Tyson Foods, the world’s second-largest meat processor, has said it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and sells climate-friendly beef but has no strategy to actually do either, and is misleading consumers and investors, according to an advocacy group suing the company.
Tyson must either scale back its climate change claims or publish a substantive plan to back up its claims, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Environmental Working Group, which says the suit is part of an effort to “hold accountable for greenwashing those companies that are the largest and most powerful contributors to the climate crisis across industries.”
Starting in 2021, Tyson Foods says it will achieve net-zero emissions (the point at which the amount of greenhouse gases a company emits is offset by emissions removed from the atmosphere) by 2050 by increasing its use of renewable energy and avoiding deforestation.
The Arkansas-based meat company also sells a “climate-friendly” brand of beef that is made with 10% fewer emissions than conventional meat.
A spokesman said Tyson would not comment on lawsuits but would defend the company’s “long history of sustainable practices.”
The lawsuit against Tyson was filed in Washington, DC, which has consumer protection laws that give consumer groups the right to sue companies for false advertising.
The same greenwashing claim — a term used by environmental activist Jay Westerfeld to mean making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or service — was also made in a February lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against JBS Corp., the world’s largest beef producer, which has claimed it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
James’ lawsuit against the Brazilian meat conglomerate comes after Earthjustice challenged JBS’s environmental messaging before an advertising industry self-regulatory group in 2023 and won.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, livestock production accounts for 14.5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, with cows accounting for two-thirds of that total.
The Science-Based Targets initiative, a UN-backed body working on net-zero targets, calls for the food and agriculture sector to cut emissions by 3% each year between 2020 and 2030.
Delta Air Lines last year It was rejected as having no legal basis.The lawsuit was brought by passengers who argued that the airline’s claim to be the “world’s first carbon-neutral airline” was a marketing ploy; Coca-Cola is currently defending itself against a similar lawsuit that accuses the beverage company of overstating its recycling efforts.
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