Our avocacy work to address industrial livestock hand in hand with Tiny Beam Fund
At GFC’s Unsustainable Livestock Campaign, we focus on the key drivers of the expansion of industrial animal agriculture. Our work involves addressing the narratives and strategies used by the promoters of this model while identifying critical actors and scenarios that allow for effective joint advocacy at various scales in collaboration with member organizations and allies. Through this work, we have recognized essential needs such as addressing harmful discourses and fostering capacity building. This is where the support from the Tiny Beam Fund has been invaluable in strengthening our initiatives.
We view addressing funding and perverse subsidies for unsustainable livestock as vital components of our advocacy efforts. Specifically, our campaign has been actively engaged in the campaign Stop Financing Factory Farming (S3F), which targets the financial involvement of Multilateral Development Banks in the production chain of unsustainable livestock activities.
To broaden our outreach, we’ve connected with affected communities, allies, and GFC member groups, highlighting two essential themes. First, there is a pressing need to implement capacity-building programs that give various rightsholders the practical tools to advocate against unsustainable livestock and its impacts on their territories. Second, we’ve received requests to expand our analysis of financing to include other sources beyond our current scope.
While we may not have the resources to conduct sustained investigations into additional funding sources, we believe that a deeper understanding is crucial. We believe it can be immensely beneficial to equip interested organizations and affected communities with the practical tools to pursue research and advocacy.
Although this had been a recurring request, it wasn’t until we secured funding from the Tiny Beam Fund through the Fueling Advocacy Initiatives program that we made significant strides in this area. We enhanced our planned activities and collaborated with academic partners to identify and categorize various portals, sources, tools, and databases that are essential for researching financing in unsustainable livestock.
Furthermore, with the support of academics, we developed a methodological guide for conducting related research. We also engaged in hands-on exchange exercises with PhD candidate Xavier León and GFC member groups, focusing on explaining methodologies, key concepts, and research foundations.
This effort culminated in mentoring two member organizations, CEDENMA (Ecuador) and AMAF (Benin), enabling them to undertake practical research exercises that fostered a rich dialogue of knowledge, with findings set to be published in two languages next year.
Thanks to the Tiny Beam grant, we created valuable resources that were shared through a series of virtual trainings conducted multilingually in French, English, and Spanish. These webinars were opportunities for cross-regional learning and alliance building. From these sessions, two groups were selected for further mentorship, navigating challenges such as language barriers and differing political cultures. These experiences have provided crucial insights on how to continue empowering organizations to conduct precise research that can be leveraged in national advocacy campaigns—a model that GFC can expand to other scales.
Additionally, in addressing the multifaceted complexity of unsustainable livestock expansion, we are working on a report titled “Exposing the Illusions: Assessing Misleading Claims in Industrial Livestock and Their Climate Impact,” which aligns with our Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice. The report reveals critical findings, including that industrial animal agriculture accounts for 16.5% to 28.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it the second-largest contributor to climate change after fossil fuels. Alarmingly, if current trends continue, livestock emissions could consume up to 50% of the greenhouse gas budget needed to limit warming to 1.5°C by 2030 and possibly 80% by 2050.
Despite advancements in emission intensity, total emissions from the livestock sector have remained largely stagnant. While efficient management practices could reduce emissions intensity by 30%, total emissions have not seen a proportional decline; they have stagnated or even increased by 4% to 5%, exacerbated by the scale of livestock production. This highlights the risk of techno-optimism—a persistent belief that technological innovations can resolve environmental crises without addressing their core causes, which ultimately threatens meaningful change.
In conclusion, the partnership with academic institutions through the support of the Tiny Beam Fund significantly enhances our capacity as activists and campaigners, equipping us with research tools and methodologies that can facilitate impactful advocacy efforts against unsustainable livestock practices. Together, we’re moving closer to a more sustainable future.
Written by Andrea Echeverri, Dec 2025
