image: Fig 1. U.S. National Cattlemen’s Association and global warming 1986–1996.
Credit: Image Credit: Jacquet et al., 2025, PLOS Climate, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Internal documents show that the trade association for U.S. beef production knew about livestock’s outsized role in global warming by 1989 and undertook strategic communications operation to convince the public otherwise.
Article URL: https://plos.io/3VRDw9Y
Article Title: Global warming and the National Cattlemen’s Association 1986–1996
Author Countries: United States
Funding: This research was funded by JJ’s start-up funds provided by the University of Miami. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Journal
PLOS Climate
Article Publication Date
7-Oct-2026
COI Statement
Competing Interests: Neither author has served or currently serves on the editorial board of PLoS Climate nor has acted as expert witnesses in relevant legal proceedings. Since 2023, JJ has been Associate Research Director of the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN), headquartered at Brown University, which provides her with some salary. Since 2025, JJ sits on the advisory board for the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection (CEAP) at New York University (and received a $2500 stipend for the 2025-2026 academic year). JJ is also on the advisory board for the Sea Around Us at the University of British Columbia and the National Food Museum (both unpaid). This does not alter our adherence to PLOS Climate policies on sharing data and materials.