Thread by @GHGGuru

THREAD: To throw blame on animal agriculture for the planet’s climate crisis, while essentially giving Big Oil a pass is RECKLESS. It not only ignores science, but distracts from real solutions. As you can imagine, I have a lot to say about this.

https://twitter.com/UN/status/1287102568598888448?s=20

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This stunt is part of a @UN campaign, no less. One that calls for individual action on climate change, but intentionally ignores the true impact of Big Oil (fossil fuels) on the climate. This type of careless rhetoric puts us at risk of leaving a warmer planet behind. 2/

You can’t put toothpaste back into the tube.

That’s a phrase often used to describe an irreversible action. The Internet shows you actually can put toothpaste back in the tube, but it can be frustrating & messy.

This is what it’s like trying to reverse a false narrative. 3/

For more than a decade, I’ve been working to reverse this inaccurate narrative – and like getting the paste back into the tube – it’s been a challenging task. Ironically, the UN shared this tweet just yesterday.

https://twitter.com/UN/status/1287554043678785536?s=20

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So I will take the UN’s own advice & verify some facts. The claim stating meat is responsible for more GHGs than the biggest oil companies is outrageously misleading. For one, it takes away the focus from ALL fossil fuel production. 5/

Between 1965-2017, just 20 fossil fuel companies were responsible for 35% of all global emissions, according to the Climate Accountability Institute. The cumulative total for the top emitter, Saudi Aramco, is more than six times the annual emissions of modern day China! 6/

You can read more about this here: visualcapitalist.com/companies-carb…

If you cast the net a little further, the top 100 FF companies emit more than 70% of global GHGs. More by @insideclimate: insideclimatenews.org/news/10072017/…

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report: bit.ly/cdpreport 7/

By the @FAO’s (UN agency) own account, livestock is responsible for 14.5% of all global GHGs. So, tell me again how this compares to fossil fuel production?
Source: fao.org/3/a-i3437e.pdf 8/

Because there is often much confusion around global vs U.S. GHGs, I’m going to leave this here: clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/usi… 9/

The UN’s campaign also entirely omits animal ag's role as a #climatechange solution, while never directly calling out fossil fuel companies. Why? Focusing on animal ag at the sake of FF will not help save the planet, it will only lead to more warming. clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/why… 10/

Additionally, the fact that a global organization focused on humanity issues is asking the world to reduce their meat consumption is perplexing. In some parts of the world, animal-sourced foods are crucial for proper nutrition. CC: @ucdavisCAES

https://twitter.com/UCDavisCLEAR/status/1286005623537250305

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And if all Amercians went vegan, GHGs would only drop by 2.6%. A miniscule reduction in comparison to the alarming (INCREASING) dump of GHGs from fossil fuel production. 12/

The villainizing of livestock began in 2006. That was the year the toothpaste was squeezed out of the tube. The @FAO released the report, "Livestock's Long Shadow", which claimed 🥩 production was responsible for more GHGs than the transportation sector. 13/

This claim was successfully debunked, but the damage had already been done. And for some, livestock became public enemy #1. This @CJR article does a great job explaining the timeline of this saga: archives.cjr.org/the_observator… 14/

I need your help getting the toothpaste back in the tube. We need to correct this narrative & refocus the attention where it belongs: On fossil fuel production. Animal agriculture can & will become a leading example of a climate change solution. Please RT this thread! 15/15