No, Biden is not trying to force Americans to eat less red meat. Here’s what to know
President Joe Biden is not forcing Americans to cut back on meat.
The false claim that Biden’s climate plan includes requiring a 90% reduction in red meat consumption began circulating after the president announced last week that his administration would aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade.
The rumor appears to have stemmed from a story published by British tabloid, The Daily Mail, that baselessly speculated about what could be included in the plan, according to the fact-checking site Snopes and CNN.
What are the claims?
The story — which ran with a headline that read, in part, “How Biden’s climate plan could limit you to eat just one burger a MONTH...” — noted that Biden has yet to release details about the plan but connected it to a 2020 paper published by the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems.
The paper, which discusses the link between diet and the environment, does not mention Biden or limits on meat consumption, and Biden has never publicly mentioned the paper, CNN reports.
But Fox News hosts later touted the speculations, and a graphic including the false claim that Biden would force Americans to cut meat consumption by 90% was shared by a number of political figures on social media.
“I’m pretty sure I ate 4 pounds of red meat yesterday,” Donald Trump Jr., one of former President Donald Trump’s sons, tweeted Saturday. “That’s going to be a hard NO from me.”
“Not gonna happen in Texas,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted Sunday along with the same graphic.
“They want to limit us to about four pounds a year,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, falsely claimed on Twitter. “Why doesn’t Joe stay out of my kitchen?”
Larry Kudlow, Fox News host and former Trump adviser, said Friday on “Fox Business” that Biden’s plan would mean Americans have to “throw back a plant-based beer” on the Fourth of July.
Beer is already plant-based and is typically made from grains, hops, yeast and water.
Fox News anchor John Roberts has since said the “graphic and script incorrectly implied” the research was part of Biden’s plan.
“That is not the case,” Roberts said.
So what does Biden’s plan actually do?
Biden set a goal to “achieve a 50-52 percent reduction” in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.
“To develop the goal, the Administration analyzed how every sector of the economy can spur innovation, unleash new opportunities, drive competitiveness and cut pollution,” the White House says.
Biden’s announcement makes no mention of required diet changes or other mandates.
The White House says the goal “prioritizes American workers” and that “meeting the 2030 emissions target will create millions of good-paying, middle class, union jobs.”
Administration officials have not said specifically how they will meet the goal, NPR reports.
The White House has not publicly addressed the false claims. But when CNN reporter Daniel Dale tweeted the outlet’s story debunking them, White House Rapid Response Director Mike Gwin tweeted a photo of Biden enthusiastically grilling during a steak fry in Iowa in 2019.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 1:50 PM with the headline "No, Biden is not trying to force Americans to eat less red meat. Here’s what to know."
