While the climate footprint of global big meat and dairy companies rivals that of fossil fuel giants, these corporations continue to operate with impunity. The findings of the Emissions Impossible series are a cause for serious and systemic regulatory action to transition away from this high-emitting, destructive model of industrial agriculture towards agroecology.
IATP and GRAIN's seminal 2018 report, Emissions Impossible: How Big Meat and Dairy are heating up the planet, estimated the greenhouse gas emissions of the world's 35 largest meat and dairy companies for the very first time. This groundbreaking report revealed that just the top five meat and dairy corporations were responsible for more annual emissions than Exxon, Shell or BP!
Our 2020 report, Milking the Planet, exposed the continued rise in emissions from global dairy companies, and our 2021 report, Emissions Impossible Europe, demonstrated that companies are greenwashing their contribution to climate change rather than actually reducing emissions. Emissions Impossible: Methane Edition, the latest report in the series co-published with the Changing Markets Foundation, revealed that the combined methane emissions of 15 of the largest meat and dairy corporations far exceed the entire methane footprint of many countries, including Russia, Canada, Australia and Germany.
Big Meat and Dairy are heating up the planet: Learnings from the Emissions Impossible series
On June 15, IATP presented our insights from the four reports in the Emissions Impossible series. Partners from around the world who are also exposing the false climate narratives of Big Meat and Dairy will join us to share insights from their work.
