War on Meat: Study Suggests Cigarette-style Climate Warning Labels to Cut Down Meat Consumption

Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy a hamburger, a new study from Durham University in the U.K. suggests that cigarette-style graphic warning labels depicting the worst effects of so-called climate change might encourage citizens to consume less meat, which the researchers claim will “improve public health and reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.”

The study, “Impact of pictorial warning labels on meat meal selection: A randomised experimental study with UK meat consumers,” can be read in Appetite, a scientific journal that looks at normal and disordered eating and drinking in animals and humans.

The researchers have an obvious bias against meat consumption, saying it is “deeply ingrained in Western societies.” They made a show out of linking meat-eating to “poorer health outcomes” and even claimed that eating meat was a “contributor to pandemic infections,” but it was clear that climate change was their raison d’être for the study.

“Meat consumption … contributes heavily to deaths from pollution and climate change with meat production in China being linked to 90,000 pollution related deaths and in the United States being linked to nearly 13,000 pollution related deaths,” the study claimed. “Between 12 and 18% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the livestock industry.”

The study surveyed 1,001 adults, with participants separated into four groups. Participants were asked to imagine themselves in a cafeteria and choose between four dinner options: meat, fish, vegetarian, and vegan.

One group was shown a warning label with the meat option that showed someone having a heart attack. It read: “Eating meat contributes to poor health.” This warning label caused an 8.8-percent drop in meat meal choices. The second group was shown a label showing a burnt landscape with the admonition, “WARNING: Eating meat contributes to climate change.” This image led 7.4 percent to choose a non-meat option. The third group was shown a pandemic warning and a picture of exotic meat, leading to a 10-percent decrease in meat choices.

Each group was asked to make 20 separate decisions on different meal choices. Three groups were asked how anxiety-provoking and believable they found the warning labels. The fourth group was a control group who were not shown the labels.

Of the groups shown the warning labels, the climate label was found to be the most credible, so climate zealots can rest assured that their fear tactics and propaganda are working on some.

“It is not up to me to speculate or recommend how companies and restaurants use this research,” said lead researcher Jack Hughes of Durham University’s psychology department. “If these were to be implemented in the real world, what our research shows is that putting these warning labels alongside meat options when people are making decisions might be an effective way to reduce the amount of meat people are choosing.”

Although professing that it was not up to him to decide how companies might use his research, Hughes did say that such labeling could be used as part of a national policy to reduce meat consumption.

“As warning labels have already been shown to reduce smoking as well as drinking of sugary drinks and alcohol, using a warning label on meat-containing products could help us achieve this if introduced as national policy,” he said.

Our meat consumption is one of the top targets of the climate cult. According to the UN, “Animal-based foods, especially red meat, dairy, and farmed shrimp, are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions.”

Naturally, the UN would prefer us to eat more plant-based foods, such as “fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils.” These options “generally use less energy, land, and water, and have lower greenhouse gas intensities than animal-based foods.” There was no information available for how much emissions insect protein produces.

The UN also states that beef is responsible for 70.6 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of actual food produced. Fruits, vegetables and nuts are, supposedly, only responsible for less than 1 kg of emissions per kilogram of food produced.

So, the climate cult isn’t only after our vehicles, our electricity, and our home heating systems, it’s also looking to take away our steaks and hamburgers. A good rule of thumb: If it makes you happy, the climate cult wants to take it away from you.