February 2025 Newsletter – No more #Dairytales
Dairytales: Arla’s smokescreen for its lack of climate action
At the beginning of February, Changing Markets Foundation joined forces with Greenpeace Nordic to launch a report on dairy giant, Arla.
This report is an in-depth analysis of Arla’s sustainability policies and proposed initiatives, revealing the failure of the multinational dairy giant to take sufficient steps to mitigate its own emissions, alongside its ongoing efforts to delay and derail wider transformation of the dairy industry and food systems. It also touches on the company’s cooperative governance and how decision-making only happens in the hands of a few of its members.
On the day of the launch, representatives from Changing Markets and Greenpeace Nordic visited Arla in its headquarters in Denmark to deliver the report and seek dialogue on its findings. A company representative was there to receive the report, but we still await for a full response from the company.
Sign the petition and tell Arla to take climate action
What’s the Vision for Agriculture in Europe?
The EU recently unveiled its new Vision for Agriculture and Food. While it is good to see the acknowledgement of the role of food in the climate crisis, this new proposal ignores methane emissions, despite the sector producing more than half of the EU’s emissions. Plant-rich diets are also missing from the Vision, which our research shows will be essential to meet climate goals and improve people’s health.
With the EU Parliament and Council deciding what happens next, it is our moment for collective action to demand real transformation in our food system.
Watch our video and sign the petition
Podcast corner
We have been invited to share some of our work on our fashion and methane campaigns at different podcast in the past couple of months.
First, our Senior Campaigner Caitlin Smith joined Adfree Cities’ Better Without Billboards podcast, to speak about how Big Meat and Dairy not only delay climate progress but actively encourage increased meat and dairy consumption, how they target Gen-Z with social media ads and influencer campaigns to drive overconsumption, even in countries already consuming too much, fuelling climate breakdown and harming public health. Listen in why holding these industries accountable and embracing plant-rich diets is essential for tackling the climate crisis.
Our second stint was our talented fashion police, Urska Trunk, who recently spoke at InFocus podcast, hosted by Lisa-Marie Bosbach, Creative Director at FairPlanet, where they broke down the findings of our latest investigation into fashion’s plastic addiction: the reason why brands keep pushing plastic-based materials; the tactics these brands use to dodge accountability; and the reason why a usual fashion sustainability hero like Patagonia is on the red list.
Listen in how Big Meat and Dairy keep us hooked on animal products
Hear more about the plastic addiction in fashion
The greenwash corner
A strange coincidence that on the same week when we launched the Dairytales report on Arla’s climate smokescreen, we bumped into this container at the breakfast buffet of the hotel we were staying at in Denmark.
As covered in the report, “climate neutral” claims have put the company on the “hot seat” with authorities in the past in Denmark, Sweden and Netherlands. In Denmark in particular, Arla agreed to remove this label in 2022, yet the remnants of this campaign are still found.
Read more about these greenwash case studies in our report, Dairytales.
In the media
- DailyMail: How asbestos and “forever chemicals” in your make-up could seriously harm your health: Mail special investigation exposes the toxic truth
- The Grocer: NGOs slam Arla for ‘greenwashing’ its reputation as ‘climate leader’
What’s inspiring us: Must-Reads, watches, and listens
- Dark Waters — documentary on forever chemicals (PFAS)
- Book: Blueprint for Revolution by Srđa Popović
- LinkedIn list: 10 fun movies everyone who cares about the environment must watch
- Podcast: Outrage + Optimism, Beyond Trump: The new frontlines for climate action
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