New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced that she is suing JBS USA, the world’s largest beef producer.
James is suing JBS USA for purportedly misleading the general public by lying about its intent to change its greenhouse gas emissions. She has also accused the company of “greenwashing.” As the largest beef producer in the world, JBS USA has the largest greenhouse gas footprint when compared to every other major food corporation.
JBS USA’s Gas Emissions
JBS USA has the largest greenhouse gas footprint of any other food corporation, as it accounts for 14.5% of all global greenhouse emissions. While JBS USA is the biggest producer of these emissions, they aren’t alone in generating carbon dioxide.
The entire global food system produces about 18 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. This is about 34% of all emissions generated worldwide.
JBS’ Pledge
In recent years, JBS USA has pledged to change how they work to try to make things more sustainable. As a result, they’ve made net-zero pledges for 2030 and 2040.
This means that JBS has said it will reach net zero by 2040. Reaching net zero can only be accomplished when the amount of greenhouse gas generated is completely balanced by the amount that is removed from the atmosphere.
New York Attorney General Says JBS Is Lying
While JBS USA has made these claims many times, James says they’ve lied. According to the New York Attorney General, the food corporation has made no moves to truly work towards net zero.
Therefore, she says that JBS USA has been “greenwashing.” Greenwashing is a form of marketing where a company says they are environmentally friendly to get more consumer money and support — even though they’re not.
Consumers Want Environmentally Responsible Companies
Many American consumers want to support brands or companies that are sustainable or environmentally responsible. Various studies conducted over the past years have examined this trend, as more younger Americans desire sustainability.
James says that JBS USA knows this — and used this against consumers. “As families continue to face the daily impacts of the climate crisis, they are willing to spend more of their hard-earned money on products from brands that are better for the environment,” she explained.
James Says JBS Lied to Regular Americans
“When companies falsely advertise their commitment to sustainability, they are misleading consumers and endangering our planet,” James said in a statement about her intent to sue JBS USA.
James also explained that JBS’ greenwashing has tricked Americans into buying their products. “JBS USA’s greenwashing exploits the pocketbooks of everyday Americans and the promise of a healthy planet for future generations,” she said.
JBS’ Publicity Campaign
In 2021, JBS first announced its intent to achieve net zero by 2040. After seemingly realizing that many consumers respond well to environmentally responsible corporations, they then began a publicity campaign to tout their alleged intention.
In the New York Times, the corporation ran a full-page advertisement about how meat production can help solve the issue of climate change.
JBS’ Campaign Continued Into 2023
The company never stopped talking about their net zero pledge — one that they’re supposed to meet by 2040. Just last year, JBS attended the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. There, they again talked about their 2040 pledge.
However, the company also announced they would add additional initiatives to their corporation to further help with the climate solution.
Has JBS Been Lying?
According to James and many environmental groups, JBS USA has been lying about trying to help with global climate problems. Instead, they’ve just been saying what they think consumers want to hear.
“While it is critical for every company to reduce its climate change impact, JBS would need to implement enormous operational changes to achieve this goal,” Earthjustice attorney Peter Lehner pointed out. “However, JBS is doing very little and is not taking anywhere close to the steps that would be required.”
JBS Has Made No Moves to Meet Net Zero
The New York Attorney General says that JBS USA has made no moves to truly meet this net zero goal by 2040, even though they continue to claim they will meet it. Instead, James says the corporation has only talked about increasing its beef production.
To James and many environmental activists, if JBS was serious about helping solve the climate problem, they would’ve changed at least some of their actions by now. However, they haven’t and instead continue to look at ways to maintain their top spot in the food production industry.
James Wants JBS’ Net Zero Campaign to End
In this new lawsuit, James is asking the New York courts to force JBS USA to stop their net zero publicity campaign. She is also asking for a third-party audit to be conducted on the company.
Finally, she is asking for the corporation to pay disgorgement of any gains they received through their lying to the American public. These violations will be charged at least $5,000 per incident.
Activists Welcome James’ Lawsuit
Many environmental activists have already welcomed James’ lawsuit, especially as more studies have come out that indicate many industries have lied to the public about their attempt to adopt green policies.
While the meat processing industry has harmed the environment for decades, industries such as the plastics industry have contributed to pollution. Many want these industries to pay for their lies — and therefore have cheered on James’ lawsuit.
