Big Meat and Dairy corporations have blocked 10 environmental policies in the European Green Deal and influenced the removal of New Zealand’s agriculture emissions tax. Picture: Laurent Gillieron
A major report published by the Changing Markets Foundation on July 17, exposes the systematic tactics used by leading meat and dairy companies to obstruct climate action.
“The New Merchants of Doubt,” the largest investigation of its kind, scrutinises 22 of the largest global meat and dairy companies, including Danish Crown, Tyson Foods, JBS, Fonterra, and Nestlé, across four continents.
The report reveals how Big Meat and Dairy corporations, alongside their powerful trade groups, have derailed key environmental policies. They have blocked 10 environmental policies in the European Green Deal and influenced the removal of New Zealand’s agriculture emissions tax.
These corporations also secured lenient measures in the Global Methane Pledge and the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The lobby group Copa-Cogeca is highlighted for its fear mongering tactics, falsely claiming that green policies harm small farmers.
The investigation uncovers conflicts of interest 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 over 600 top-level meetings between Big Meat and Dairy lobbies and the European Commission in the last decade. Internal memos show the European Dairy industry group's success in keeping methane out of air quality legislation, with plans to maintain this in upcoming law revisions.
The investigation highlights how the meat and dairy industry targets younger generations with misleading advertising campaigns on social media.
Companies like Dairy Farmers of America use YouTube influencers to claim milk helps reduce emissions, while Arla’s UK subsidiary urges Gen-Z not to ‘cancel’ dairy.
Evidence indicates that these companies spend minimal amounts on low-carbon solutions but invest heavily in advertising. Brazilian-based JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, spends just 0.03% of its revenue on its net-zero plan, while companies like Fonterra, Nestlé, and Arla spend more on advertising than on climate solutions.
Food systems contribute to approximately one-third of global emissions, with 60% from animal agriculture.
Despite this, the report found that only 15 of the 22 companies have a net-zero target, and none meet UN standards. The industry’s net-zero plans mainly focus on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, ignoring Scope 3, where 90% of emissions occur.
The industry promotes controversial techno-fixes, such as seaweed feed additives for cattle, which often offer marginal emissions reductions and are rarely scaled up.
Instead, the industry lobbies for taxpayers to fund these solutions, with the USDA receiving $20 billion through the IRA to fund them. The report also uncovers the industry’s misuse of the GWP* methane metric to downplay livestock’s climate impact.
This metric is being promoted in major beef and dairy-exporting countries, including Ireland and New Zealand. Oxford Professor Myles Allen and UC Davis’s Frank Mitloehner, both funded by industry groups, use this metric to argue for reduced climate impact claims.
Nusa Urbancic, CEO of the Changing Markets Foundation, said, “This report exposes the blatant hypocrisy of Big Meat and Dairy. They 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.”
Dr Paul Behrens, Associate Professor of Environmental Change at Leiden University, added, “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 the industry manipulates the price and types of food we eat.”
The report results from an 18-month collaboration among 15 investigative journalists and expert researchers. It incorporates findings from freedom of information requests and features case studies from the US, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, UK, and Italy.
IOL