I’m not usually a morning person, but when my alarm went off at 4:00 this morning I jumped out of bed full of hope and ready to take action. Now I’ve climbed up about 30 meters off the ground, and my fellow activists and I just unfurled a massive banner on a major dairy company’s headquarters. 

I have to say it’s a little nerve racking being up here, and there’s a chill wind in the air, but if this action brings light to the climate impacts of methane from Big Meat and Dairy, then my determination to be here this morning was well worth it. 

I’m guessing you can relate to that anxious feeling about climate change. I can feel the doubt of uncertainty creeping in every time I read another piece of bad news. But being here today I feel a new hope. That’s because we still have a powerful lifeline to slow down global warming : we need Big Meat and Dairy companies to drastically cut their methane emissions by reducing meat and dairy in their production. 

Recently I found out that we could achieve a cooling effect of 0.12°C by 2050 with a shift in meat and dairy overproduction and overconsumption. That might sound like a small number but even a fraction of a degree of warming prevented would reduce significant harmful impacts for people and the planet. For instance, each 0.3°C warming prevented by the end of the century could reduce exposure to extreme heat for 410 million people. For every 0.1°C of warming we prevent, 2% less ice mass on global glaciers will melt, significantly improving water availability, reducing sea level rise and flood risks for millions of people in coastal areas.

That could mean a difference of life and death for many of us. We could be part of a change that could improve lives and reduce suffering for so many people in this lifetime! 

The wind just picked up and my mind drifts to the theater performance I will be in at school later this week. Suddenly an eco-friendly pink cloud passes over me, a part of the action scenario to visualize the methane produced by these companies. I check my phone and see pictures from my fellow activists who are taking part in similar actions around the world. 

At sunrise in Aotearoa (New Zealand), they kicked things off with a huge action at a milk processing plant from their local dairy polluter, Fonterra. My friend there texted me to share that their 18×14 meter banner was incredibly heavy, and she felt a huge relief when it finally fell in place. Fonterra has a massive climate footprint in Aotearoa, and is a major polluter of the rivers there.

I see another photo of activists in Germany this morning that took part in an action at the headquarters of Müller, in Bavaria. Müller has become one of Germany’s leading dairy groups though it has not been willing to reveal its calculated emissions.

In Denmark, activists visited the headquarters of Danish Crown, one of the biggest meat suppliers in Europe with an appalling effect on the local nature as well as the climate. Recently, Danish Crown admitted to misleading the public by greenwashing their meat as “climate-friendly”.

Here in Sweden, the Nordic dairy giant Arla has been trying to keep their own climate impact out of the spotlight. But there’s no time left for false promises or hidden agendas. The emission levels of these major meat and dairy companies rival those of the top fossil fuel companies. I’ve seen how – when we stand together – we can take on the biggest polluters in the world, and now our sights are set on Big Meat & Dairy.

When I climbed down from the action today I did so with activists around the world. That gives me great hope that we can build a global movement to take on the meat and dairy industry, get our governments to act for our future  and chart a new path. 

Nadja Uusiperhe is a volunteer activist from Greenpeace Nordic

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