Red Flag Consulting

Background

Red Flag Consulting is an Ireland-based consultancy and public relations (PR) firm. The firm was founded in 2013 by Karl Brophy and reportedly promotes itself as the โ€œโ€˜eyes and ears in Europeโ€™ for US-based clientsโ€.1โ€œClients watch firm in legal glare,โ€ Independent.IE, March 25, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/OaOX2

Red Flag describes itself as a โ€œstrategic communications and public affairs agencyโ€, with offices in Brussels, Cape Town, Dublin, London, and Washington D.C.2โ€œRed Flag,โ€ Red Flag. Archived June 7, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/P6CmT

Red Flagโ€™s current and former clients include companies from the tobacco, digital, and chemicals industries.3โ€œRed Flag,โ€œ LobbyFacts. Archived November 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Pg4Nt Red Flag also advises the Meat Institute (formerly the North American Meat Institute), including on its โ€œProtein PACTโ€ communications strategy.4โ€œ2023 Protein PACT Summit – Agenda,โ€ North American Meat Institute, 2023. Archived February 14, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rjRFX

Red Flag expanded its lobbying in the U.S. in 2021 with the purchase of a Washington D.C. trade lobbying firm. The Irish Times reported that Red Flag already had โ€œa particular focus on food industry clients such as the National Coffee Association and the North American Meat Institute, which represents all major US meat producersโ€.5Mark Paul. โ€œRed Flag expands lobbying operation in Washington DC,โ€ The Irish Times, July 7, 2021. Archived July 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/F9nbO

A 2017 report by the consultancy on what a hard Brexit would mean for the agriculture sector said Red Flag โ€œinforms significant decisions for major multinational companies and sectoral organisationsโ€ by โ€œpartnering with think-tanks, academics and other expertsโ€.6โ€œThe EU Meat Industry in a Hard Brexit Scenario,โ€ UECBV – Red Flag. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog. The report was commissioned by livestock trade association European Livestock and Meat Trades Union (UECBV).

In 2017, the company reportedly hired former Trump White House advisor Andy Hemming, who had also previously served as โ€œresearch directorโ€ for Trumpโ€™s 2016 presidential campaign.7Ciarรกn Hancock. โ€œPR agency Red Flag hires former White House adviser,โ€ The Irish Times, September 23, 2017. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/XFuoO

Stance on Climateย Changeย 

In November 2023, DeSmog reported on documents produced by the Global Meat Alliance (GMA), a trade group for meat producers, which revealed that the industry โ€œwill be helped to stay on message in Dubai by the PR firm Red Flagโ€.8Rachel Sherrington. โ€œBig Meat Unveils Battle Plans for COP28,โ€ DeSmog, November 29, 2023. COP28 was described by organisers and media as a โ€œfood COPโ€ during which the greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture, including emissions-intensive meat and dairy production, would be scrutinised.9โ€œCOP28: Key outcomes for food, forests, land and nature at the UN climate talks in Dubai,โ€ Carbon Brief, December 15, 2023. Archived February 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/iEreT

In April 2020, a Red Flag consulting director praised the European Commission for moving slowly on policies โ€“ including food and farming regulations โ€“ amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Politico. The report said that โ€œa significant number of items will be delayed, including the Farm to Fork strategy that aims to set targets for organic farming and pesticide use โ€ฆ and maybe even the blocโ€™s new 2030 climate targets”, quoting the director as saying โ€œitโ€™s good that they are giving more time to ensure proper due diligence, process and feedbackโ€.10Christina Gonzalez, Laurens Cerulus, Eline Schaart. โ€œLobbyists ask EU to pause new laws,โ€ Politico, April 21, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/eLvYN

In February 2020, Farming Independent reported that Meat and Dairy Facts11Margaret Donnelly. โ€œMeat and Dairy Facts changes PR advisors,โ€ Farming Independent, February 4, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/vClqCย โ€“ a consortium of farmers, food processors, and Irish state agencies formed to counter what it claims is โ€œdisinformationโ€ aimed at beef and dairy products โ€“ had chosen a new PR agency and was no longer represented by Red Flag, following โ€œinternal clashes”.12John Gibbons. “Ireland’s Meat and Dairy Farmers Bring in Tobacco PR Firm to Tackle Image Problem,” DeSmog, October 4, 2019. The two organisations had worked together to โ€œpromote positive messages around meat and dairyโ€.

In 2019, trade publication Farming Independent reported that a number of Irish agricultural organisations had hired Red Flag for โ€œpublic relations and lobbying advice to counteract negative sentiment about farming in relation to climate changeโ€. The PR firmโ€™s work for US agricultural interests was cited in the article, which said that Red Flag won a “competitive tender to spearhead the operation”, particularly because of its experience working with the U.S. meat industry.13Margaret Donnelly,ย Claire Fox. โ€œAgri-food alliance brings in big guns to fight negative press,โ€ Farming Independent,ย September 17, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/UYIeI

It was reported in 2018 that Red Flag was instrumental in setting up the astroturf Freedom To Farm campaign, which demanded that glyphosate, the controversial weedkiller produced by Monsanto, not be banned by the EU.14James Moore. โ€œPR company accused of using โ€˜tobacco lobbyist tacticsโ€™ to promote weedkiller linked to cancer,โ€ The Independent, October 16, 2018. Archived November 6, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/wPfH2

Red Flag drew attention from environmental activists Extinction Rebellion in October 2019, when the group protested outside Red Flagโ€™s Dublin office to object to the consultancy’s work for the meat and dairy industry on climate change. Protesters pointed out that Red Flag had “recently been hired by several agriculture organisationโ€™s [sic] (including Bord Bia) to promote Irelandโ€™s meat and dairy industry as sustainableโ€.15Aoife Moore. โ€œExtinction Rebellion carry out fourth day of protest in Dublin,โ€ Independent.IE, October 10, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/lNbso

Meat and Dairy Communications Strategy, Protein PACT

Red Flag Consulting leads the โ€œProtein PACTโ€ (People, Animals, and Climate of Tomorrow), a communications initiative commissioned by industry association the Meat Institute, that launched in January 2022.

The PACTโ€™s 2021 pre-launch document states:16โ€œProtein-PACT launch two pager for partners,โ€ Protein PACT, 2021. Archived August 21, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

โ€œTo achieve the Protein PACT vision, we are establishing transparent baselines and benchmarks for our efforts, setting ambitious targets for continuous improvement, collecting data to verify and transparently report on progress, and launching comprehensive communications about animal proteinโ€™s unique place in sustainable, healthy diets.โ€

The launch document concludes: โ€œOur urgent task is to ensure stakeholders, decision makers, and ultimately consumers trust that meat, dairy, and eggs are part of solutions for diverse, healthy, sustainable diets.โ€17โ€œProtein-PACT launch two pager for partners,โ€ Protein PACT, 2021. Archived August 21, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

A November 2021 newsletter from the Cattle Producers of Louisiana included a summary of the initial plan for the Protein PACT. The summary, written by Lisa M. Keefe, editor-in-chief of MeatingPlace, quoted two consultants: Melissa San Miguel, head of Americas for Red Flag; and Aly Mahaffy, the co-CEO of Signal Theory, a โ€œconsumer behaviour research consultancyโ€ based in Kansas City, Missouri.18โ€œFeedlot Numbers Down but Plentiful Currently, Cow Country Report,โ€ Cattle Producers Of Louisiana, November 1, 2021. Archived February 8, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.is/JnTtp

According to the newsletter, the consultants had a โ€œstep-by-step plan for introducing Protein PACT to the public and laying the groundwork for making sure consumers feel as good and justified in choosing to eat meat as non-meat-eaters feel about their dietary choicesโ€.

The newsletter stated that the Protein PACT had multiple aims, including building public awareness of the campaign and its slogan โ€œitโ€™s your plateโ€; targeting Millennials and their children (โ€œGeneration Alphaโ€); and working with โ€œmicro-influencersโ€ to increase trust among millennial consumers.19โ€œFeedlot Numbers Down but Plentiful Currently, Cow Country Report,โ€ Cattle Producers Of Louisiana, November 1, 2021. Archived February 8, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.is/JnTtp

At the March 2023 Flavor Summit, an event held in California at The Culinary Institute of America,20โ€œFlavor Summit 2023 โ€“ Schedule โ€“ The Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa, CA, March 7-9, 2023,โ€ The Culinary Institute of America, February 21, 2023. Archived February 8, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Protein PACT sponsored a session titled โ€œSustaining Meat for Generations to Comeโ€. The session was hosted by Melissa San Miguel, identified as โ€œPresident – Red Flag, North American Meat Institute; Washington, DC,โ€ and included UC Davis researcher Frank Mitloehner as a panellist.ย 

In July 2023, Red Flag account manager Nina Dater led a Protein PACT and Meat Institute panel at the 2023 Shopping for Health conference.21โ€œNina Dater,โ€ LinkedIn profile. Archived June 21, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 22Nina Dater. โ€œProud to represent the Protein PACT,โ€ post on LinkedIn. Archived June 17, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/t505V

The schedule for the annual meat industry โ€œsummitโ€, held in San Diego in October 2023, outlined how the event โ€œwork[s] toward the bold goals of the Protein PACTโ€ and โ€œbrings together the industry to help drive the commitment to work transparently and accelerate progress toward global sustainable development goalsโ€.23โ€œ2023 Protein PACT Summit – Agenda,โ€ North American Meat Institute, 2023. Archived February 14, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rjRFX

In a LinkedIn post, Eric Mittenthal, chief strategy officer at the Meat Institute, said the summit had left him โ€œmore hopeful, excited, and confident about the future of sustainable animal agriculture than everโ€.24Eric Mittenthal. โ€œProtein PACT summit highlights years of work and many more to come,โ€ post on LinkedIn, October 18, 2023. Archived February 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SSdmk

In an October 2023 slide presentation for October, 2023 Protein PACT Summit in San Diego, Red Flag lead consultant Melissa San Miguel presented an update on the Protein PACT campaign.25โ€œRed Flag Consulting, 2024. Melissa San Miguel,โ€ Red Flag. Archived December 5, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/RFon6 One slide read:26โ€œLean Trimmings Volume 9, Issue 41,โ€ North American Meat Institute,October 10, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.ย 27โ€œCommunications updates, Protein PACT Summit, October 2023,โ€ North American Meat Institute, October 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archived February 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/wsfHx

โ€œThe Protein PACT deploys partner messaging and activates a wide range of diverse, respected experts to inform and persuade key audiences from dietitians to the White House to global climate negotiators. Highlights include the Protein PACTโ€™s sponsorship of and expert engagement in the first-ever UN Climate Summit pavilion on sustainable agriculture in the Americas, hosted by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) – which has endorsed the Protein PACT and called for scaling it up internationally.โ€

At this Summit, the Meat Institute published a report titled โ€œBuilding from Transparent Baselines: 2023 Continuous Improvement Report,โ€ which stated that by 2030, โ€œ100% of NAMI general members will have delivered an approved Science Based Target to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement goalsโ€.28โ€œBuilding from Transparent Baselines: 2023 Continuous Improvement Report,โ€ North American Meat Institute and Protein PACT, October 2023. Archived November 10, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/pHTm3

The next Protein Pact summit is due to take place on October 9-11, 2024, in Austin, Texas.29โ€œOctober 9-11, 2024 JW marriott | Austin, Texasย  See You Next Year, October 9-11, for the 2024 Protein PACT Summit!,โ€ North American Meat Institute, October 2023. Archived December 4, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KYbCpย 30Eric Mittenthal. โ€œ(39) Protein PACT summit highlights years of work and many more to come,โ€ North American Meat Institute, LinkedIn post, October 18, 2023. Archived February 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SSdmk

Dublin Declaration and โ€˜International Summit on the Societal Role of Meatโ€™

Teagasc, Irelandโ€™s state agency for agriculture and food development, hosted an October 2022 conference called the โ€œInternational Summit on the Societal Role of Meatโ€.31โ€œThe Societal Role of Meat – What the Science Says: International Meat Summit,โ€ Teagasc, October, 2022. Archived February 1, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QBsue Red Flag assisted with the preparations for and communications around the event, according to reporting from Unearthed, the investigative journalism arm of environmental nonprofit Greenpeace.32Zach Boren. โ€œRevealed: The livestock consultants behind the Dublin Declaration of Scientists,โ€ Unearthed, October 27, 2023. Archived January 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xKcyo

In a press release about the event, Teagasc referenced the โ€œDublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Meatโ€.33(Press release.) โ€œLeading scientists advance science in global meat debate,โ€ Teagasc, October 19, 2022. Archived January 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZXbAm The press release noted that attendees would be โ€œinvited to endorse the evidence base by signing the โ€˜Dublin Declarationโ€™โ€, and featured a conference photograph of Martin Heydon โ€“ Irelandโ€™s Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine โ€“ alongside Teagascโ€™s Director, Frank Oโ€™Mara, and Declan Troy, Teagascโ€™s Assistant Director of Research, who was one of the six lead authors of the Dublin Declaration.34โ€œAuthorship,โ€ The Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock, October 2022. Archived January 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/oabcM

The Dublin Declaration asserts that livestock systems are โ€œtoo precious to society to become the victim of simplification, reductionism or zealotryโ€ and that โ€œThese systems must continue to be embedded in and have broad approval of societyโ€.35โ€œTHE DUBLIN DECLARATION OF SCIENTISTS ON THE SOCIETAL ROLE OF LIVESTOCK,โ€ The Dublin Declaration. Archived October 18, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RFzLc

A subsequent investigation in 2023 by Unearthed confirmed the involvement of Red Flag Consulting, which โ€œprepared press releases and developed promotional strategiesโ€ related to the declaration and summit. The investigation also revealed โ€œclose tiesโ€ between the Declarationโ€™s authors and signatories to the meat sector.36Zach Boren. โ€œRevealed: The livestock consultants behind the Dublin Declaration of Scientists,โ€ Unearthed, October 27, 2023. Archived January 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xKcyo

A follow-up Guardian article quoted senior land use scientist Professor Peter Smith saying that the Dublin Declaration โ€œreads more like livestock industry propaganda than scienceโ€.37Damien Carrington. โ€œRevealed: the industry figures behind โ€˜declaration of scientistsโ€™ backing meat eating,โ€ The Guardian, October 27, 2023. Archived December 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/3SVqA

The Dublin summit and Dublin Declaration launch were held on the same dates as the meat industry UECBV European Conference & Annual General Assembly, also in Dublin.38โ€œEuropean Conference & Annual General Assembly: Save-the-Date 19-21-Oct-22,โ€ UECBV, October 2022. Archived February 7, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. That event was co-hosted by Bord Bia (Irelandโ€™s food agency) and Ibecโ€™s meat trade association, Meat Industry Ireland.39Kathleen Oโ€™Sullivan. โ€œMeat processing sector โ€œconcernedโ€ about impact of EU policies on food security,โ€ Irish Examiner, October 20, 2022. Archived November 20, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1mS6e

A month after the Dublin conference, Red Flag account manager Nina Dater40โ€œNina Dater,โ€ LinkedIn profile. Archived June 21, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. gave a presentation at the Global Conference on Sustainable Beef in Denver, Colorado, during which she said that the Dublin event had been part of Red Flagโ€™s work on the Protein PACT agenda.41Nina Dater. โ€œProtein Pact. Presentation Global Conference on Sustainable Beef, Denver, Colorado,โ€ Red Flag Consulting, November 7, 2022. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/clZMo

The presentation stated that the firm had โ€œworked with the North American Meat Institute and others in animal agriculture dating back to at least WHOโ€™s assessment of meat and cancerโ€, referring to declarations by the World Health Organization in 2002 and 2015 linking consumption of processed meats to colorectal cancer.42โ€œCancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat,โ€ World Health Organization, October 26, 2015. Archived June 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TjyLTย 

The presentation also noted Red Flagโ€™s use of โ€œcommunications support and social media networks to secure media opportunities for experts in events like the Dublin Summitโ€, writing that these opportunities โ€œsupport engagement by allies without needing to take creditโ€. The presentation also mentioned Red Flagโ€™s sponsorship of a pavilion at COP27 to host โ€œProtein Pact-convened panelsโ€.43Nina Dater. โ€œProtein Pact. Presentation Global Conference on Sustainable Beef, Denver, Colorado,โ€ Red Flag Consulting, November 7, 2022. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/clZMo

Role in Pesticidesย Controversy

In 2018, Unearthed reported that Monsanto had paid up to โ‚ฌ200,000 for a โ€˜grassrootsโ€™ farmers campaign to defend the chemical glyphosate, used to make Monsantoโ€™s Roundup herbicide. โ€œDublin-based political firm Red Flag Consulting led the pro-glyphosate campaign, quietly launching a wide-reaching PR drive and enlisting the support of thousands of farmers from stands at agricultural fairs in โ€˜the eight most important EU countries,โ€™โ€ Unearthed wrote.44Zach Boren, Arthur Neslen. โ€œHow lobbyists for Monsanto led a โ€˜grassroots farmersโ€™ movement against an EU glyphosate ban,โ€ Unearthed, October 17, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/Ci4yv

Red Flag reportedly established groups like the now-defunct Agriculture et Liberte in France and the Free to Farm organization in the UK, as well as Liberta di coltivare in Italy, Raum fรผr Landwirtschaft in Germany, Libertad para consultar in Spain, Rolnictwo Dobrej Praktyki in Poland and Vrijheid om te Boeren in the Netherlands, which Unearthed connected to 33 different public events in 2017.45โ€œRed Flag glyphosate groups (spreadsheet),โ€ย Unearthed.ย Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.

Actions

May 2021

During a webinar delivered to the North Carolina business chamber ahead of the September 2021 UN Food System summit, Red Flagโ€™s head of Americas and policy Melissa San Miguel said:46Melissa San Miguel (Red Flag Consulting). โ€œPresentation to Ag Allies Webinar: Forces Behind the Future of Food and Why It Matters to Your Business.โ€ NC Chamber, North Carolina, May 18, 2021. Archived April 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/LDiiGย 

โ€œWhere are we now? We are staring down the barrel of two major global events that anybody who grows makes or eats food should know puts ag food right in the middle of a perfect storm, really combining environment, the kind of crisis of the day, and nutrition, with a dash of human rights animal welfare, standard anti-corporatism, the whole shebang.โ€

April 2021

Speaking in the Irish parliament regarding an amendment to the law on lobbying, an Irish senator noted that Red Flag had lobbied environment minister Eamon Ryan on behalf of a company that was seeking planning permission for a new gas plant.47โ€œRegulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage โ€“ Seanad ร‰ireann (26th Seanad) โ€“ 26 Apr 2023,โ€ Houses of the Oireachtas, April 26, 2023. Archived May 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/TsMcFย 

Separately, Senator Lynn Boylan noted that Deirdre Grant, managing director at Red Flag, had previously been a special adviser to two government ministers. โ€œWe can see the revolving door between the corridors of power and lobbying are spinning nicely and are well oiled, to use that phrase,โ€ Boylan said. โ€œThe lobbying sector is alive and well in the fossil fuel industry.โ€48โ€œRegulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage โ€“ Seanad ร‰ireann (26th Seanad) โ€“ 26 Apr 2023,โ€ Houses of the Oireachtas, April 26, 2023. Archived May 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/TsMcF

November 2019

Green News reported that Red Flag had been โ€œappointed to provide administrative, media and communications supportโ€49Niall Sargent. โ€œBord Bia refuses to release documents on Meat and Dairy Facts project,โ€ Green News Ireland, November 6, 2019. Archived November 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/oGnLL to Meat and Dairy Facts, a publicity initiative funded by Irish food agency Bord Bia, as well as meat and dairy industry groups including the Irish Farmers Association, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, the National Dairy Council, Dairy Industry Ireland, and Meat Industry Ireland.50โ€œAbout,โ€ Meat and Dairy Facts. Archived January 17, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yEGUs Dairy Industry Ireland and Meat Industry Ireland are trade associations for dairy and meat processors and are both members of Ibec, Irelandโ€™s biggest business trade group.ย ย 

Green News reported that Bord Bia had contributed โ‚ฌ40,000 to Meat and Dairy Facts, as well as โ€œassistance through staff expertise and consumer-facing campaignsโ€. Bord Bia refused to disclose other documents related to the project or its partners, despite being a publicly funded government agency, arguing that doing so could result in โ€œmaterial financial lossโ€ to the groups and โ€œprejudice [to] that initiative and therefore the commercial and competitive position of those partiesโ€.

October 2019 

Four members of Extinction Rebellion Ireland glued themselves to the front door of Red Flag Consulting offices in Dublin and held signs critiquing the consultancy, including one reading โ€œPromoting RoundUp, now Irish meat and dairyโ€.51Kayle Crosson. โ€œExtinction Rebellion activists arrested after locking themselves to Dail gate,โ€ Green News Ireland, October 11, 2019. Archived October 27, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/lGTg7ย 

Red Flag has previously carried out communications work with Monsanto in relation to the companyโ€™s a glyphosate-based herbicide RoundUp. 

Commenting on the Extinction Rebellion action, Red Flag CEO Karl Brophy said: โ€œThe Extinction Rebellion movement is undoubtedly well-intentioned, but this small group is missing the mark by protesting outside our offices.โ€52Aoife Moore. โ€œExtinction Rebellion carry out fourth day of protest in Dublin,โ€ Belfast Telegraph, October 10, 2019. Archived April 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/JbmITย 

Brophy added: 

โ€œAt Red Flag weโ€™re proud of the work we do for our clients, including the work we do to counter misinformation about the health benefits and sustainability of the Irish meat and dairy industry. Weโ€™re especially proud to represent Irish products and produce all over the world. All of our work is based on facts and science, unlike the claims these protesters are making about us, many of which are false.โ€

June 2018

Karl Brophy, founder and CEO of Red Flag, was the opening keynote speaker at the American Meat Science Association (AMSA) conference on June 25, 2018 in Kansas City. His presentation was titled, โ€œOut of the Frying Pan and Off the Fire: Global Politics Looking to Take Meat off the Menuโ€.53โ€œAMSA announces opening keynote speaker,โ€ The National Provisioner, February 27, 2018. Archived May 21, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7A2ncย 

AMSA’s announcement for the keynote speech stated that Brophy and Red Flag โ€œrepresented both the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) for the meat evaluation at the World Health’s Organization’s IARC body in late 2015โ€.ย 

In a 2015 academic journal article, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had concluded that there were clear links between meat consumption and cancer, stating that โ€œthe majority of the Working Group concluded that there is sufficient evidence in human beings for the carcinogenicity of the consumption of processed meatโ€.54Bouvard, V., Loomis, D., Guyton, K.Z., Grosse, Y., Ghissassi, F.E., Benbrahim-Tallaa, L., Guha, N., Mattock, H., Straif, K., 2015. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. The Lancet Oncology 16, 1599โ€“1600. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00444-1. Article as-accepted: text. Archived June 1, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/oZM1x

June 2018

In a 2018 interview, San Miguel stated that the most concerning food and drink industry trend that worried her the most was โ€œthe profound shift away from innovation and competition toward overly-restrictive regulationsโ€. She added: โ€œOn issues from nutrition to ingredient safety to animal health to extended producer responsibility, market-based paths are being locked out. The food and beverage industry itself is being locked out, in many cases.โ€55Craig Tait. โ€œThe food and beverage industry itself is being locked out,โ€ Business Post (Ireland), June 1, 2018. Archived February 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/80XD6

Lobbying

European Union

Red Flag spent โ‚ฌ790,000 on lobbying in 2022, according to lobbying database LobbyFacts. This is approximately a three-fold increase over five years, with the full-time equivalent of 7 lobbyists. Its main clients are from the tobacco and digital industries.56โ€Red Flag,โ€ LobbyFacts. Archived June 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/m2mvOย 

Red Flag spent between โ‚ฌ300,000 – โ‚ฌ399,999 on EU lobbying in 2019, according to data from LobbyFacts.eu.57โ€œRed Flag,โ€ LobbyFactsEU. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/K2un6

Red Flag is registered on the EU Transparency Register, where Monsanto is listed as a client. The company has paid at least โ‚ฌ100,000 โ€“ โ‚ฌ199,999 for Red Flag’s services.58โ€œRed Flag,โ€ EU Transparency Register. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/gVMRC

The Consumer Choice Center is also listed as a client. The organisation was set up in March 2017 as โ€œa grassroots-led movementโ€ that โ€œempowers consumersโ€ across the globe, but has been shown to be working on behalf of organisations that have lobbied against climate action including London-based think tank the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) and U.S. oil billionaire Charles Koch.59Mat Hope. “New Lobby Group Tied to Brexit Climate Deniers and Koch Industries Pushes for Deregulation in Europe,” DeSmog, July 20, 2017. 60Harry Cooper and Quentin Ariรจs. โ€œPOLITICO Brussels Influence: Consumersa for liberty โ€“ EU breaches justice rules,โ€ Politico,ย March 24, 2017. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/so3Zf 61โ€œHome,โ€ Consumer Choice Center. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/Hi3dj

โ€œClimate actionโ€, โ€œenvironmentโ€, โ€œfood safetyโ€, and โ€œagriculture and rural developmentโ€ are listed among its lobbying fields of interest.62โ€œRed Flag,โ€ EU Transparency Register. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/gVMRC

Other Red Flag clients have included the tobacco giant British American Tobacco, and reportedly include โ€œa number of other agri-chemical companies.โ€63Margaret Donnelly,ย Claire Fox. โ€œAgri-food alliance brings in big guns to fight negative press,โ€ Farming Independent,ย September 17, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/UYIeI

For 2022, LobbyFacts.EU lists the following as clients of Red Flag in order of spend:64โ€œRed Flag,โ€ LobbyFactsEU. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/K2un6

  • British American Tobacco
  • Google
  • European paper packaging alliance (eppa)
  • Covestro AG
  • Gujarat Fluorochemicals gmbh
  • Livent USA corp
  • Cardano Foundation
  • viagogo
  • Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
  • Spirits EUROPE
  • The European Steel Association (eurofer)
  • Plastics recyclers europe
  • Life scienti๏ฌc ltd.

United Kingdom

According to the UKโ€™s Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists,65โ€œRed Flag Consulting Limited,โ€ Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists. Archived June 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XU66Xย Red Flag has one current UK client โ€“ Arcadium, a lithium chemicals producer66โ€œQuick Facts,โ€ Arcadium Lithium. Archived June 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/3Sl6L โ€“ and has previously worked with Livent, another lithium company.67โ€œCompany overview,โ€ Livent. Archived December 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8VpTvย 

Affiliations

Six Red Flag lobbyists are listed as members of SEAP, the Society of European Affairs Professionals.68โ€œOur Members,โ€ Society of European Affairs Professionals. Archived April 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zxQcO Red Flag account director Roxana Moldovan69โ€œRoxana Moldovan,โ€ LinkedIn profile. Archived June 21, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. was appointed to the SEAP board in February 2023.70โ€œThe Board of SEAP appoints three new members,โ€ Society of European Affairs Professionals, February 16, 2023. Archived March 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/ktBH1

Key People

Karl Brophy โ€“ Founder.

Melissa San Miguel โ€“ Head of Americas for Red Flag.

Resources

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