Tyson sued for its climate speech

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) denied the Environmental Working Group’s petition demanding more policing of climate claims as recently as  Aug. 28.

But EWG did not wait long before choosing a target and filing a federal lawsuit.  The environmental and consumer organization filed a lawsuit  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.

In denying the petition, FSIS said it requires independent third-party verification and a numerical carbon disclosure whenever such claims are made on beef product packaging. 

It said the EWG petition was denied “after careful consideration of the petition and comments., 

The Environmental Working Group filed a 33-page complaint in the D.C. Superior Court under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act, or CPPA. 

The suit challenges 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. 

Many government climate claims use 2050 as the year when goals will be achieved.

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.

 Tyson, which produces about 20 percent of U.S. beef, chicken, and pork, has GHG emissions that EWG claims exceed those of Austria or Greece. Beef production is responsible for 85 percent of the company’s emissions.

According to the complaint, Tyson has been promoting a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and has marketed “climate-smart beef” for more than a year. 

The lawsuit further claims that  Tyson’s 2022 annual revenues exceed $53 billion, yet its spending on GHG reduction practices is less than $50 million, which amounts to less than 0.1 percent of its revenue. 

It further charges that Tyson is aware that consumers are interested in — and willing to pay more for — climate-friendly foods and is trying to capitalize on this by taking credit for progress it has not made and has no serious plans to achieve. 

Tyson has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

The EWG charges that Tyson’s net-zero and “climate-smart” beef claims are false or misleading. 

According to the EWG, Tyson’s GHG emissions are enormous, and the company has never tried to measure them fully 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 change its current activities significantly. 

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