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A beef industry-funded effort to teach teenagers about cattle’s climate impact was quietly removed following backlash from ranchers who disputed the premise that cows contribute to global heating. The episode marks the latest development in the livestock industry’s decades-long battle to shape what American children learn about cows and the climate.
A Short-Lived Lesson on Methane
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) and its Food and Agriculture Center for Science Education produce a free science curriculum used by about 1.2 million students across more than 100 school districts nationwide. Late last year, the foundation announced a new lesson exploring how cattle produce methane and its role within broader environmental and biological systems.
Within months, the lesson was removed following online criticism from ranchers. Brett Kenzy, a prominent South Dakota farmer who chairs a committee of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), told a trade paper that claiming cows harm the environment is unfair and called the lesson a slap in the face. Rick Henningfeld, the AFBFA education director, confirmed the removal at CattleCon, the beef industry’s annual convention, in February, stating they heard the feedback and hoped to bring it back quickly according to a recording shared with The Guardian. The lesson has not returned, and a new lesson on cattle digestion published in July makes no mention of methane or climate.
The curriculum is funded by a mandatory levy on cattle sales called the beef checkoff. Officials behind the program previously stated that it aims to eliminate negative perceptions of the industry for future consumers. A foundation spokesperson stated the topic cannot be covered in a 45-minute lesson and noted they are working on a longer version reviewing research related to the biogenic cycle with help from university experts, adding that the July lesson was not a replacement.
Climate Science and Industry Backlash
Animal agriculture advocates frequently claim the biogenic cycle—in which atmospheric methane breaks down within about 12 years into carbon dioxide that is reabsorbed by grass—means cattle methane contributes little additional global heating. However, mainstream climate researchers emphasize that biogenic methane is a leading cause of the climate crisis. Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, a climate scientist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, noted that about 0.3C of global warming to date is maintained by ongoing biogenic emissions and that cutting them is essential.
The removed lesson, titled “Methane & Cattle: A Climate Connection”, utilized figures from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to show that methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with a short atmospheric life. Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at Duke University who chaired the UN’s 2021 Global Methane Assessment, stated the lesson contained an error by stating livestock accounts for about 2% of human-caused methane emissions, when the true figure is slightly over 30%. Shindell called it a shame that ranchers would block students from learning about their inherited world, adding that the role of methane in climate change is scientifically undisputed.
The backlash began when rancher and podcaster Jim Mundorf wrote a blog post describing the methane lesson as infuriating and comparing blaming cattle for climate change to blaming volcanoes or lightning strikes. The post was amplified across the farming community after being republished by the ranchers coalition of the conservative group CPAC. Mundorf stated that farm bureau contacts later informed him the lesson would likely not be used anymore. At CattleCon, Henningfeld stated the foundation would develop a new producer review process for all published materials to ensure representation of science, teachers, and producers. Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, questioned what happens when those goals conflict, noting the recent censorship suggests producer needs prevail.
Decades of Pressuring Education
A study published by University of Miami researchers Jennifer Jacquet and Loredana Loy examined archival documents and found that in the 1980s and 1990s, a precursor to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association treated global warming as a public relations problem to downplay US cattle emissions. The study found that group pressure led Random House in 1991 to end reprints of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles children’s book linking cattle to global warming. Jacquet noted that influencing K-12 education has been part of the strategy for decades, while the National Cattlemen’s Association declined to comment.
In September, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees agricultural checkoff programs, ordered them to end support for environmental, social, and governance initiatives as well as net-zero and climate-neutrality targets, though the USDA stated it had no role in removing the methane lesson.
