Greta Thunberg calls out China for ‘fat-shaming’ her in article questioning if she is really vegetarian

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has called out Chinese state media after an article attempted to “fat-shame” her for being a vegetarian.

In an article published last week in the China Daily, an outlet owned by the ruling Communist Party, Ms Thunberg was mocked for her weight and called an “environmental princess”.

“Although she claims to be vegetarian, judging from the results of her growth, her carbon emissions are actually not low,” the article stated, which was written by writer Tang Ge, who initially posted the opinion on social media.

The article did not go unnoticed by the young activist, who shared a link to a report about the incident on her Twitter on Friday.

“Being fat-shamed by Chinese state owned media is a pretty weird experience even by my standards. But it’s definitely going on my resume,” she wrote.

Read more:

• Discover all the latest on the environmental emergency with our climate newsletter

• Is Jeff Bezoz serious about fighting climate crisis?

• Wildfire gets dangerously close to California television station

The article facing scrutiny was widely shared in Chinese media, with some accusing Ms Thunberg of having a “double standard” when she previously called out China’s environmental footprint but not other countries.

Earlier this month, Ms Thunberg shared an article that revealed China’s annual emissions were greater than those of all developed nations combined in 2019. Although China was still considered a developing nation, Ms Thunberg thought drastic action was needed to address the issue.

“Yes, China is still categorized as a developing nation by WTO, they manufacture a lot of our products and so on. But that’s of course no excuse for ruining future and present living conditions. We can’t solve the climate crisis unless China drastically changes course,” she wrote at the time.

Ms Thunberg went on to add that the world should “look at historic emissions and in context to population and emissions per capita. And developed nation[s] must lead so others can raise their living standards,” while including a video showing the United States far leading cumulative emissions since 1750.

The activist has been critical of other nations and world leaders for their role in the climate crisis and global emissions.

Read More

Cimate activist Vanessa Nakate: ‘I felt like I had wasted time going to Davos’

Use by, sell by, best before: Why confusing labelling is causing food waste, and how to stop it

‘People felt like they lost their purpose’: The Siberian town struggling to survive