Study Documents Beef Industry Group's Early Efforts to Counter Climate Concerns

Inside Big Beef’s ‘90s Campaign to Rewrite Its Climate Story

Documents show how the National Cattlemen’s Association launched a long-term misinformation campaign to downplay livestock’s environmental impacts.

The Beef Industry Knew: Cattle Trade Group Knew Cows Warmed the Planet Since 1989. It Tried to Bury the Science

Newly examined records reveal how the cattle lobby tried to undermine an early climate warning.

Study documents beef industry group’s early efforts to counter climate concerns

A leading U.S. beef industry trade association knew by 1989 that cattle contributed to global warming but focused its response on protecting consumer demand through public relations, according to a new study examining a decade of industry records.

Study documents beef industry group's early efforts to counter climate concerns

A leading U.S. beef industry trade association knew by 1989 that cattle contributed to global warming but focused its response on protecting consumer demand through public relations, according to a new study that examined a decade of industry records.

The American livestock industry’s main lobbying group treated climate change as a PR problem

New research has revealed more examples of the National Cattlemen’s Association’s efforts to downplay and deny the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Global warming and the National Cattlemen’s Association 1986–1996

In the mid-1980s, scientific studies first highlighted the role of anthropogenic methane in global warming and emissions from cows as an important source. This knowledge expanded views of responsibility for global warming beyond the fossil fuel sector. Using scientific studies, archival documents, media interviews, and various government reports, we analyzed how the National Cattlemen’s Association (NCA), a trade association for the U.S beef ind…