How two powerful industries use similar strategies to shape science, policy, and perception.
• Funding biased research to question health risks.
• Cherry‑picking studies and claiming “no consensus.”
• Attacking WHO, IARC, and EAT‑Lancet conclusions.
Goal: Delay regulation and confuse the public.
• Tobacco: freedom, masculinity, glamour.
• Meat & Dairy: strength, vitality, tradition.
• Emotional storytelling and national identity (“Milk = kracht van Nederland”).
Goal: Turn consumption into cultural pride, not a health risk.
• Extensive lobbying networks (Philip Morris / Copa‑Cogeca).
• Revolving doors between policymakers and industry.
• Influence over dietary guidelines and subsidies.
Goal: Keep harmful products legally protected and publicly funded.
• Tobacco and livestock both historically subsidized.
• Framed as vital for rural economies.
• Creates political dependency and resistance to change.
Goal: Maintain public financial support despite public health costs.
• Tobacco: “light” or “low tar” = healthier illusion.
• Meat & Dairy: “lean meat,” “grass‑fed,” “climate neutral beef.”
• CSR projects, “carbon‑neutral farms,” school milk campaigns.
Goal: Rebrand harmful products as responsible and modern.
• Discredit scientists, NGOs, and plant‑based advocates.
• Fund “grassroots” front groups (Smokers for Choice / European Livestock Voice).
• Accuse critics of elitism or extremism.
Goal: Undermine credibility of reform movements.
• After regulation in the West, both industries target emerging markets.
• Promote Western diets/lifestyles as progress symbols.
• Use school programs and aid partnerships to build dependency.
Goal: Secure new generations of consumers.
Both industries:
• Manipulate science and public policy.
• Frame harmful habits as cultural identity.
• Externalize health and environmental costs.
Outcome: Delayed action, rising chronic disease, and planetary harm.
• Oreskes & Conway (2010) Merchants of Doubt.
• Moodie et al. (2013) The Lancet: Profits and Pandemics.
• Nestle (2018) Unsavory Truth.
• Pulker et al. (2023) Globalization and Health.
• Friel et al. (2020) The Lancet Planetary Health.
Just as the world recognized the tactics of Big Tobacco, it must now recognize and confront those of Big Meat and Dairy — for the health of people, animals, and the planet.