Press Releases

New Legal Advocacy Hub to Target Corporate Control Over the Food System

Litigators and community advocates announced a new organization, FarmSTAND, to address the harms of corporate-controlled industrial agriculture and advance a just and regenerative food system.

Colorado Agricultural Worker Advocates Continue Fight to Uphold State’s Workers’ Rights in Latest Intervention

“Today’s intervention underscores the ongoing importance of protecting farmworkers’ access to vital services, which is clearly protected under the law.”

Washington State Dairies Agree to Clean Up Groundwater in Response to Lawsuit

YAKIMA, WA — In a court settlement filed Friday, DBD Washington, LLC and SMD, LLC, two factory farm dairies in Yakima Valley, WA owned by…

Las Lecherías del Estado de Washington Están Acuerdan Limpiar las Aguas Subterráneas en Respuesta a una Demanda   

YAKIMA, WA — En una conciliación judicial presentada el viernes, DBD Washington, LLC y SMD, LLC, dos granjas industriales en el Valle de Yakima, propiedad…

Supreme Court Upholds California’s Proposition 12

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision upholding California’s Proposition 12, which limits the sale of pork products in California produced…

Snake River Waterkeeper Sues Simplot for Clean Water Act Violations

Today, the environmental advocacy group Snake River Waterkeeper (SRW) filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District…

District Court Strikes Down Carveout for Medium-Sized Factory Farms

Today in a victory for rural community, sustainable agriculture, and animal welfare groups, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that…

Colorado Agribusinesses Dismiss Challenge to Workers’ Rights Statute

In a victory for Colorado farmworkers, on Friday, February 24th, Colorado agribusinesses dismissed the case they had filed in federal court seeking to invalidate a…

Fourth Circuit Enjoins North Carolina Ag-Gag Law, Affirming Constitutionality of Undercover Investigations and Whistleblowing

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit handed an important win to plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s Ag-Gag law, ruling…

Third Circuit Court Affirms Legal Tool for Worker Safety

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in Doe v. Scalia on the question of workers’ ability to sue…

The next Farm Bill can only be “climate-smart” if it reduces agricultural reliance on pesticides, says diverse coalition

Today, 50 organizations sent a public letter to the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, calling for a transformative…

Hormel Foods Advertises Conventional Meat as “Natural,” Newly Released Documents Show

Today, the Public Justice Food Project published documents uncovered in the discovery of a false advertising lawsuit against Hormel Foods. The newly published documents and…

Colorado Worker Group Intervenes to Oppose Constitutional Challenge to State’s Workers’ Rights Statute

For Immediate Release: November 7, 2022 Media Contact: Lucy Sears | (240) 676-4499 | lsears@publicjustice.net Colorado Worker Group Intervenes to Oppose Constitutional Challenge to State’s…

After Long Delay, Groups Sue EPA for Response on Factory Farm Water Pollution Rules

The Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to respond to a legal petition urging the agency to strengthen clean water rules governing factory farms has prompted a…

Court Strikes Down Iowa Recording Ban Ag-Gag Law

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa ruled Iowa’s latest Ag-Gag law is unconstitutional, holding that the law — which created a…

Lawsuit Against Smithfield for Lying to Public Will Move Forward

For Immediate Release: July 26, 2022 Media Contacts: Peter Hart, phart@fwwatch.org Lucy Sears, lsears@publicjustice.net Lawsuit Against Smithfield for Lying to Public Will Move Forward Judge…

Food Advocacy Groups Defend Lawsuit to Hold Smithfield Accountable for Lying to the Public at the Expense of Workers’ Lives

Today, Public Justice and Food & Water Watch submitted their opposition brief in response to Smithfield Foods’ motion to dismiss Food & Water Watch’s case.…

Texas court grants farmers of color groups to represent their own interests in debt relief case

Today, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a motion to intervene in a case concerning debt relief for farmers…

Una corte en Michigan avanza la demanda que aboga por la compensación de trabajadores indocumentados

El 28 de abril, el Tribunal de Reclamaciones del Estado de Michigan dictaminó negar la moción del demandado para una disposición sumaria en un caso…

Michigan Court Advances Lawsuit Advocating for Workers’ Compensation for Undocumented Workers

Today, the State of Michigan Court of Claims ruled to deny the defendant’s motion for summary disposition in a case concerning workers’ compensation for undocumented…

Victory for Animals and Free Speech as U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Kansas Ag-Gag Law

In a major victory for animals, workers, and transparency in the animal agriculture industry, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision by the…

Court Strikes Down Second Iowa Ag-Gag Law

Today the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa held unconstitutional Iowa’s second Ag-Gag law, also known as Iowa Ag-Gag 2.0, holding that…

California regulators reject petition request to immediately initiate rulemaking to end credits for factory farm gas, despite adverse local pollution impacts

Sacramento, Calif. — Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Richard Corey unilaterally rejected a petition request from a coalition of environmental justice,…

After Sponsoring Arkansas’s Ag-Gag Law, Rep. DeAnn Vaught Refuses to Defend its Constitutionality

The Arkansas state representative and factory farm owner who sponsored the state’s Ag-Gag law stated in a court filing on Friday that she waives her…

Food Worker and Food & Farm Justice Organizations Support the Introduction of the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act of 2021 (PAMWA) 

Today, Senator Cory Booker and Representative Ro Khanna announced the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act of 2021 (PAMWA). Meat and poultry processing workers--a majority of…

Grupo de Derechos de Inmigrantes presenta un litigio para Asegurar que los Trabajadores Indocumentados de Michigan Reciban Compensación por Accidentes Laborales

Hoy, El Centro de Derechos de Inmigrantes (“MIRC”), representados por Justicia Pública (Public Justice)  y El Centro de Derecho para la Justicia Económica y Social…

Immigrant Rights Group Files Lawsuit to Ensure Undocumented Workers Receive Workers’ Compensation in Michigan 

Today, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC), represented by Public Justice and the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, filed a lawsuit to ensure…

Climate credits for factory farm gas violate civil rights, fail to achieve climate benefits, states petition submitted to CARB

One of California’s premier climate programs, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), is dramatically overstating the climate benefits of using methane gas sourced from factory…

Legal Petition Challenges EPA Inaction on Factory Farm Air Pollution

As President Biden continues to promise that his administration will address the climate crisis and protect the air we breathe from industrial polluters, 24 advocacy…

Climate, Environmental Justice Groups Call US-EU Methane Reduction Commitment a Long Overdue First Step

Today, environmental justice, rural community and environmental groups across the United States recognized the U.S. and European Union’s joint pledge to reduce methane emissions by…

Appeals Court Sends Hormel “Natural Choice” Deceptive Advertising Case to Trial

Today, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued a decision reviving the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s case against Hormel Foods’ “Natural Choice” advertising, and…

Appeals Court Affirms Kansas Ag-Gag Law is Unconstitutional

Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a ruling by a lower court striking down Kansas’s “Ag-Gag” law for violating…

Public Justice and Allies Secure Win in Arkansas Ag-Gag Law

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 Media contact: Lucy Sears, lsears@publicjustice.net Public Justice and Allies Secure Win in Arkansas Ag-Gag Law On Monday, August…

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food & Water Watch File Petition for Rehearing with Iowa Supreme Court

Two weeks ago, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a split 4-3 ruling against the plaintiffs in Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food & Water…

Smithfield Lied to the Public at the Expense of Workers’ Lives, New Lawsuit Alleges

Last week, Food & Water Watch, represented by Public Justice, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against Smithfield Foods,…

Una Nueva Demanda Alega que Smithfield le Mintió al Público a Costa de las Vidas de los Trabajadores

La organización Food & Water Watch, representada por Public Justice presentó la semana pasada una demanda ante la Corte Superior del Distrito de Columbia contra…

Iowa Supreme Court Rules Against Iowa Citizens in Right to Clean Water Lawsuit

Today, the Iowa Supreme Court split and ruled 4-3 against the plaintiffs in Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food & Water Watch v. State…

Public Justice urges Biden Administration to expand mandatory protections to all workers in dangerous workplaces

Public Justice is dismayed at the Biden Administration’s refusal to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard for all workers in dangerous environments. While Public Justice applauds…

A Full Month After Emergency Temporary Standard Deadline, Public Justice Urges the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to Protect Workers from COVID-19 by Issuing an ETS

More than a year into the pandemic, workers are still dying from COVID-19. Yet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration refuses to protect workers from…

Climate, Environmental Justice Groups Call for Biden EPA to Hold Industrial Dairy and Hog Operations Accountable and to Reject Big Ag Technology

Today, environmental justice, rural community and environmental groups across the U.S. filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, calling for the Biden EPA…

Meat Workers and Allies File Complaint Challenging Meat Processing Corporation Actions, Alleging Racial Discrimination in Disastrous COVID-19 Response

A nationwide coalition filed an administrative civil rights complaint with the USDA alleging that Tyson Foods and JBS have engaged in racial discrimination prohibited by…

Smithfield Workers Ask Court to Force Company to Protect Them From COVID-19

With food chain workers being deemed “essential,” but allowed to fall ill, workers at Smithfield’s pork processing plant in Milan, Missouri are taking legal action…
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