WASHINGTON, D.C. – An environmental and consumer organization filed a lawsuit today against Tyson Foods, Inc., the second largest meat company in the U.S. and the world, accusing the company of making “false or misleading” marketing claims targeting D.C. consumers concerned about climate change.
The Environmental Working Group filed the suit under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act, or CPPA, in D.C. Superior Court. The suit targets Tyson’s claims that its industrial meat production operations will reach net-zero greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions by 2050 and that it produces “climate-smart” beef. EWG is represented by Animal Legal Defense Fund, Earthjustice, Edelson PC, and FarmSTAND.
The lawsuit seeks to stop Tyson from continuing to make these unsubstantiated environmental claims. The groups are calling for Tyson to retract its misleading statements and to be held accountable for violating the CPPA.
Industrialized meat production generates tremendous volumes of climate-warming emissions at every stage of the process, from deforestation and overgrazing to feed production, and from cattle and manure emissions to slaughter and distribution. Industrial beef has a larger climate footprint than any other major food product. Tyson, which produces about 20 percent of U.S. beef, chicken and pork, has GHG emissions that exceed those of Austria or Greece. Its beef production is responsible for 85 percent of the company’s emissions.
Despite the enormous scale of Tyson’s emissions, for over three years, Tyson has been promoting a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and for over a year, it has marketed “climate-smart beef.” As the lawsuit alleges, Tyson’s 2022 annual revenues exceed $53 billion, and yet its spending on GHG reduction practices is less than $50 million dollars, which amounts to less than 0.1 percent of its revenue. Tyson spends about eight times as much on advertising as it does on research. Tyson is aware that consumers have an interest in – and are willing to pay more for – climate-friendlier foods, and the company is trying to capitalize on this by taking credit for progress it has not made and has no serious plans to achieve.
According to the lawsuit, Tyson’s net-zero and “climate-smart” beef claims are false or misleading. Tyson’s GHG emissions are enormous, and the company has never tried to fully measure them or has not made any detailed inventory public. Tyson omits key sources of emissions from its public GHG emissions accounting, including land use and land use change associated with grazing and animal feed production. There is no credible evidence that Tyson intends to make any significant changes to its current activities.
The participating organizations released a joint statement:
Consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions with their climate footprint in mind. Tyson is exploiting this trend by making outrageous and unsubstantiated claims about its sustainability efforts that simply don’t hold up under scrutiny.
Our lawsuit aims to hold Tyson accountable for misleading consumers about the true nature of its products and their environmental costs. A court order stopping Tyson’s harmful conduct would represent a turning point in the fight to hold the biggest, most powerful contributors to the climate crisis – across industries – accountable for greenwashing.
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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1979 to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, the Animal Legal Defense Fund files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors and law enforcement to ensure that animal victims are removed from cruelty situations and animal abusers are held accountable; supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
Edelson PC is a nationally recognized leader in high-stakes plaintiff's litigation, including class actions, mass torts and government enforcement actions. As lead counsel, the firm has recovered over $5 billion in settlements and judgments, with its overall settlements and judgments surpassing $45 billion. Edelson PC has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Boulder, Washington, D.C., and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
FarmSTAND is the only legal advocacy organization in the country dedicated solely to taking on industrial animal agriculture. It is focused on dismantling the structures that enable the consolidation of corporate power and extractive practices in our food system and supports a vision of animal agriculture that is regenerative, humane and owned by independent farmers.
