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Shining a Light on Big Ag’s Climate Push

Credit: Rosie Hunter

About the Series

The agricultural sector – a key driver of global warming – is coming under increasing pressure to cut emissions. This coming year will be an eventful one for climate, nature, and food politics, with major summits lined up to broker global deals to protect biodiversity and slow planetary heating.

DeSmog’s series will follow Big Ag’s efforts to influence outcomes at meetings in Colombia and Azerbaijan, and next year in Brazil, and call out those tactics used to sustain a destructive, dangerous and polluting status quo.

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In This Series

Industry-Linked Studies Disproportionately Advocate Meat Consumption
ByClare Carlile
on
Campaigners say corporate-friendly science has “corrosive effects on public health debates”.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
A U.S. pork packing factory. Credit: Rawpixel / U.S. Gov (Public domain)
Fertiliser and Grain Bosses Bank $66 Million Selling Shares During Iran War
ByClare Carlile
on
Industry giants have been accused of ‘enriching shareholders’ while ‘farmers and consumers pay the price’.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
MEPs Call for Urgent Review of €1.5 Billion EU Food Scheme Pushing 'Misleading' Claims
ByLaura Villadiego
on
The programme is “yet another bung to industrial production”, experts say.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, Investigating EU Farming Subsidies
A DeSmog collage of 'Enjoy, it’s from Europe!' campaigns. Credit: KRDIG, BVH, Avianza, CIPC (website) / Interporc (website) / InLac (Instagram and website.)
Analysis
Pesticide Industry 'Hijacked' Climate Stage at COP30, Campaigners Say
ByClare Carlile
on
Corporate pledges to fight deforestation by turning degraded pasture into cropland seen boosting demand for harmful chemical inputs.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push, Investigating the Pesticide Lobby
Campaigners in the COP30 Agrizone protest against excessive use of agrochemicals. (Credit: Devlin Kuyek/ Grain)
Backed by Industry, Brazilian Hosts Seek COP30’s Blessing for Biofuels
ByClare Carlile and Maximiliano Manzoni
on
Trade groups lobbied ministers to promote a source of energy linked to massive environmental harms at the U.N. climate conference.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP30 Coverage
The 'Agrizone' at COP30 in Bélem, Brazil. Credit: Clare Carlile
Analysis
Meet 5 PR Agencies Making Big Polluters Look 'Ag-tastic'
ByKathryn Clare, Kate Dario and Emily J Gertz
on
Agribusiness companies generate huge quantities of greenhouse gas pollution — and PR companies help them obscure it.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push, Advertising & PR Industry
During the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, people are holding signs and a banner protesting environmental pollution by agriculture. They are standing in front of the Agrizone, a special event venue sponsored by agribusiness and located near the main conference venue.
More Than 300 Lobbyists for Industrial Agriculture Attend COP30
ByRachel Sherrington and Nina Lakhani
on
Presence of high-polluting companies erodes trust in the UN process, say campaigners.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Activists protest the presence of agribusiness groups at the COP30 summit in Belem, Brazil. Credit: Hazel Healy
In Brazil, Agribusiness Giants Hire Celebrity Influencers to Win Hearts and Minds
ByTJ Jordan, Akhil Ranjan, Rachel Sherrington and Clare Carlile
on
Doctors and models extol the virtues of meat as climate impacts of industrial farming face scrutiny at COP30 — the global climate summit.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Advertising & PR Industry , Big Ag's Climate Push
(Credit: Sabrina Bedford)
Mapped: Big Food’s Routes to Influence at COP30
ByRachel Sherrington and Gil Alessi
on
A summit billed as the last chance to revive global climate action faces unprecedented pressure from the food sector’s largest emitters.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: DeSmog
Brazil’s COP30 Agriculture Sponsors Linked to Deforestation and Land Conflict
ByNaira Hofmeister and Lucy Jordan, Unearthed
on
Organisers offered pesticide giants and agribusiness lobby group “visibility” and “image gain” in return for financial contributions to climate summit's Agrizone.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Sponsors of the COP30 Agrizone event venue have paid at least £625,000 for branding, private negotiation rooms, the right to host events, and speaking slots in climate debates. (Credit: Greenpeace)
us/Revealed: US Dairy Industry Push to Water Down Global Emissions Framework
ByClare Carlile
on
Proposed changes to the GHG Protocol would lead to double counting of carbon reductions in the livestock sector, experts say.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Pexels
Fique de Olho Nestes 8 Termos de Greenwashing do Agro na COP30
ByRachel Sherrington and Hazel Healy
on
Empresas de alimentos e do agronegócio vão se apresentar como solução para a crise climática na cúpula no Brasil — embora os alimentos sejam responsáveis por um terço do aquecimento global.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Analysis
Look Out for These 8 Big Ag Greenwashing Terms at COP30
ByRachel Sherrington and Hazel Healy
on
Food and farming companies will claim agriculture is the solution to the climate crisis at the Brazil summit — even though the sector drives a third of global warming.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP30 Coverage
Agribusiness in Brazil makes the misleading claim that "tropical agriculture" farming makes polluting cattle herds “carbon neutral." (Credit: Andy Carter)
Revealed: How the Meat Industry Uses Environmental Groups to Make Beef Seem Climate-friendly
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Expert says non-profit partners provide a "fairy dust" of legitimacy to beef industry.
Series: Advertising & PR Industry , Big Ag's Climate Push
A red-brown jersey steer in sharp focus and staring straight at the camera, amid several other beef cattle that are lightly out of focus. It is wearing an ear tag with the number 1901.
Food Giants’ Climate Plans Lack Credibility, New Report Finds
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Danone, JBS, Mars, Nestlé and PepsiCo net zero plans marred by “patchy and unsubstantiated targets” say campaigners.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Destroyed land in livestock farm. Amazonas, Brazil. Credit: Paralaxis / Alamy Stock Photo
uk/Revealed: Meat Industry Behind Attacks on Flagship Climate-Friendly Diet Report
ByClare Carlile
on
A new document shows that vested interests were behind a “mud slinging” PR campaign to discredit the 2019 EAT-Lancet study.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: RUSLAN NESTERENKO / Alamy
Mapa: Cómo las grandes empresas agrícolas, farmacéuticas, de pesticidas y otras esperan influir en las conferencias sobre biodiversidad de la ONU
ByHazel Healy and Rachel Sherrington
on
A pesar de que en las conferencias de la ONU, lo más importante es invertir el drástico declive mundial de la vida vegetal y animal, las empresas han encontrado cómo hacerse escuchar.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Adam Barnett
Cifra récord de empresarios en la Cumbre de Biodiversidad de la ONU 
ByRachel Sherrington, Clare Carlile and Hazel Healy
on
Se debe proteger a las futuras conferencias de la “intensa presión que está ejerciendo la industria”, dicen los miembros de las campañas.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Lobistas da carne, laticínios e pesticidas retornam em grande número à Cúpula do Clima
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Representantes do agronegócio usam sua influência para desviar a atenção dos formuladores de políticas das soluções reais para a transformação dos sistemas alimentar e agrícola, afirmam ativistas.
Series: COP29 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
The COP29 entrance in Baku, Azerbaijan. Credit: Michal Busko / Alamy
Industry-Backed Emissions Metric Could ‘Completely Derail’ Climate Action, Campaigners Warn
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Critics say the controversial GWP* method – which New Zealand appears close to adopting – is “open to significant abuse”.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Civil society groups have warned over the adoption of GWP*, a new metric to measure livestock emissions.
uk/Meat, Dairy and Pesticide Lobbyists Return in High Numbers to Climate Summit
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Agriculture delegates use influence to “distract” policymakers from genuine solutions needed to transform food and farming, say campaigners.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP29 Coverage
The COP29 entrance in Baku, Azerbaijan. Credit: Michal Busko / Alamy
Analysis
World’s Biggest Meatpacker JBS Wants Public Money to Fight Climate Change
ByGil Alessi
on
Major Brazilian polluter champions agribusiness as a solution to hunger at G20.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
A herd of cattle being driven by horse-riding ranchers on a farm in Para State, Amazon, Brazil. Credit: Brarymi / Alamy Stock Photo
Business Lobby Reached Record High at UN Biodiversity Talks
ByRachel Sherrington, Clare Carlile and Hazel Healy
on
Future nature talks must be protected from “intense industry pressure” say campaigners.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Mapped: How Big Ag, Pharma, Pesticides and Other Industries Hope to Sway the UN Biodiversity Talks
ByHazel Healy and Rachel Sherrington
on
Corporations have found ways to be heard during negotiations on reversing the drastic global decline in plant and animal life.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Adam Barnett
Big Ag Is Using  ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ to Mask Business-as-Usual
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Food and agriculture multinationals are embracing the vague term without changing their polluting ways, according to a new report.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
"No liability is assumed for damage caused by grazing livestock" reads a sign posted to a fence in Carinthia, Austria. Credit: Naturpurr (CC BY 4.0)
Big Ag’s Road to Brazil 
ByRachel Sherrington and Hazel Healy
on
DeSmog re-launches investigative series to track agribusiness’ influence over climate and nature policy in a critical year for decisions on the future of food and farming.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Andy Carter
U.S. Meat Lobby Celebrates ‘Positive Outcome’ of COP28
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Industry leaders praise UN food and climate plan as “music to our ears”.
Series: COP28 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Cattle eat hay at a feedlot in central California. David Litschel / Alamy Stock Photo.
Meat Industry Using ‘Misinformation’ to Block Dietary Change, Report Finds
ByClare Carlile
on
Meat and dairy groups have funded adverts that cast vegan products as unhealthy, unnatural and ultra processed.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Authors of a new study say the animal agriculture industry is waging a 'disinformation war. Credit: Wilfredorrh (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Revealed: The Climate Denial Network Behind ‘Classic Astroturf’ Farmers’ Campaign
ByClare Carlile, Adam Barnett and Phoebe Cooke
on
Producers say 'No Farmers, No Food' is a populist initiative that serves to “whip up indignation and anger”.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Tractors line the streets of Brussels as farmers' protests sweep Europe. Credit: Rachel Sherrington
Analysis
Are Europe’s Farmers Protesting Green Reforms? It’s Complicated
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Big agriculture and far-right parties set farmers against the environment but producers on the ground in Brussels told a different story.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Burning piles of hay sent up dark plumes of smoke in Brussels on February 1, as farmers protests sweep through Europe. Credit: Rachel Sherrington
Opinion
At COP28, Family Farmers Who Feed the World Went Unheard
ByIbrahima Hathie
on
Big Ag lobbyists drowned out the voices of smallholder farmers.
Series: COP28 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
A farmers' protest at the COP28 summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Credit: UNFCCC (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Big Meat and Dairy Delegates Triple at COP28
ByRachel Sherrington, Clare Carlile and Hazel Healy
on
Major food and agriculture companies have sent 340 representatives to Dubai for the climate summit.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP28 Coverage
A representative from the US Dairy Export Council catches up with Ken Seitz, CEO of fertiliser giant Nutrien, who has travelled to Dubai as part of Canada's country delegation. Credit: DeSmog
Mapped: Big Ag’s Routes to Influence at COP28
ByRachel Sherrington, Clare Carlile and Hazel Healy
on
From ‘innovation sprints’ to spritzers, polluting agri-giants have so many ways to influence climate outcomes.
Series: COP28 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Clare Carlile
Big Meat Unveils Battle Plans for COP28
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Polluting livestock companies and lobby groups will target pavilions in a coordinated campaign at the UN climate summit, documents show.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP28 Coverage
Credit: Andy Carter
New Report Issues Damning Verdict on Food’s Fossil Fuel Addiction
ByClare Carlile
on
Research shows oil companies are investing heavily in petrochemicals for use in pesticides, fertilisers, and plastic packaging.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Ultra processed foods like snacks, drinks and ready meals, along with chemical fertilisers made from natural gas, are singled out as major sources of pollution. Credit: Judy Baxter (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
A Guide to Six Greenwashing Terms Big Ag Is Bringing to COP28
ByRachel Sherrington and Hazel Healy
on
We debunk some key concepts that the world’s largest food and farming companies will be using to sway debates at the climate summit.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP28 Coverage
Credit: Andy Carter
Analysis
Revealed: How Big Dairy Is Milking Net Zero
ByAlex Park
on
An industry-led “efficiency” drive is about increasing sales of milk – not cutting pollution.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push
Credit: Andy Carter
Sizing up Big Food’s Appetite for Change
ByHazel Healy and Rachel Sherrington
on
DeSmog to track the agriculture industry’s efforts to shape the agenda of the upcoming UAE COP28 summit.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP28 Coverage
Credit: Andy Carter
Big Ag Delegates More Than Double at COP27
ByClare Carlile, Rachel Sherrington and Hazel Healy
on
Campaigners warn of industrial farm lobby’s growing influence amid sharp rise in representatives attending UN climate talks in Egypt.
Series: COP27 Coverage, Big Ag's Climate Push
Farm lobby CNA's logo on display in the pavilion of Brazil, which included two employees of the world's largest meatpacker JBS in its country delegation at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. Credit: Stella Levantesi
Analysis
U.S. Embrace of ‘Climate-Smart’ Agriculture at COP27 Faces Scrutiny
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Campaigners see scant evidence that the Department of Agriculture is ready to break with its long history of promoting agribusiness at the expense of the environment.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP27 Coverage
Credit: Rosie Hunter
us/COP27 Farming Coalition Under Fire for Links to Climate Science Denial
ByRachel Sherrington
on
Campaigners question “knowledge partner” role for U.S. meat lobby group NAMI ahead of climate summit.
Series: Big Ag's Climate Push, COP27 Coverage
Credit: Rosie Hunter
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