The vast majority of environmental claims from the animal agricultural industry are misleading "greenwashing" that relies on vague promises or projections, according to a study published April 22, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Maya Bach and Jennifer Jacquet from the University of Miami, United States, and colleagues.
The meat and dairy industry accounts for 57% of total global food production emissions and at least 16.5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, Bach and colleagues investigated recent environmental claims made by 33 of the world's largest meat and dairy companies to assess whether these claims outlined clear and achievable ways to reduce their environmental impact, or if these claims were "greenwashing" (deceptive or intentionally misleading).
The authors analyzed 1,233 environmental claims drawn from the publicly available sustainability reports and websites of 33 of the world's largest meat and dairy companies (data spanning from 2021-2024).
841 claims (68%) were classified as climate-related because they directly or indirectly addressed GHG emissions or the impact of climate change—highlighting how climate change has become a primary way to frame sustainability commitments. 467 claims (38%) were unverifiable future projections such as "achieve carbon neutrality by 2030" or "enable the restoration of 600 billion liters of water in water-stressed regions by 2030." The authors found company-provided supporting evidence for 356 (29%) of the 1,233 studied claims; scholarly scientific evidence was provided to support only three of these claims, two of which were climate-related. 17 of the 33 companies have now also made net-zero commitments (up from just 4 companies with net-zero pledges in 2020). These commitments appear to rely on offsetting carbon emissions rather than decarbonizing directly. Finally, the authors examined the studied environmental claims using a greenwashing framework and found that 98% (1,213) could be categorized as greenwashing, such as "produce net climate-neutral dairy by no later than 2050."
The authors note that promises, unverifiable claims, and greenwashing are not strategies unique to the meat and dairy industry, though animal agriculture does have a disproportionately high impact on global greenhouse gases.
"Greenwashing was rampant in the sustainability reports of the world's largest meat and dairy companies, which can create the illusion of climate progress," said Maya Bach, a graduate student in the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School's Department of Environmental Science and Policy and lead author of the study. "We are concerned that these claims can mislead the public, influence consumers, and reduce pressure on policymakers to take climate action."
"Meat and dairy companies are talking a lot about climate change, which makes sense because animal-based foods lead to more emissions and other environmental impacts than other kinds of foods" said Jennifer Jacquet, a professor of Environmental Science and Policy and corresponding author on the study. "But when so much of what these companies say seem to be empty promises that are not backed up with evidence or investments, it starts to look more like a public relations exercise rather than caring for the planet."
In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Climate: https://plos.io/4dSu9xW
Citation: Bach M, Loy L, Mach KJ, Shukla McDermid S, Jacquet J (2026) Environmental claims, climate promises, and 'greenwashing' by meat and dairy companies. PLOS Clim 5(4): e0000773. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000773
Author Countries: United States
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
