Feature
How the Beef Industry Is Quietly Rewriting Climate Science for Kids
Students do learn about methane, but not about eating less meat.
Big Meat•7 min read
Big Meat
Feature
Meat Industry PR Group Hosts Panel at DC Climate Week
How a meat industry PR group is trying to pass itself off as climate-friendly.
Big Meat•7 min read
Feature
The Beef Industry Knew Its Climate Impact as Early as 1989 — and Worked to Obfuscate the Science
Two new studies reveal decades of industry tactics to downplay beef’s role in climate.
Big Meat•8 min read
Reported
Industry-Backed Emissions Metric Could ‘Completely Derail’ Climate Action, Campaigners Warn
Critics say the controversial GWP* method – which New Zealand appears close to adopting – is “open to significant abuse.”
Big Meat•7 min read
Solutions
Shareholder Activists Push Fast Food Chains to Commit to Climate Targets
How Jack in the Box and Wingstop agreed to their first climate goals.
Big Meat•4 min read
Solutions
How European Supermarkets Are Getting People to Eat Less Meat
‘Protein splits’ appear to be working — but is there hope the trend could spread to the U.S.?
Big Meat•8 min read
Reported
The Magical Math of Climate-Friendly Meat
The meat industry is playing with the metrics that measure methane to make climate claims that don't add up.
Big Meat•11 min read
Reported
Your Bank Is Probably Fueling Meat Industry Climate Emissions
A new report documents the banking industry’s investments in the meat and dairy industry, and its climate pollution.
Big Meat•5 min read
Explainer
Is ‘Climate-Friendly Beef’ Always Just Greenwashing?
From methane masks to lemongrass, how do the many efforts to make sustainable beef compare to just eating a little less?
Big Meat•1 min read
Reported
Dairy Digesters Promise to Cut Methane — Unfortunately, They Might Be an Inefficient Band-Aid
A new report suggests the government might be funding the wrong solution.
Big Meat•8 min read
Reported
Big Dairy Has a New Scheme to Call Milk Climate-Friendly
An industry-funded startup is the first ever carbon marketplace to give climate credit to a mega-dairy.
Big Meat•6 min read
Explainer
Vegan Leather: What Is It Made From and Is It Good for the Planet?
Demand for cruelty-free leather alternatives are on the rise, along with a growing interest in materials that are better for the planet.
Big Meat•6 min read
Reported
New Report Warns of Dairy and Meat Industry Accounting Alternative
The investigation reveals evidence of government willingness to accept an alternative accounting method that is the darling of the meat and dairy industry.
Big Meat•6 min read
Reported
Six Greenwashing Terms Big Ag Is Bringing to COP28
Debunking the key concepts the world’s largest food and farming companies will be using to sway debates at the climate summit.
Big Meat•16 min read
Reported
What You Need to Know About the Meat Industry-Funded ‘Protein Pact’
It’s the latest tactic to downplay meat’s climate impact
Big Meat•3 min read
Reported
Dairy Farms Are Still Draining the Colorado River Dry, Says New Report
More than 40 million people depend on this vital U.S. waterway.
Big Meat•4 min read
Reported
A California Bill Could Reveal Corporate America’s Climate Secrets
The requirement to disclose scope 3 emissions — from the cows, not just the kitchen — is what's rankling the food and agriculture industry.
Big Meat•6 min read
Reported
Global Development Banks Turn to ‘Climate-Friendly’ Pork and Poultry
A new report uncovers global climate investors looking to boost industrial pork and poultry.
Big Meat•6 min read
Analysis
What Is Carbon Neutral Milk?
Milk and meat brands are turning to climate labels like "carbon neutral" and "net zero" to boost sales. But what do these terms actually mean?
Big Meat•8 min read
Reported
Danone’s New Climate Plan Doesn’t Deal With the Cows
Experts worry the pledge to slash methane encourages "unproven techno-fixes" over systemic solutions.
Big Meat•6 min read
Reported
Rabobank Bankrolling Meat Industry’s Biggest Emitters
New research shows Rabobank provided global meat and dairy corporations with billions in financing.
Big Meat•5 min read
Explainer
What’s the Best Way to Measure Methane From Cattle Burps?
Methane stays in the atmosphere for around 12 years, which can make it a tricky gas to calculate.
Big Meat•4 min read
Reported
How “Sustainable” Wool Wipes Out Wildlife and Pumps Out Emissions
Marketed to consumers as "sustainable," this "climate-beneficial" wool is polluting the land and killing wildlife.
Big Meat•8 min read
Explainer
No, Vegan Leather Is Not Greenwashing
Despite what you may have read in a few viral Twitter threads, animal leather is not more sustainable than vegan leather.
Big Meat•7 min read
Explainer
What Are the Environmental Impacts of Dairy Farming?
The global dairy industry is responsible for rising rates of water and air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and degraded farmland.
Big Meat•7 min read
Analysis
Millions of Factory Farm Animals Are Living in Drought. Here’s What That Looks Like.
“We’re in an apocalyptic phase for animals in CAFOs.”
Big Meat•7 min read
Explainer
What Is Cashmere Made of and Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
Intensive farming may have made cashmere more affordable, but overgrazing has also led to widespread environmental damage and animal suffering.
Big Meat•8 min read
Analysis
Deforestation in Amazon and Cerrado Reaches Record High
Officials say fires burning in the Amazon and Cerrado to clear land for soybean production—the primary ingredient in animal feed—have reached an all-time high.
Big Meat•4 min read
Explainer
Is Fish Farming Bad for the Environment?
For years, fish farming was championed as a sustainable alternative to overfishing. But many advocates worry it has unseen consequences.
Big Meat•9 min read
Analysis
Big Meat and Dairy Producers Tighten Their Grip on the Amazon
A new investigation finds that deforestation of the Amazon for soy farming has continued despite a moratorium. Big meat and dairy companies are largely to blame.
Big Meat•3 min read
Explainer
Environmental Impact of Dairy Farming: What You Didn’t Know
From an early age, we’re taught that milk is essential to our growth and development. What we’re not taught is where that milk comes from.
Big Meat•2 min read
Explainer
Wool Production Is Accelerating the Biodiversity Crisis
A new report from Collective Fashion Justice and the Center for Biological Diversity explores the wool industry’s "shear destruction" of indigenous plant and animal life.
Big Meat•5 min read
Perspective
In the Global Methane Pledge, Agriculture Should Be Front and Center
Animal agriculture is one of the leading sources of methane emissions, but world leaders have a bad habit of downplaying its impact or ignoring it entirely.
Big Meat•4 min read
Reported
First-Ever Net-Zero Certification Service Hopes to Increase Climate Accountability
The service offers companies “robust certification” capable of demonstrating that their net-zero target will reduce emissions at the pace and scale required to keep global warming to 1.5°C.
Big Meat•3 min read
Explainer
Is Animal Agriculture Sustainable?
Animal agriculture generates massive amounts of greenhouse gases, despite the industry's recent efforts to clean up its act.
Big Meat•2 min read
Explainer
How Factory Farms in America Drive Deforestation in Brazil
The fires in Brazil are part of a global problem, one which highlights the direct link between deforestation and loss of ecosystems with dietary choices made thousands of miles away.
Big Meat•10 min read
Explainer
A Closer Look at Factory Farming’s Environmental Impact
Factory farming is part of a global food system that prioritizes cheap food at the expense of animal welfare, society, and the environment.
Big Meat•9 min read
Explainer
How Does Cattle Farming Impact the Environment?
The conditions in which cows are farmed are detrimental to the air, water, habitat, and soil. Experts say the industry has been slow to adapt.
Big Meat•8 min read
Perspective
Potty Training Cows Isn’t Going to Fix the Climate Crisis
Potty training cows to curb emissions seems like a harmless idea, but it's no silver bullet. In fact, it does more to distract from the problem than solve it.
Big Meat•4 min read
Analysis
New Film Puts Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture Center Stage
The environmental impact of animal agriculture is hard to ignore. “Eating Our Way To Extinction,” a new documentary narrated by Kate Winslet, shows us why.
Big Meat•5 min read
Perspective
Big Ag’s Biogas Boondoggle
The last thing we needed was Big Oil and Big Ag on the same team. Now, they've joined forces in a dangerous attempt to greenwash the factory farming industry.
Big Meat•3 min read
Analysis
Will McDonald’s Ever Stop Expanding?
McDonald's has around 1,300 restaurants in the UK alone, serving three million beef patties to 3.5 million customers daily. Unfortunately, it's showing no signs of slowing down.
Big Meat•9 min read
Reported
Danish Activists Sue Pork Giant Danish Crown Over Climate Slogans
In June, three Danish sustainability organizations filed Denmark’s first climate lawsuit against Danish Crown, accusing the meat company of greenwashing and deceptive marketing.
Big Meat•5 min read
Perspective
The New Push to Greenwash Factory Farming
Factory farming is trying to clean up its act by turning methane emissions into biogas. But the promise of sustainability could be doing more harm than good.
Big Meat•7 min read
Reported
The Food We Feed Farmed Animals Has a Massive Environmental Impact
A surprisingly large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the food we feed farmed animals. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Big Meat•5 min read
Explainer
How Animal Agriculture Is Accelerating the Climate Crisis
Move over, fossil fuels. The meat and dairy industries have a much bigger part to play in the climate crisis than most people are willing to admit.
Big Meat•2 min read
Climate Groups Finally Recognize the Link Between Factory Farming and Climate Change
We’ve long counted on climate groups to model what a sustainable future looks like—one where single-use plastics are rare and electric cars are business as usual. But what about the…
Big Meat•4 min read
Reported
JBS Promises to Stop Destroying the Environment—in 14 Years
JBS, the largest meat company on the planet, recently committed to achieving zero deforestation across its global supply chain by 2035. Critics say by then it may be too late.
Big Meat•5 min read
Explainer
Can Chicken Farming Really Be Sustainable?
Despite the industry's best efforts to hide behind labels that make chicken farming appear more eco-friendly, it still has devastating consequences for animals and the environment.
Big Meat•17 min read
Explainer
Biochar: A Valuable Tool in the Fight Against Climate Change
As transformative and applicable as biochar may be, it will have little effect on the overall sustainability of our food system if agricultural practices otherwise remain the same.
Big Meat•8 min read
Donate
You have read 0 articles.
Independent Journalism Relies on You
As a fiercely independent, reader-supported news outlet, we’re unswayed by advertisers and profit margins. Your support funds investigative journalism, fact-checked explainers, resources for journalists and partnerships with publishers to boost reporting on the most pressing issues of our time. Read more
Most Read Today
•- Is Beef Consumption in the U.S. Headed in the Right Direction?
- How the Beef Industry Is Quietly Rewriting Climate Science for Kids
- How Much Protein You Need to Be Healthy, Explained
- There Is Nothing Especially Healthy About Regenerative Meat
- Is Global Veganism Even Possible, From a Nutritional and Agricultural Standpoint?
- Are Orcas Smart Enough to Plot Against Humans? Their Intelligence, Explained
- The Causes and Effects of Deforestation, Explained
- Why Eating Meat Is Bad for the Environment and Climate Change, Explained
Topics
Sentient investigates and explains factory farms and their effect on climate, the environment, animals, health, politics and rural communities.