How well does the U.S. and U.K. media cover the role of animal agriculture in climate change? According to research on articles from four leading publications from 2006 through 2018, the answer is “not that well.” An estimate 4% of stories included meat and dairy products. Of those that did, more were likely to point to consumers as the cause and solution rather than to industry.
A recent contributor opinion article in The Washington Post suggest why. Meat and dairy companies are using techniques borrowed from the oil and gas industries to cast doubt on animal ag’s impact on climate change. The engage in misleading communications.
With all the attention to climate change in the past year, I wonder if the trend has changed any. I was disappointed that within days of the piece on what the meat and dairy industry are doing, a Post editorial discussed what needs to be done to address climate change… without any discussion of the role of animal ag. While my letter to the editor in response was not published, I hope it may have alerted some people about the importance of covering the issue.
