Weather Network’s anti-meat video ‘doesn’t reflect true story’: cattle ranchers

A meat industry association has demanded the Weather Network remove a video from its website that urges Canadians to consume less red meat, the latest front in the farmers’ fight against negative publicity for animal products amid a consumer push toward plant-based protein alternatives. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association met with the network’s executives Monday night to address concerns about the video’s message, primarily claims that cows require more resources than other, smaller animals and produce 20 times more greenhouse gas than certain plants. The Weather Network-produced video, which suggests people should cut back by about 1.5 burgers a week, highlights a recent report from the World Resources Institute, the United Nations and other partners on how the world can prepare to feed a 10-billion population by 2050. The video “doesn’t reflect the true story,” Jill Harvie, public and stakeholder engagement manager with cattlemen’s association, said in an interview. The group disputes the video’s suggestion that cutting back on meat consumption could help save the planet, saying beef production in Canada makes a positive contribution to the environment through maintaining grassland and sequestering carbon. The Canadian beef industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are among the lowest in the world, she added. “We’d hoped that the video would come down and would be essentially replaced with something that was more reflective of the Canadian context.”...MORE