Within days of protests from farmers and ranchers from across the country, including Wyoming, Burger King has decided to pull a recent ad that discussed methane emissions.
A national advertisement released earlier this month featured country singer Mason Ramsey, who talked about how Burger King plans to reduce methane emissions by adding lemongrass to its cows’ diets.
“Since we are a part of the problem, we are working on a solution,” Ramsey said in the ad.
However, a scientist’s tweets and protests from across the country got Burger King to reconsider the ad.
According to AgWeb, University of California-Davis animal science professor Frank Mitloehner tweeted that some of BK’s information in the ad was misleading or inaccurate.
“IT’S. NOT. THE. COW. FARTS. Nearly all enteric methane from cattle is from belching,” Mitloehner tweeted after seeing the commercial. “Suggesting otherwise turns this serious climate topic into a joke. Reducing methane is a HUGE opportunity. That should be a goal. But we shouldn’t trivialize it for trendy marketing. #COWSMENU.”
Mitloehner said in a podcast interview later that he doubted lemongrass, at the level the company will feed it, will have the desired effect.
BK officials contacted Mitloehner after seeing his response to the commercial, saying they were surprised by his reception. They also asked the scientist to work with them moving forward.
Protestors in Torrington last week also let their opinions be known about the ad, with one telling the Torrington Telegram that the campaign felt like a slap in the face.
Goshen County is Wyoming’s top beef producer, with Carbon County coming in second.
