How the most powerful environmental groups help greenwash Big Meat’s climate impact

In late 2010, McDonald’s convened representatives from the world’s largest meat companies for the inaugural Global Conference on Sustainable Beef, a three-day affair held in Denver.

On the surface, the conference was meant to demonstrate that the beef industry was willing and able to reduce its environmental footprint. But in truth, it served as a gathering for industry to discuss its very survival in a world that had become alarmed about climate change. According to a beef industry news site, the 300 conference participants came together to “begin the process of reclaiming, defining and embracing the concept of sustainability to assure the future of beef production, and beef consumption, worldwide.”