A new report by Greenpeace Nordic has found that the estimated methane emissions of 29 major meat and dairy companies rival those of the world’s reported 100 biggest fossil fuel corporations.
If the meat and dairy industry is left unregulated, it is projected to heat the world by an additional 0.32°C by 2050. In contrast, a shift away from the overproduction and overconsumption of animal products could produce a cooling effect of 0.12°C by 2050. While this may seem like a relatively modest change, research suggests that each 0.3°C of projected warming prevented by the end of the century could reduce exposure to extreme heat for 410 million people.
Titled “Turning down the heat: Pulling the Climate Emergency Brake on Big Meat and Dairy”, the Greenpeace report demonstrates that climate heating can be meaningfully slowed with a food system transition that aligns with the guidelines of the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet.
“The pathway is clear”
To increase awareness of the environmental impact of animal agriculture, Greenpeace activists worldwide visited the headquarters of major meat and dairy companies on October 9, using tactics such as banners and smoke to draw attention to their methane emissions.
“For so long, we have tiptoed around big meat and dairy companies and their unfettered growth as if they are somehow exempt from making the drastic changes required of everyone else on this planet,” said Shefali Sharma, senior agriculture campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic. “It’s always either the farmer or the consumer who has to change, while these companies decide what farmers grow, what they are paid, and what we eat. We have shown that the pathway is clear.”
Just transition
A significant body of research supports the idea that shifting away from animal products could slash emissions. In July, a report found that if alternative proteins reached half of the market share of the global protein market, agriculture and land use greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by almost a third by 2050. This would be the equivalent of removing 50% of gas-fueled cars from the road.
In both the EU and the US, meat and dairy lobbyists have been accused of using fossil fuel industry tactics to weaken climate policies, further highlighting the similarities between the industries. This has included promoting misleading narratives to sow doubt about the necessity of curbing emissions.
“Governments have to step up to the plate and drive the investments and rules that will get us on this hopeful pathway,” said Sharma. “It’s a pathway that rights wrongs in the food and agriculture sector by driving out overproduction and overconsumption of meat and dairy. It requires governments to support farmers and workers in a just transition and gives all of us a fighting chance to limit global heating while saving millions of lives and livelihoods.”
