Animal Agriculture Panel At NY Climate Week Confronted For ‘Greenwashing’

An animal agriculture panel at New York City’s Climate Week was confronted by a scientist for proposing “greenwashing” solutions to issues caused by the sector itself.

This year’s NYC Climate Week ran from September 22 to 29 and included a side event titled “Pastures of Plenty: Sustainable Livestock Solutions for Climate, Nature, and People.” A summary of the event describes animal farming as an “essential” part of the food system.

During a Q&A session after the first portion of the event, Plant Based Treaty campaigner and scientific advisor Kimmy Cushman said: “I’d just like to call this out as greenwashing.”

She noted that the panelists were “paid by multinational corporations” to raise profits rather than mitigate the climate crisis, and explained that most reputable science rejects the industry’s “so-called solutions” in favor of reducing meat and dairy production.

“Unsurprisingly, the panelists perpetuated the idea that economic development around the world necessitates an increase in meat and dairy consumption, ignoring the fact that the meat and dairy industry itself spends billions of dollars on advertising and facilitating the expansion of these new markets of their own creation,” Cushman told Plant Based News (PBN). After the event, several audience members thanked her for speaking out on the subject.

Meat industry increasing profits at expense of the ‘environment, traditions, and health’

A huge deforested section of the Amazon that has been converted into a cow farm — Adobe Stock Animal agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation

The panel for the event included two dairy industry executives and was followed by a reception with primarily meat and dairy-based refreshments. Solutions suggested by the panel included breeding cows to produce less methane and creating “methane vaccines.”

“With plans to increase meat and dairy consumption worldwide, this is like a car company producing more fuel-efficient cars while increasing the number of cars on the road; it might look like a solution, but they are just making the problem worse,” said Cushman.

The panel also discussed how “regenerative” animal farming is beneficial for the soil and environment, and suggested a significant expansion of the dairy industry throughout Africa. A 2017 University of Oxford study titled Grazed and Confused looked at the claims made by regenerative animal farming advocates. It found that, while certain management systems on farms can boost carbon sequestration, this was only 20-60 percent of the emissions that the animals produce themselves. The effect is also time-limited and reversible. Animal farming is responsible for at least 16.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and it’s also a leading driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and species extinction.

“We raised our voices because we cannot let their plans to expand meat and dairy go unchecked,” Cushman told PBN. “Their plans would result in increased greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and land degradation in regions of the world that are already suffering from desertification. These industries are trying to increase their profits through neocolonialism at the expense of the local environment, traditions, and health of communities who often have high levels of lactose intolerance.”