In the past, the four trillion-dollar investment group Farm Animal Risk and Return (FAIRR) has been responsible for pressuring massive companies such as Dominoes, Tesco, and McDonald’s to consider the impact of livestock production on the environment. Now, they’re pressuring the UN to talk about animal agriculture.
Previously the group has contacted Walmart, Unilever and Whole Foods Market amongst other major world players demanding they stand up to the ever-growing climate crisis, that is worsened by the use of factory farming, and take action to combat it. Unilever have recently signed a manifesto, pledging to both use and promote more plant-based alternatives.
Off the back of this success, FAIRR is now tackling the giant that is the United Nations.
This week the UN will gather in Germany for the COP23 with an aim to discuss implementing the policies of the Paris agreement. However, FAIRR believes the agreement does not adequately address animal-agriculture and its overall effect on global greenhouse gas emissions, they are urging the UN to draw up plans to restructure our global food systems.
Jeremy Coller, the founder of the organization, has observed ‘too many delegates at COP23 will be fluent in low carbon automotive innovations from Tesla to telematics,’ but they fail to acknowledge the threat of animal agriculture on the environment. He has labeled relying on cows and pigs as an ‘outdated technology to supply the world’s protein demand,’ poignantly stating that for the world to move forward in its plight against climate change, ‘the next of the Paris talks must put cows alongside cars.’
