The New Merchants of Doubt

The report reveals a 'corporate playbook' used by 'Big Meat and Dairy' to avoid environmental regulation through greenwashing, industry-funded science, and aggressive political lobbying. It argues that these companies use 'distract, delay and derail' tactics—similar to those used by the tobacco and fossil fuel industries—to maintain the status quo and prevent dietary shifts toward plant-based proteins. The investigation highlights how the industry promotes voluntary technological fixes over mandatory emissions cuts and leverages political influence to secure 'all-carrots-and-no-sticks' regulatory approaches.

• The meat and dairy industry employs a three-part strategy—distract, delay, and derail—to avoid climate regulation, mirroring tactics previously used by the tobacco and fossil fuel industries. This includes using 'greenwashing' and misleading advertising, particularly targeting Gen Z via social media, to create a 'collective placebo effect' that suggests progress is being made while environmental impacts deteriorate.
• Big Meat and Dairy companies use industry-funded research to downplay the climate impact of methane and promote preferred solutions. Key narratives include claiming livestock methane is part of a 'biogenic cycle' and pushing the GWP* metric to suggest the sector could become 'climate neutral' with minimal reductions. Additionally, over half of the analysed companies use the term 'regenerative agriculture' to claim their business is 'good for the planet' without committing to reducing livestock numbers.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2024). The New Merchants of Doubt. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Report-Summary-Eng.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. The New Merchants of Doubt. 2024. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Report-Summary-Eng.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=The New Merchants of Doubt |date=July 2024 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Report-Summary-Eng.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2024new, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{The New Merchants of Doubt}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Report-Summary-Eng.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }