Lawsuit Filed to Force USDA to Provide FOIA Documents Related to the Beef Checkoff Program

Contact: media@aldf.org

WASHINGTON — The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its agency, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), to compel the disclosure of records concerning AMS’ oversight of the Beef Checkoff program. The Beef Checkoff program is a federally mandated initiative that channels tens of millions of dollars each year into beef industry advertising. Despite FOIA’s 20-business-day response deadline, AMS failed to respond to ALDF’s January 2025 FOIA request in violation of its statutory duty.

AMS’s violation deprives ALDF and the public of information urgently needed to assess the government’s role in the promotion of activities harmful to animals and the climate. The agency is concealing records pertaining to its review and approval of advertising and promotional campaigns featuring environmental marketing claims administered under the Beef Checkoff program, which aims to increase the demand for beef through national marketing and research activities. Industrial beef production is a significant contributor to the climate crisis as the industry is a major source of methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and is responsible for biodiversity loss, deforestation, and excessive water use. Yet AMS has repeatedly approved Beef Checkoff-funded advertising and promotional content that makes false and misleading claims to consumers about beef’s climate and environmental impacts.

“The USDA has failed to release documents that would provide the public insight into why the agency continues to approve marketing claims funded by the Beef Checkoff program intended to mislead environmentally conscious consumers,” said Morgan Boutilier, litigation fellow at ALDF. “ALDF will continue working to obtain these records from the USDA so consumers can make more informed decisions about purchasing food products that align with their values.”

 “The public has a right to know whether USDA is rubberstamping false and misleading beef industry ads,” said Jeffrey Stein, an attorney at Earthjustice. “USDA must respond to public records requests, and it must ensure that government-approved marketing is based on facts, not greenwashing.”

Consumers have become increasingly aware of the global climate and local environmental impacts of food production. This growing awareness has inspired many consumers to adopt dietary changes that will reduce their individual climate footprints. Recognizing these consumer preferences, the beef industry has adopted marketing tactics meant to assuage consumers’ climate concerns. These tactics include videos with misleading claims about emissions; false and misleading social media ads; and informational materials with distorted or inaccurate claims about animal agriculture’s purported environmental benefits. For example, a Beef Checkoff-funded promotional video claims, without qualification, that “[h]ow beef is raised is…good for the environment,” and another advertisement suggests that “[c]attle grazing supports biodiversity, provides wildlife habitat, enhances carbon sequestration,” which runs contrary to beef production’s enormous climate footprint and negative impacts on biodiversity.