New Report Exposes Meat & Dairy Industry’s Climate Obstruction Tactics
- Big Meat and Dairy’s global influence is exposed by analysing 22 of the largest meat and dairy companies across four continents, alongside their powerful trade groups
- Revolving doors, conflicts of interest, and privileged access to top policymakers allow the global livestock industry to block emissions monitoring and regulation
- Industry giants misuse the controversial GWP* methane metric to downplay livestock’s climate impact, funding scientists to pull the wool over policymakers’ eyes.
- Greenwashing tactics, false climate claims, and targeted disinformation to Gen Z underscore the urgent need for stricter legislation on the meat and dairy industry.
A major new report published by the Changing Markets Foundation today exposes the systematic tactics used by leading meat and dairy companies to distract, delay, and derail climate action.
“The New Merchants of Doubt” is the largest investigation of its kind, spanning four continents and scrutinising the top 22 global meat and dairy companies, including Danish Crown, Tyson Foods, JBS, Fonterra, and Nestlé. Reminiscent of the tobacco and fossil fuel industries, the report reveals how Big Meat and Dairy convince policymakers of agricultural exceptionalism and downplay their climate impact through misleading science on methane emissions and promoting their preferred solutions, such as voluntary techno-fixes.
Dirty Tricks: Lobbying and Political Manipulation Exposed
The report delves into how Big Meat and Dairy corporations and their trade groups derailed 10 environmental policies promised in the European Green Deal and New Zealand’s recently scrapped agriculture emissions tax. They also secured an all-carrot and no-stick approach to agriculture in the Global Methane Pledge and the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – Biden’s flagship climate policy.
The powerful lobby group Copa-Cogeca employs tactics like intimidation and fearmongering about double regulation, food security, and ‘emissions leakage’. It falsely claims green policies harm small farmers, even though smaller and younger farmers feel unrepresented by the group.
The investigation uncovers conflicts of interest, with politicians benefiting from the agricultural subsidies they are meant to reform and revolving doors where policy experts cycle between the industry and public office. A prominent example is US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, former US Dairy Export Council president.
Freedom of information documents reveal Big Meat and Dairy lobbies’ extraordinary political access, with over 600 top-level meetings with the European Commission in the last decade. Internal memos uncover how the leading European Dairy industry group celebrated keeping methane out of air quality legislation and is gearing up to keep it this way in the upcoming law revisions slated for 2025.
Spend Pennies on Climate Solutions, Millions on Adverts
The investigation shows that the Big Meat and Dairy industry is especially concerned about younger generations, who consume less meat and dairy than previous generations. Therefore, it targets Gen Z with misleading advertising campaigns on TikTok and Instagram, falsely pushing meat and dairy as sustainable and healthier choices in high-consumption countries like the US and UK, against WHO recommendations. Industry giants are supported by PR consultants and agencies, including firms like Edelman, which has a notorious history of aiding Big Oil and Tobacco in crafting persuasive narratives.
Evidence points to a Dairy Farmers of America campaign that used YouTube influencers to claim milk helps reduce emissions. In the EU, Arla’s UK subsidiary has called on Gen-Z not to ‘cancel’ dairy over similar concerns about young people’s purchasing intent.
Insights indicate that Big Meat and Dairy companies spend pennies on low-carbon solutions but more on advertising. JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, spends just 0.03% of its revenue on its net-zero plan, while Fonterra, Nestlé, and Arla spend more on advertising than climate solutions.
Net-Zero Scam: Weak Targets, Passing Costs to Taxpayers
Food systems contribute to approximately one-third of global emissions, with 60% from animal agriculture – the largest source of man-made methane. Yet only 15 of the 22 Big Meat and Dairy companies have a net-zero target, and none meet UN standards. Danone is the only company with a specific methane target. Net-zero plans largely focus on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, while 90% of these companies’ emissions come from Scope 3. In Scope 3, the focus is often on insetting via ill-defined regenerative practices, emissions intensity reductions, or yet unproven techno-fixes, such as seaweed feed additives for cattle.
These greenwashing techno-fixes, still in development, often need to be proven or offer marginal emissions reductions. However, if a techno-fix proves promising, the industry rarely scales it up due to cost. Instead, the Big Meat and Dairy industry lobbies for taxpayers to foot the bill: the USDA has received $20 billion through the IRA to fund these techno-fixes but will only investigate any climate benefits later.
Fake Science: Twisting Methane Metrics to Hide Climate Impact
The latest scientific trick the industry pulled out of its sleeve is the controversial GWP* methane metric, which downplays livestock’s climate impact. At least ten Big Meat and Dairy industry groups across four continents promote GWP*, and this deceptive metric is currently considered for adoption in large beef and dairy exporting countries such as Ireland and New Zealand.
Oxford Professor Myles Allen, whose research group receives funding from Beef and Lamb New Zealand and the National Farmers Union, invented this metric. Meanwhile, Frank Mitloehner from the industry-funded UC Davis CLEAR center uses the metric to argue that minor methane reductions make the industry ‘climate neutral’ or even contribute to ‘cooling’.
Nusa Urbancic, CEO of the Changing Markets Foundation, stated: “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. These tactics mirror those of Big Oil and Big Tobacco, allowing them to continue their harmful practices unchecked.”
“Livestock methane emissions are a major driver of climate change, creating a crisis for the environment, public health, and future food security. Instead of addressing this issue seriously, our research reveals that Big Meat and Dairy, including major global brands, have lobbied against progressive legislation, greenwashed their products to mislead consumers, and resisted the shift towards healthier, plant-based diets. 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.”
Dr Paul Behrens, Associate Professor of Environmental Change at Leiden University stated: “We had Big Tobacco, we had Big Oil, now we have Big Meat and Dairy. The New Merchants of Doubt is a stunning exposé of Big Meat and Dairy tactics. The report outlines specific and egregious examples of misinformation campaigns, greenwashing, and political interference. It clarifies how industry manipulates the price and types of food we eat.”
The New Merchants of Doubt results from an 18-month collaboration among 15 investigative journalists and expert researchers. It incorporates the findings from freedom of information requests and features case studies from the US, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, UK, and Italy.
The full report and summary are available for review here.
Media contacts
For more information, images, and interview requests, please contact:
Katie Roche, Changing Markets Foundation
E: katie.roche@changingmarkets.org T: +44 7751675733
Notes to Editors
The companies investigated for this report include:
Arla, Bigard, Cargill, DFA, Danish Crown, Danone, DMK, Fonterra, FrieslandCampina, Itoham, JBS, Lactalis, Marfrig, Mengniu, Nestle, NH Foods Group, OSI Group, Saputo, Tyson, Vion, WH Group, Yili.
About the Report
A groundbreaking report titled “The New Merchants of Doubt: Big Meat and Dairy’s Corporate Playbook to Distract, Delay, and Derail Climate Action” exposes Big Meat and Dairy’s deceptive practices, including false climate claims, targeted marketing to younger audiences, and misleading science to downplay methane emissions. The investigation, which analysed the actions of 22 of the largest meat and dairy companies across four continents, highlights the urgent need for stringent and transparent climate commitments.
It reveals how these industries derail meaningful climate action globally through voluntary climate commitments, greenwashing claims, disproportionate investments in advertising over low-carbon solutions, and extensive political engagement.
The research for the report involved more than 15 expert researchers and investigative journalists and took place between February 2023 and June 2024.
About Changing Markets Foundation
The Changing Markets Foundation partners with NGOs on market-focused campaigns. Its mission is to expose irresponsible corporate practices and drive change towards a more sustainable economy.
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