The United Nations (UN) has acknowledged the IFA and Irish farmers’ concerns about a controversial social media post it made claiming that meat was responsible for more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the world’s largest oil companies.

IFA president Tim Cullinan has been thanked by the United Nations for highlighting the erroneous tweet, in a letter that explained the mistake it made.

Last week the UN deleted the controversial tweet, following intense criticism from climate scientists, farmers and even some of its own staff.

The post also encouraged people to eat less meat as a means to reduce harmful climate emissions.

Misinformed claims

When the tweet was published the IFA president wrote to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to highlight his concerns.

In reply, the United Nations letter said: "The Department of Global Communications (United Nations) takes your concerns seriously and is committed to providing accurate information from United Nations sources. Having reviewed the tweet, the Department has deleted it as it was based on a non-UN source without supporting data."

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Tim Cullinan said: “We can't stand by and watch misinformed claims suggesting that meat is damaging to humans and to our climate. We need to highlight the right facts of the matter."

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