Message From the Editor

This Tuesday, we published an in-depth dissection by Cartie Werthman of how the meat industry is advertising like big oil — and using public funds to do it.

Private trade organizations have been using money from the publicly funded “checkoffs” system, which all ranchers pay into, to create ad campaigns that rely on fossil fuel industry tricks like paltering — making misleading statements that are technically true but omit crucial information.

These ads promote all beef as a sustainable dinner option, making it hard for smaller, more environmentally friendly ranches to market their beef as a better option.

Because these sustainability claims are getting applied to all beef “they’re not differentiating between where that beef was produced, or how it was produced, or who it was produced by,” giving consumers “no reason to seek out anything different,” says Surbhi Sarang, a lawyer at the public interest firm Public Justice.

Another piece by Julie Dermanskey dives into a new proposed EPA rule for toxic chemical emissions, asking, is it enough? The new restrictions may not lessen the risk for at-risk front-line communities — like the one near the Denka Performance Elastomer plant in Louisiana — for years.

Some in the community praise the EPA’s work, but environmental advocates say the agency could use emergency powers to do more.

“Every day that the children have to breath chloroprene emissions above 0.2 at school, is one day too many,” says Robert Taylor, the founder of the Concerned Citizens advocacy group.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: editor@desmog.com. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Investigative journalism and collaborations like these are made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: Julie Dermansky

The Meat Industry Is Advertising Like Big Oil

— By Cartie Werthman (14 min. read) —

Later this month, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) will head to the 2023 National Agri-Marketing Association’s conference to see if its public relations campaign about beef’s sustainability can secure the national award for campaigns directed to consumers. 

Earlier this year, a campaign NCBA began in 2021 called “Beefing up Sustainability,” and a corresponding campaign targeted to kids, advanced to the final round.

The EPA's Newly Proposed Rule for Chemical Emissions Won't Lessen the Risk for Children in One Louisiana Community for Years to Come

— By Julie Dermansky (10 min. read) —

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator Michael Regan announced a new proposed rule to govern toxic chemical air emissions at an April 6 press conference choreographed to have the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, a synthetic rubber manufacturing facility in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, as a backdrop. 

The Denka plant is located next to the Mississippi River in the middle of an 85-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans lined with chemical plants and refineries that President Joe Biden referred to as “Cancer Alley” when he rolled out his environmental policy, is one of many that will be subjected to new regulations included in the proposed rule, if it is finalized and enacted.

Tory MP's Accept £20,000 from Director of Climate Science Denial Group

— By Sam Bright (3 min. read) —

Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt and Conservative MP Liam Fox have each received £10,000 from companies owned by a director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) – one of the UK’s leading climate science denial groups.

New parliamentary records show that Mordaunt received £10,000 on March 28 from the management consultancy First Corporate Consultants. The firm is owned by Terence Mordaunt, a director at the GWPF who served as its chair from April 2017 to November 2019. 

Spike in German Finance For Gas Export Projects Harms U.S. Gulf Coast Communities, Report Finds

— By Edward Donnelly and Phoebe Cooke (9 min. read) —

Deutsche Bank and other German lenders have poured finance into gas export terminals on the U.S. Gulf Coast since Russia invaded Ukraine, a report has found, sparking anger among residents who say the megaprojects are devastating their communities. 

German banks lent 2.17 billion euros to U.S. gas export projects since the beginning of 2022, a sharp increase on the 1.86 billion euros in loans made during the 10 preceding years combined, according to underlying data used to produce the report by environmental groups Urgewald, Environmental Action Germany (DUH) and Andy Gheorghiu Consulting. The banks also underwrote 610 million euros of bonds for the projects from 2012-2021, the data showed.

‘Bombshell’ 1989 Shell Memo Features in New Court Filing Alleging Climate Deception

— By Matthew Green (4 min. read) —

In October 1989, Shell researchers wrote a confidential report warning that climate-fuelled migration could swamp borders in the United States, Soviet Union, Europe, and Australia. “Conflict would abound,” the document said. “Civilisation could prove a fragile thing.” 

Now, that memo — first reported by DeSmog and Dutch investigative journalism platform Follow The Money — features in a new court brief alleging that Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP knowingly concealed the climate hazards of their fossil fuel products for decades. 

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods is one of the world’s four largest meat producers, producing approximately 20 percent of U.S. beef, pork and chicken. It was estimated that Tyson’s total yearly emissions add up to 118.1 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and it spent $25 million on lobbying between 2000 and 2020. As of 2021, Tyson Foods has been fined more than $58 million for environmental-related violations since 2000, according to data from the Good Jobs First non-profit organization.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.