The latest billionaire space circle jerk.

[Spongebob]

Yeah....so sayeth the shills from big oil.  A rumor that got started by it's inclusion in the 06 climate report.  Two sentences not found in the body, but the executive summary.  In it's full glory-

The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2e. This is a higher share than transport.

It was untrue when it was written, it's still untrue, but it made it's way into public perception as a fact.  The most appalling bit, though, is that even if we assumed it were true for shits and giggles - there's literally no way to tackle our climate crisis by producing less food.  We can switch off oil, we can't switch off eating - we're already hungry, and will only get hungrier in the face of these difficulties.

There's a lot of references to this from various universities, so I'm not sure why you believe it's something the oil companies created.  And regarding your question about having to eat; sure we have to eat, but we don't have to eat meat.  Before you go off, I'm not a vegetarian, so I'm not shaming anyone, but there are a lot of reasons why consuming meat products is bad for the environment.  I suppose I could be convinced to take meat off the table, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't miss it.