Greenpeace has accused the meat and dairy industries of producing emissions equivalent to that of the fossil fuel sector.
According to a study by Greenpeace Nordic, the estimated emissions of 29 meat and dairy companies rival those of the 100 biggest corporations in fossil fuels, however it also suggested that 'systematic changes in production and consumption' could have a significant effect in addressing this.
Greenpeace said that if left unregulated, the meat and dairy sector could heat up the world by an additional 0.32°C by 2050.
However, by shifting away from industrial-scale meat and dairy production, and increasing consumption of plant-based food, it would be possible to 'meaningfully slow down' climate heating.
'The Pathway Is Clear'
"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," commented 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."
'A Free Pass'
Greenpeace said that it is targeting the meat and dairy sectors in order to increase the transparency of both when it comes to emissions, suggesting that meat and dairy firms 'routinely greenwash their climate impacts', adding that governments regularly give them a 'free pass' on climate action.
“Governments have to step up to the plate and drive the investments and rules that will get us on this hopeful pathway," Sharma added.
"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."
