Tackling Deceptive Climate Claims (Environmental Working Group v. Tyson)

Industrialized meat production generates tremendous volumes of climate-warming emissions at every stage of the process. Tyson, which produces about 20 percent of U.S. beef, chicken and pork, has greenhouse gas emissions that exceed those of Austria or Greece. For over three years, Tyson had been promoting a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and for over a year, it had marketed “climate-smart beef.” Yet by all indications, Tyson has no credible plan to slash its staggering emissions, nor has it explained how its emissions-intensive industrialized beef could ever be a smart choice for the climate.

Consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions with their climate footprint in mind. Tyson exploited this trend by making outrageous and unsubstantiated claims about its products’ sustainability that simply don’t hold up under scrutiny.

FarmSTAND, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Earthjustice, and Edelson PC represented the Environmental Working Group in a lawsuit targeting Tyson’s deceptive claims under the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which protects consumers from false advertising. The suit aimed to hold Tyson accountable for misleading consumers about the true nature of its products and their environmental costs. The lawsuit sought to stop Tyson from continuing to make these unsubstantiated environmental claims.

On November 17, 2025, the case settled. The settlement provides that Tyson will stop making these environmental claims and cannot make new related claims for a period of five years from the date of the settlement unless an expert concludes they are sufficiently supported.