Meat And Dairy Uses 'Tobacco Tactics' To Market Products, Report Finds

Big meat and dairy companies spend more on greenwashing their practices through marketing than they do on pursuing real climate solutions, according to a new report. They are working with PR consultants that helped oil and tobacco companies develop their own misleading marketing tactics.

Sustainability NGO Changing Markets Foundation has analyzed the tactics used by 22 big meat and dairy companies to avoid taking climate action. Among the “delay, distract, and derail” strategies employed are significant efforts to target Gen Z (those aged between 18 and 29) with “misleading advertising campaigns” through social media. This is because younger people are more likely to be worried about the climate crisis and their health.

The analysis is just the latest to show that the meat and dairy industry is borrowing straight from the “playbook” of Big Oil and Big Tobacco to protect its business. In March, the Freedom Food Alliance published a report on how meat and dairy companies use misinformation and disinformation to shape public opinion and influence policies. A 2021 study showed that all 10 US meat and dairy companies it looked at had tried to undermine climate policies.

Marketing instead of solutions

Big meat and dairy is more concerned with appearing to be healthy and climate-friendly than with actually transitioning to more sustainable practices, according to the report. Changing Markets found that companies spend on average one percent of their revenues on research and development (R&D) across all areas. This means they are spending even less than that on researching sustainability.

Data on such spending wasn’t available for all companies. But of those that did publish spending data, Fonterra, Nestlé, and Arla all put more money into advertising than into R&D. JBS, which has an annual revenue of USD $69 billion, was the only company to detail its spending on specific climate-related R&D. Its investment in its apparent efforts to reach net zero emissions equates to $20 million a year, compared to its $319 million annual advertising and marketing budget.

Along with political lobbying, this PR drive has been helping the meat and dairy industry to shape environmental policies and regulations in its favor.

Distracting PR

The greenwashing and misleading advertising used by meat and dairy companies helps to distract people from their lack of climate action, according to the Changing Markets report. They use influencers and social media marketing to “present a natural, climate-friendly, healthy image of their products.”

In one example provided, Dairy Farmers of America launched a social media and digital campaign in 2022 to “showcase” dairy as sustainable and helping to “protect the planet.” It collaborated with YouTuber Sean Evans, host of a show called the Hot Ones, which has 12.8 million subscribers. Evans promoted “pro-milk facts” and invited people to compete in a special level of Minecraft with a dairy farm theme.

Another campaign from Dairy Management Inc which featured YouTuber Mr Beast to promote dairy was partly produced by PR company Edelman. Having worked on major campaigns with the fossil fuel and tobacco industries, Edelman boasts on its website that it has helped to reduce “purchase intent” for plant-based dairy alternatives by six percent.

The meat and dairy industry is going to such lengths to boost its reputation among younger audiences because they are increasingly turning their backs on animal products. Among Gen Z, 65 percent want to eat more plant-based and 79 percent go meat-free one day a week. They are also buying less milk than the average consumer, according to Changing Markets.

Greenwashing crackdown

Some regulators and lawmakers have begun cracking down on corporate greenwashing and have begun reining in meat and dairy marketing.

The UK and EU have begun fining companies for making misleading green claims about their products. The Irish dairy industry has just been ordered for the second time recently to remove an ad making unsubstantiated claims about milk’s sustainability. In the US, New York State is suing JBS for saying it will reach net zero emissions while also planning to expand its beef production.