The story from Vox Media investigates the relationship between environmental groups such as the WWF and the meat industry like McDonald’s and Cargill. It argues that companies use environmental groups to help greenwash their operations without having to commit to significant changes in practice.
Summary
The story from Vox Media investigates the relationship between environmental groups such as the WWF and the meat industry like McDonald’s and Cargill. It argues that companies use environmental groups to help greenwash their operations without having to commit to significant changes in practice.
Reporters at Vox estimate that WWF-US have brought in $12 million to $28.6 million in donations from various meat, dairy, fast-food and seafood companies, including Tyson Foods, Cargill and McDonald’s to name a few. Other environmental groups such as the Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund also closely collaborate with large meat and dairy companies.
The article argues by working with environmental groups that it companies’ reputation as climate leaders, but lets them set their own ambitions. They say this signals progress while maintaining business as usual. This obscures what the reporter highlights as the most important intervention to tackle climate change – rapidly shrinking livestock population and shifting to a more plant-based food system.
The author compares it to the fossil fuel industry where companies refuse to phase out oil and gas and propose solutions like carbon capture while continuing to expand oil and gas production.
Read more here. See also the TABLE explainer, Meat, metrics and mindsets: Exploring debates on the role of livestock and alternatives in diets and farming
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