'Declaration' in support of meat consumption by scientists has several links to meat industry, investigation reveals - Irish Independent

‘Declaration’ in support of meat consumption by scientists has several links to meat industry, investigation reveals | Independent.ie

‘Declaration’ in support of meat consumption by scientists has several links to meat industry, investigation reveals

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A statement signed by over 1,000 scientists in support of meat production and consumption which was endorsed by the EU’s agriculture commissioner had multiple links to the livestock industry, an investigation has found.

The “Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock” which was launched at a meeting in Dublin by Teagasc in October 2022 was used to exert influence on EU officials on environment and health policies.

However, many of those who supported the declaration are researchers with strong ties to the meat industry, an investigation by the Guardian has revealed. It was reported that many of those were researchers in the animal and food sciences.

“[Livestock] are too precious to society to become the victim of simplification, reductionism or zealotry. These systems must continue to be embedded in and have broad approval of society,” the declaration said.

It said the aim of the declaration was to give a voice to scientists “who research diligently, honestly and successfully in the various disciplines in order to achieve a balanced view of the future of animal agriculture.”

One of the six members of the committee who initiated the declaration, Prof Dr Peer Ederer earlier this year took to X (formally Twitter) to describe veganism as “an eating disorder requiring psychological treatment”.

The “Dublin Declaration” was launched at the International Summit on the Societal Role of Meat which was hosted by Teagasc last year, a summit which cost €45,000.

“Livestock-derived foods are the most readily available source of high quality proteins and several essential nutrients for the global consumer,” the declaration said.

The statement also said that “well-managed livestock systems applying agro-ecological principles can generate many other benefits, including carbon sequestration, improved soil health, biodiversity.”

According to the Guardian, when first published, the declaration gave no information relating to its origins or provenance.

Once published, the declaration was used to influence top EU officials in relation to health and environmental policies being explored.

In October 2022, the EU’s Agriculture Commissioner, Mr Janusz Wojciechowski posted on X that “Politicians must listen carefully to research and science before taking decisions. Livestock has a very important role in our societies.”

“The Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock - recently approved, is a very valuable contribution to the ongoing debates in the EU. I recommend its reading,” Mr Wojciechowski added.

There was no declaration on the website about the ‘Dublin Declaration’ about the authors’ “potential conflicts of interest” until after they were contacted by the Guardian, the newspaper reported.

“We had not reported about our potential conflicts of interest as would be common in scientific practice, so we fixed this,” Prof Ederer said afterwards.

"I have clients in the livestock sector,” Ederer said. “This emphasis on whether some researchers have customers from private industry is, in my view, and many people’s, completely meaningless, because there’s no such thing as conflict-of-interest free research,” Prof Ederer said.

Prof Ederer, who denies being the lead author of the declaration, despite being named as such by other authors in documents released by Teagasc under Freedom of Information requests, said that nobody was paid for their involvement in the Dublin Declaration.