Can we still eat meat with a clear conscience? Accused of endangering our health and our planet, meat is no longer on the up-and-up. In Switzerland, the government has updated its climate strategy with an unprecedented recommendation to reduce meat consumption and production. In the face of criticism, the powerful meat lobby has taken to the front line, with contested arguments. The method is the same as those used by Big Oil. Fist by sowing doubt in the media, then by downplaying its role in global warming. The Dublin Declaration, signed by 1200 scientists in 2022, played a huge role in this. Our journalists investigate in Bern, Brussels and the USA.

Filming locations
Switzerland (several cattle farms).
Franco-Swiss border (meat smuggling).
Brussels (European Commission, mentioned).

Main contributors
Michel Darbellet, board member of the Swiss Farmers' Union.
Mike Egger, SVP (UDC) National Councillor for St. Gallen, project manager at Micarna.
Valentine Piton, Martine Rebetez, climatologists.
Sophie Michaud Gigon, environment and agriculture specialist, French-speaking Swiss Consumer Association (FRC).
Jennifer Jacquet, professor, specialist in industrial communication strategies.
Frank Mitloehner, professor of air quality, University of California, Davis.
Wilhelm Per Ederer, economist, consultant, author of the Dublin Declaration.
Camille Perrin, European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).

Main themes
Communication strategies of the global meat industry to minimize its climate impact through scientific networks and parliamentary lobbying.
Economic difficulties of the Swiss beef sector (foreign competition, illegal meat smuggling) despite the emergence of local alternative models.

Key figures
A 20% drop in meat consumption over 30 years, stabilizing at 50 kg per person per year.
An estimated 10% annual loss in revenue due to meat smuggling.
Six million francs per year in federal funding for Proviande's communication campaigns.

Quotes
Sophie Michaud Gigon: "This time, the industry is clearly engaging in disinformation because we are dealing with facts that are completely erroneous and even untruthful."
Valentine Piton: "Their fairly dense network allows their influence to be used, consciously or not, to massively spread disinformation.