Inside big beef’s climate messaging machine: confuse, defend and downplay | Beef | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/03/beef-industry-public-relations-messaging-machineThat’s not to say that all beef production is inherently unsustainable. In the right ecological context, and with the right management practices, cattle can help maintain soil health while yielding nutrient-dense edible protein in return, among other benefits. But the truth is that we already eat too much beef for the planet’s good. The world can’t afford the rise in global beef consumption that experts predict – while wealthier nations, whose residents have the most emissions-intensive diets, could make rapid climate gains by choosing to eat less.
This narrative is one that industry-aligned interests badly want to extinguish. Through blog posts, videos, educational assets, op-eds, TV ads, social media campaigns, trained influencers and other channels – many described here for the first time – the industry is trying to convince us all of what the science definitely doesn’t show: that dietary change has no role in climate strategy.