CNN ran advertisements from a luxury travel company and a restaurant chain promoting meat dishes during its town hall on climate change Wednesday night.
At the town hall, candidates proposed transitioning to electric vehicles to limit emissions from travel and limiting meat consumption.
In the middle of an appearance from South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, CNN ran commercials from "the world's first luxury travel subscription" from Inspirato Pass and restaurant chain Golden Corral's "endless sirloin and St. Louis-style ribs."
The Inspirato Pass advertises "endless travel" in "hundreds of destinations around the world," which would involve air travel climate activists have argued harms the environment.
"Enjoy endless travel for $2,500 per month with no nightly rates, taxes, or fees. Browse thousands of luxury trips and custom experiences in hundreds of destinations around the world, all at an extraordinary value," the commercial states. "Inspirato Pass. Look. Book. Stay. Repeat."
Several Democratic candidates have endorsed the Green New Deal, which aims to "totally overhaul transportation by massively expanding electric vehicle manufacturing, build charging stations everywhere, build out high-speed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary, create affordable public transit available to all, with goal to replace every combustion-engine vehicle."
The Golden Corral commercial promoted the restaurant's steak and rib dishes.
"Golden Corral's juicy endless sirloin and saucy St. Louis-style ribs really put the 'meat' in 'meet me in St. Louis,'" the commercial states. "Endless sirloin and St. Louis-style ribs. Golden Corral. The only one for everyone."
Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) specifically called for the U.S. government to create incentives to eat less meat earlier in the town hall. "As a nation, we actually have to have a real priority at the highest level of government around what we eat and in terms of healthy eating because we have a problem in America," Harris said.
"But there has to be also what we do in terms of creating incentives that we will eat in a healthy way, that we will encourage moderation and that we will be educated about the effect of our eating habits on our environment," Harris added later.
No joke, this was the actual commercial lineup CNN played earlier https://t.co/1Mx8e5MDsw pic.twitter.com/xOgANkNsxx
— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) September 5, 2019