UN urges US to reduce meat production to reduce emissions

Share and Follow

(NewsNation) — As the United Nations Climate Change Conference kicks off in Dubai, meat companies and lobbying groups prepare to send a “pro-meat message” to policymakers as reports claim there will be a strong emphasis on food production in wealthy nations this year.

Leaked documents reported by The Guardian revealed that countries like the U.S. will be urged to eat and produce less meat in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The leaked documents have sparked outrage among the meat companies, prompting them to have very active plans for the conference.

The North American Meat Institute confirmed to NewsNation that it will be in attendance at the summit.

“Meat, milk and eggs offer crucial sources of much-needed nutrients that cannot easily be obtained from other sources, making the Meat Institute’s engagement as an accredited COP28 observer a critical opportunity to verify progress toward sustaining these nutrient-dense foods for generations to come, including by sharing the Meat Institute’s pioneering greenhouse gas inventory tool and sector-wide data reporting,” the Meat Institute’s Chief Strategy Officer Eric Mittenthal said.

Other major meat companies, like JBS, will also be on the ground with pro-meat messaging, according to the leaked documents.

However, climate change activists have been telling the public for a while that cutting out meat and switching to a plant-based diet can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, animal agriculture is the biggest source of methane gas emissions, and the dairy industry surpasses plane emissions.

Brent Kim, a Maryland-based expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future, said at the time:

“To avoid the most catastrophic climate change scenarios, the evidence is clear that citizens in high-meat consuming countries – such as the United States – need to dramatically reduce their meat and dairy intake.”

Some lawmakers have spoken out about the issue on social media, standing by the meat companies.

“The woke U.N. now wants to starve Americans by mandating meat reduction policies. No thanks. I will side with American farmers over hard-left bureaucrats any day,” Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said.

Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany also spoke out on social media, saying, “The United Nations is calling on the U.S. to reduce meat consumption. It’s time to put defunding the U.N. on the menu.”

It isn’t clear exactly what major meat companies will have planned over the next week, but they’re prepared to put up a fight.