A group of more than 100 climate zealots has written to major US banks, demanding that they immediately stop funding “industrial animal agriculture,” which they claim is a major contributor to the climate crisis. Banks targeted by the doomsday propaganda include Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, which they refer to as the “Big Three.”
The 105 organisations are grouped under an umbrella group called Friends of the Earth. Among the organisations named in the Friends of the Earth document are the Centre for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Churchill Fellowship. The letter argues that unless the banks immediately stop funding the agribusiness industry, which they claim is “accelerating climate change, causing catastrophic loss of biodiversity, exacerbating food insecurity and undermining animal welfare and human rights.”
“Industrial animal agriculture is incompatible with a secure future for the planet, so it's time for banks and investors to turn off the taps and stop funding the growth of industrial animal agriculture,” said Martin Bowman of Feedback Global, one of the organisations on the list.
“Industrial animal farming is one of the most destructive activities for the planet. By continuing to lend to meat, dairy and feed companies, banks are contributing to climate change and environmental degradation, and undermining their own climate commitments. Stopping all new lending that enables the expansion of industrial animal farming is one of the most climate-friendly actions banks can take,” said Monique Mikhail, Agriculture and Climate Finance Campaign Director at Friends of the Earth US.
“By funding the world's largest meat, dairy and feed companies, global banks are prioritizing corporate profits at the expense of people and the planet,” the letter said.
Climate fanatics are making demands like kidnappers, arguing that banks must pay up or risk the consequences.
“We call on all banks to treat industrial livestock production as a high-emitting sector and immediately set, publish and implement agriculture sector-specific 1.5°C targets and action plans.”
This includes “stopping all new funding that would enable the survival or expansion of industrial livestock production.”
“We will require our meat, dairy and feed customers to disclose third-party verified 1.5°C targets and action plans that are aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2022 (IPCC22) or equivalent science-based sectoral pathways.”
and “addressing the additional social and environmental harms of industrial animal production.”
In their Malthusian worldview, those “social and environmental damages” would include keeping people fed and breathing, contributing to climate change.
The letter specifically names the bank's clients Cargill, ADM, Bunge and Nestlé as “high-emissions companies involved in meat, dairy and animal feed production,” and further argues that food production has a disproportionate impact on global warming.
Funding these companies is not sustainable.
“Investments in industrial livestock are inconsistent with protecting the stability of our life support systems. Industrial livestock companies' operations are structurally incompatible with a sustainable future; they are rigged to pursue the growth of unsustainable mass meat and dairy production,” the letter concludes. “Therefore, banks will not be able to achieve their climate goals unless they significantly reduce their lending to meat, dairy and feed companies.”
These “Friends of the Earth” may be kindred spirits, but they are certainly not friends of humanity. Without meat and dairy, what are they going to have us eat – bugs? Oh, wait a minute…
For banks it is a difficult question: stop financing the companies that feed us and risk starvation, or tell the “Friends of the Earth” to shut up and go away and risk incurring their wrath in the form of protests and letter writing? It seems like an easy decision, but not so much in light of the banks' “net zero” and ESG commitments.
