Going on Offense for Food Justice: FarmSTAND’s 2025 in Review
By Sylvia Regan
Research Paralegal
2025 has been a hard year. From the start, the second Trump Administration has waged cruel assaults on America’s most vulnerable communities: immigrants, workers, activists, and anyone who dares to stand up against injustice and corporate control. These attacks touch all parts of our food system and highlight the interconnectedness of our struggles.
The dominant food system is built to exploit the vulnerable and make the rich richer. But FarmSTAND is built to fight back. In 2025, we came out swinging and notched some big wins. Here’s what we’re proud of this year:
Holding USDA accountable to farmers
In the first months of the Trump Administration, USDA canceled hundreds of grants because they supposedly did not align with “new agency priorities” — namely that these grants supported what the Trump Admin considers “illegal DEI” or address the threat of climate change. These grants supported critical work by organizations to advance sustainability and support independent farmers building a fair food system.
FarmSTAND, along with Earthjustice and Farmers Justice Center, sued USDA and DOGE for violating federal laws with these illegal grant terminations. We’ve already secured a victory for our clients, forcing USDA to restore the $34 million that our clients were owed, and we’re continuing our case to restore all of the illegally canceled grants.
Because of our litigation, we’re gaining access to key documents that show how sloppy and careless these terminations were. Check out our latest Deep Dive to read internal memos and emails from USDA showing how staff were given lists of basic search terms to use to put grants on the chopping block.
Exposing Checkoff Corruption
At FarmSTAND, we’re not shy about using Deep Dives to expose USDA and Big Ag corruption that we learn about through our litigation. This year, we published a huge Deep Dive into checkoff programs. USDA requires all farmers and ranchers to pay checkoff taxes, then allows checkoff programs to funnel money to lobbying and trade organizations whose main business is boosting huge Big Ag corporations.
In our Checkoff Deep Dive, we explain how checkoffs work, where the money goes, and why generic checkoff ads like “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner” actually hurt independent ranchers and farmers. We also share takeaways from groundbreaking research done in the course of our litigation that shows that simple reforms to the checkoffs could stop putting independent producers at a disadvantage.
The fight against unfair checkoffs is ongoing. We created this Deep Dive to arm advocates and policymakers with the information we learned over years of litigation on behalf of independent ranchers, so that our movement can continue fighting for reform.
Defending immigrant and refugee workers
Immigrants and refugees are valuable members of our community who deserve to live free from fear and exploitation. Unfortunately, the dominant food system has long taken advantage of immigrants for their labor. This administration’s deportation terror campaign and stoking of xenophobia only plays into this abusive system.
On the blog, Senior Attorney Amal Bouhabib explained that despite Trump officials’ propaganda, non-immigrant Americans won’t fill Big Ag jobs — because corporations prefer to keep a scared and exploitable workforce. That’s why Big Ag hasn’t stood up for immigrants and refugees, who make up the majority of their labor force.
At FarmSTAND, we’re fighting back against the many ways that Big Ag exploits immigrants and foreign workers of different immigration statuses. This year our Director of Litigation, David Muraskin, told the Michigan Supreme Court why it should reject the state’s delay tactics and allow us to fight for undocumented workers to receive workers’ compensation wages when they’re injured on the job.
In Nebraska, we’re suing an industrial swine facility and a non-profit for deceiving Guatemalan students into coming to the United States for a cultural exchange internship, only to force them to work as cheap labor, enduring dangerous conditions, harassment, and threats of deportation. The New York Times reported on our case as part of a growing trend of J-1 visa exploitation in agriculture and other industries.
And in Colorado, we’re suing JBS, the largest meatpacking company in the world, for discriminating against its Haitian workers. Haitian workers at the Greeley plant are forced to work at breakneck line-speeds that are faster than other workers are exposed to, creating extreme stress on their bodies and increasing their risk of injury. Big Ag companies like JBS think they can get away with exploiting these workers because of their vulnerable immigration status. We’re proud to represent these brave workers who are fighting back.
At COSHCON, the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health, FarmSTAND asked attendees to share what they’re fighting for in the food system.
Putting the kibosh on Big Ag Greenwashing
Big Ag doesn’t want you to know that they are climate super-polluters. In fact, they want you to think they’re part of the solution to the climate crisis. When corporations try to mislead consumers into thinking their dirty products are actually good for the climate, that’s greenwashing — and FarmSTAND won’t abide the lies.
We sued Northwest Natural Gas for deceiving Oregon utility-users into paying for Smart Energy “offsets” that actually support factory farm gas from mega-dairies. The company tried an outrageous tactic favored by Big Oil companies to stop our case —accusing us of SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) and saying we violated their First Amendment rights. Thankfully, the court saw through their baseless motion and ruled in our favor, keeping our case on track. Senior attorney Kelsey Eberly and Skye Walker, who completed her legal fellowship with us this year, joined the Animal Law Podcast to talk about the case.
FarmSTAND isn’t afraid to take on the biggest and worst industrial ag greenwashers. Last year, we sued Tyson Foods for deceiving consumers by claiming the corporation would reach net-zero by 2050 and marketing “climate-smart beef.” Late in 2025, Tyson agreed in a settlement that they will take down these claims and not make any related claims for the next five years, unless an independent expert substantiates them. This is a critical turning point, sending a message to Big Ag companies that you “cannot just claim that you’re magically going to erase your greenhouse gas emissions.”
Staffing up to meet the moment
There has never been a more critical time for our movement to be growing our power. That’s why FarmSTAND added six new team members this year: two staff attorneys and a legal fellow to expand our docket, two organizers to build power in rural and worker communities, and a digital communications associate to amplify our work. Together, our team is charging forward with litigation, deepening key relationships, and innovating new approaches to building the fair food system we all deserve.
FarmSTAND staff gathered for a summer retreat in Washington, DC, which included a tour of the Anacostia River by the Anacostia Riverkeepers.
In 2025, FarmSTAND also welcomed two new members to our board. Sarah Vogel, The Farmer’s Lawyer, brings decades of experience advocating for family farmers to the board. Frank James spent more than 30 years leading Dakota Rural Action, organizing South Dakotans to fight corporate control and protect local food systems. Together, Sarah and Frank’s knowledge and passion are helping us deepen our work in rural and farming communities.
Food justice can’t wait
For all of the injustice happening in today’s world, at FarmSTAND we also see so much hope that a better world isn’t just possible — people are building it every day. When people come together to protect their neighbors from ICE, or to feed each other during the government shutdown, we see the transformational power of community.
Our work at FarmSTAND is firmly rooted in the communities most impacted by industrial animal agriculture. With every stand we take against Big Ag, and all of the wins along the way, we’re building power in these communities to create a food system that’s fair, healthy, and sustainable.
A better food system is worth fighting for. Thank you for being with us in the fight. If you aren’t already, make sure you subscribe to our email list to keep up with our work in 2026.