Burger King claims that its new ad, which has now been posted on its social media, is an effort to improve the environmental impact of beef. What it does is make beef production as we know it today a villain, all to the tune of a cheesy, colorful video talking about “cow farting” and methane release. What Burger King does not tell you is that farmers and ranchers have long been improving methane emissions per unit of livestock, which has been in sharp decline since 1990, while livestock producers have also increased productivity. .
But that would bump into BK trying to prove he wants to be “absolutely clean,” even as his young cowboy-clad guitarist starts the video coming out of a cow’s back room:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6xDv8RX87A
Some companies simply never learn when it comes to using children to hit a competing product or misleadingly market a concept. The tactic failed spectacularly two years ago when Stonyfield tried, prompting the food company to spend countless resources to control damage online.
In its announcement, the central point of Burger King is to say that it will change the diet of its cattle by adding lemongrass to reduce its emissions by approximately 33 percent. But after Ermias Kebreab, associate dean of the University of California-Davis, hit Twitter to cast doubt on the fast-food giant’s announcement, people were actually left scratching their heads as to why BK would pull the trigger on this campaign.
I can’t say that I love the video, but we participated for the part of the investigation in the United States. My brilliant graduate student @HonanMallory worked hard on it. Our Mexican colleagues found a 33% reduction, but not in our study. It turns out that our lemongrass of Fresno origin was not the same as the Mexican https://t.co/3rpLPakVd3
– Ermias Kebreab (@ErmiasKebreab) July 14, 2020
Overall, while cutting emissions is a big thing (of course!), The fact that the video ad makes current farming practices sound sinister is what has rocked many in the farming community:
@BurgerKing has officially made the WORST anti-science and anti-farmer marketing restaurant I’ve seen in a long time. The new Chipotle? 😡
It’s rare that I get excited, but they deserve extreme backtracking on this.
Remember that time BudLight got mad at farmers?
Leave them, #agtwitter. pic.twitter.com/3HtCOT0cLC– Farm Babe (@thefarmbabe) July 14, 2020
The effects of methane released into the atmosphere by natural sources like cows are completely canceled out by water vapor.
Strike Burger King off the menu.
We will no longer tolerate lies for political reasons– Eli the Pit Bull (@realPitBullDog) July 14, 2020
Agriculture related to agriculture and animals represents only 9% of global emissions. The energy sector accounts for 2/3 of total carbon emissions, what are you doing to supply clean energy for your restaurants? Source: https: //t.co/kQ8MuphwKa ALSO cattle are not only used for food pic.twitter.com/a1aE5mmGm3
– Cowsquirrel (@EmmalyElizabeth) July 14, 2020
And then there was this reaction to one of Burger King’s follow-up tweets:
pic.twitter.com/uYWUGszaAo
– Roxi Horror 💀🌸 (@roxiqt) July 14, 2020
Agriculture’s contribution to total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions is about 10 percent (globally, it’s 4 percent), and even that doesn’t show how insignificant the impact of ag compared to the big picture. (Note that greenhouse gas mainly involves carbon dioxide, but also methane, nitrous oxides, and some refrigerants.) And beef producers in the U.S. already have one of the lowest carbon footprints compared to many of their global counterparts.
In terms of improving one’s climate footprint, Burger King’s efforts aren’t going to have as much of an impact as they claim (it’s all style and no substance), and the resources the company is putting into this ad campaign could be far away. Better spent elsewhere improving the environment. Farmers and ranchers are already working hard year after year to reduce their impact, increase their production and improve their efficiency.
Of course, the solution that many in ag are offering is to just never eat at Burger King again.
