Burger King’s Reduced Methane Beef is a Green-washing Gimmick
Deconstructing the environmental claims in Burger King’s new commercial
On July 14, Burger King reported it would begin using meat from cows that (allegedly) release 33% less methane. Burger King claims that introducing lemongrass in the cow’s diet improves digestion, and therefore reduces methane emissions. This was announced along with a commercial, which has already generated millions of views:
I hate to break the news, but the singing cowboy is trying to pull a fast one on you.
Beef farming is extremely greenhouse gas (GHG) intensive and is one of the driving forces of climate change. A 2018 Science article estimated that producing 100 grams of beef releases the equivalent of 50 kilograms of carbon dioxide on average. This number is far higher than any other common food. Pork is estimated to release an equivalent of 4.6 kilograms CO2 per 100 grams of meat, chicken is responsible for 2.4 kilos, and only 1.0 kilo is released per 100 grams of tofu. Why is beef so high? As the…
