Big Meat and Big Dairy's climate emissions put Exxon Mobil to shame | Juliette Majot and...

Big Meat and Big Dairy's climate emissions put Exxon Mobil to shame | Juliette Majot and Devlin Kuyek

Written by Juliette Majot and Devlin Kuyek

It is time to stop the dairy and meat giants from destroying the climate and shift our support to making our small farmers, herders and ranchers resilient

Did you know that three meat companies - JBS, Cargill and Tyson - are estimated to have emitted more greenhouse gases last year than all of France and nearly as much as some of the biggest oil companies like Exxon, BP and Shell?

Few meat and dairy companies calculate or publish their climate emissions. So for the first time ever, we have estimated corporate emissions from livestock, using the most comprehensive methodology created to date by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

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Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.

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[bovrill]

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.

If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. Support the Guardian – it only takes a minute. Thank you.

I'm afraid I only ever read online Guardian articles for the comedy value of the comments section.
I think it does me good to get my blood circulating a bit faster in response to some of the ridiculously ill informed bile that some people like to write.

 

[haulmblower]

I've just started a thread about this in case it got missed.

For my information why is it Ill informed?

Genuinely curious

 

[Cowabunga]

Its just another spin that is tailor made to suit the author. An author who seems to advocate smaller family farms moulded in his or her own idealised frame of how they think things should be.

 

[spin cycle]

they make a fair arguement i think.....supporting smaller farms with an eye to the environment all be it at a reduced consumption versus stimulating more consumption by making meat cheaper

 

[haulmblower]

I haven't read any other articles by the author so can't comment on that.

I read it that they were trying to reduce the cheap processed stuff


EXTRACT
These companies produce a vast amount of highly subsidized meat and dairy in a handful of countries where these products are already overconsumed. They then export their surpluses to the rest of the world, undercutting the millions of small farmers who actually do ensure food security and bombarding consumers with unhealthy processed foods.

 

[Cowabunga]

I haven't read any other articles by the author so can't comment on that.

I read it that they were trying to reduce the cheap processed stuff


EXTRACT
These companies produce a vast amount of highly subsidized meat and dairy in a handful of countries where these products are already overconsumed. They then export their surpluses to the rest of the world, undercutting the millions of small farmers who actually do ensure food security and bombarding consumers with unhealthy processed foods.

Great little essay designed specifically to appeal to certain audiences. Specifically to demonise larger companies. Great. However, you and I may be next on their agenda. We don't really know what or who is behind this and what their ultimate aim is.

Don't take it at face value.

 

[haulmblower]

Surely if they have a dream to get rid of industrial scale producers to favour small farms that will guarantee our futures

 

[Cowabunga]

Surely if they have a dream to get rid of industrial scale producers to favour small farms that will guarantee our futures

Which just goes to show how easy it is to get people on-side with a few words that people want to hear.

Caveat emptor!

 

[haulmblower]

I believe anything thats why I asked.
I suppose the secret of 'spin' is to not make it sound like spin so ignoring any references to the environment welfare and increased price for producers in case thats all spin. Would it not be beneficial to small farms if production moved away from a few companies producing on a large scale?

 

[Cowabunga]

I believe anything thats why I asked.
I suppose the secret of 'spin' is to not make it sound like spin so ignoring any references to the environment welfare and increased price for producers in case thats all spin. Would it not be beneficial to small farms if production moved away from a few companies producing on a large scale?

Where are these big companies producing on a large scale? Lampeter?

Or is it large scale Argentinian ranchers with numbers of cattle approaching six figures but which are virtually organic and certainly not intensively stocked that they object to? You know, the ones that keep the grass growing to sequestrate CO2. Or is it the Saudi dairy with 10,000 milking cows? Not many of those units in the UK, that's for sure.

Or is their 'small' anything over 25 cows? And once they achieve their aim of devastating the industry and shutting down the processing plants, will they then turn their attention to shutting down the 25 cow operation?

Be careful who you throw your hat in with unless you know 100% what is in the ring and that you will get your hat back intact.

 

[haulmblower]

I am not throwing my hat in with any one, only trying to learn more.
Thanks for your comments and perspective

 

[chaffcutter]

I notice that it is an exercise in scaremongering without a single statistic to support the argument? Pretty useless waste of words if you ask me.

 

[Bogweevil]

Are they saying the companies themselves produce the greenhouse gases or are these the greenhouse gases entrained in the production of the meat/dairy they process or both?

Perhaps they will be more forthcoming in their final report next year.

 

[llamedos]

https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5825-big-meat-and-dairy-s-supersized-climate-footprint

ABP Ireland is no 8 in the list

 

[RagnarHairybreeks]

Does a cow on a mega-ranch burp more than Daisy in the back pasture?