporate interests and reining their influence to derail the efforts to address the climate crisis,” said Urbancic. “Livestock methane emissions are a major driver of climate change, creating a crisis for the environment, public health, and future food security.”
It follows the publication of a letter to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization earlier this month, signed by more than 100 organisations and academics, which called on the body to retract a key report they claimed downplayed the impact of reduced meat intake on agricultural emissions.
Elsewhere, findings from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit this week revealed progress on emissions reduction for farming and land use in the UK was “significantly off target” with progress lagging behind to such an extent the sector could become the UK’s biggest emitter by the mid-2030s.
This week also saw the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee publish its assessment that only a third of emission reductions required to achieve the country’s 2030 target were currently covered by credible plans.
While emissions have fallen by 50% since 1990, largely due to the phasing out of coal and the ramping up of renewable energy production, the committee called for new and ambitious action to meet net zero targets.
All companies mentioned in this story were approached by The Grocer for comment.
JBS said in a statement that it invested “millions of dollars into operational efficiency, renewable energy generation, waste reduction, circular economy businesses, and supply chain initiatives to work with farmers to help improve their performance and reduce impacts”.
All these addressed GHG emissions from its operations ”and help to address climate impacts in our supply chains”, it added.
”We believe agriculture has an essential role to play in the climate change solution and that companies like JBS can and should help lead collective action.”
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