At Cop28, big meat companies to present meat as ‘sustainable nutrition’

The big meat companies as well as lobby groups have been planning to make their major presence at the Cop28 climate conference with their communications plan which is aimed at making a pro-meat statement in front of policymakers across the summit.

As reported by The Guardian, the meat industry has been planning to “tell its story and tell it well” at the Dubai conference. In the file, the details showed how the world’s largest meat company JBS has been planning to come out in “full force” during the summit, along with other big industry leaders like the Global Dairy Platform and the North American Meat Institute.

The documents, which belonged to the industry-funded Global Meat Alliance (GMA), emphasise the desire of the industry to promote “our scientific evidence” at the summit.

The members of the alliance have been appealed to stick to the main comms message which says that meat is beneficial for the environment.

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Dairy and meat companies have been under increasing pressure because of their large greenhouse gas footprints. It has been said that the dairy industry is responsible for nearly 3.4 per cent of global human-induced emissions, which is more than aviation's share.

Positive livestock content at Cop28

In the documents, the trade groups have given some indication of how they plan to shape conversations in Dubai. One stated that it will “push” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization to host “positive livestock content” at Cop28. 

Recently, it was reported by The Guardian that the pressure from the industry resulted in the censorship of FAO reports on the role played by cattle in increasing the emission of greenhouse gases. Animal agriculture is one of the biggest emitters of methane, a greenhouse gas which is 80 times more potent in comparison to carbon dioxide when measured across 20 years. 

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Scientists stated that unless they take swift action, methane emitted from agriculture will alone push the world beyond a 1.5C (2.7F) increase in temperature which is above preindustrial levels and increases the risk of pushing the world into irreversible climate breakdown.

“These companies are stepping up their game because the exposure they are facing is stepping up,” said Jennifer Jacquet, professor of environmental science and policy at the University of Miami, while speaking to The Guardian. “It used to be that they were caught on the back foot, but now they’re completely prepared," she added.

(With inputs from agencies)