Big meat's big PR investments are blocking climate action
July 10, 2023
As big oil and gas PR tactics remain under scrutiny, big meat’s lobby flies under the radar and deals some serious blows to the race to decarbonise.
By Nour Ghantous
The meat lobby blocked the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s attempt to recommend a shift to plant-based diets, show comparisons between the draft Working Group III report leaked in 2021 by activist group Scientist Rebellion and the final, published version. Instead of the initial wording, which included a note that “plant-based diets can reduce GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions by up to 50% compared to the average emission-intensive Western diet”, the IPCC’s Working Group III final report instead suggests “balanced, sustainable healthy diets acknowledging nutritional needs”, without explaining what a sustainable diet is and leaving out the reference to meat-heavy and emissions-intensive Western diets.
It was Argentina’s Secretary for Climate Change, Rodrigo Rodriguez Tornquist, who requested the language be changed, according to documents seen by Greenpeace Unearthed, the NGO’s investigative unit. Brazil’s foreign minister also sought to remove wording stating that a shift to diets with a higher share of “plant-based protein” in regions where people eat an excess of calories and animal-based foods could lead to substantial reductions in GHG emissions and provide health benefits, reveals Unearthed.
The Brazilian reviewer wrote: “It cannot be assumed that plant-based diets and healthy diets are the same, that both will have a low environmental impact or that a sustainable diet will be healthy.” Brazil and Argentina are two of the world’s biggest producers of beef and animal feed.
The influence of the meat industry is reminiscent of the influence of the oil and gas industry, where governments have failed to include a mention of winding down or halting oil and gas production in the outcomes of UN climate conferences.
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A land use war
Brazil’s efforts to silence criticism against meat – one of its most lucrative exports – run deeper and more sinister than editing reports.
It has been one year since the deaths of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous peoples expert Bruno Pereira, who were killed by illegal fishers while returning by boat from reporting on illegal activities in the Amazon. The attacks are suspected to have been premeditated, reported the BBC on 5 June, as suggested by fresh evidence based on conversations held by the killers in their cells. In May, developments in the case resulted in two former government officials, the former president and vice-president of Brazil's National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples agency, being indicted over the murders.
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https://www.energymonitor.ai/sectors/industry/big-meats-big-pr-investments-are-blocking-climate-action/
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