Introducing the Public Justice Food Project
Why we’re expanding our commitment to taking on one of the nation’s most toxic and abusive industries
At Public Justice, we envision a future where our food chain results in healthy, empowered communities and sustainable livelihoods. We believe we can have an animal agriculture system that is transparent and accountable to people, not profit. And we’re working to make this vision a reality.
The Problem
In the past 25 years, the food system in the United States has undergone a fundamental shift as industrial food production has overtaken independent farmers and ranchers. In fact, 85 percent of the meat consumed by Americans is produced by just four major players — Tyson, Smithfield, Cargill, and JBS — concentrating unprecedented power in the hands of a few corporations. These companies rely on factory production methods, and pump out their products with no regard for the harms they cause to families, workers, consumers, family farmers, animals, and the environment.
As a result, industrial agriculture, including factory farms, is the number one driver of water pollution and the number two driver of climate change. Furthermore, the extractive factory farming model has decimated rural economies, and closed markets off to independent farmers — in 1990, small and medium farms made up about half of agricultural production in the US; in 2019, they make up less than a quarter. Industrial agriculture also prioritizes higher profit margins at the expense of animal welfare, leading to the adoption of stomach-churning, unethical, and at times illegal breeding and slaughter practices.
While regenerative animal agriculture offers solutions to these problems, the industry prevents access to markets, deceives consumers, and pushes its costs onto the public, undermining the potential for another model to take hold.
The Food Project
Launched in 2011, Public Justice’s Food Project aims to hold industrial agriculture accountable for its harms, and to foster a more equitable and sustainable food system. Now, we’re expanding the Food Project to build widespread capacity to do the work needed to dismantle the structures that are hurting communities, and make way for new ones.
While influential law firms have taken on the tobacco and energy industries, a strong — and false — narrative about how food is produced in our country has prevented many from seeing agriculture as an industry that must be challenged. With that in mind, the Public Justice Food Project plans to build capacity among private-sector litigators about this pressing public issue, and connect those with legal expertise to the communities working to push back against Big Ag.
We also know we cannot make this change by ourselves, or with litigation alone. That’s why our approach requires us to center the most impacted communities and to collaborate with allies across movement sectors. We strategically pursue litigation that we can combine with basebuilding and communications to help build power on the ground, and change the stories being told about how our food is produced and what its true impacts are. Learn more about our movement-oriented model on our new website.
So far, Public Justice Food Project attorneys have been lead counsel in two cases putting independent American producers of beef back on a level playing field with multinational meatpackers, have taken a lead role in fighting for a more transparent food system by striking down several state laws banning or inhibiting undercover investigations of factory farms (and have many more such cases pending), have helped win clean drinking water for neighbors of megadairies and poultry processing plants, and more.
Join Us
Together, we have the power to make real change. There are plenty of ways to get involved:
- Are you an impacted community member seeking help? Send our team a message or check out our resources.
- Are you ready to take action to hold industrial ag responsible? Sign up for our action alerts.
- Are you a law student or lawyer who wants to stand up for rural residents, farmers, and workers affected by industrial ag? Join our Food Project Attorney Network for resources, trainings, and opportunities to connect with potential clients.
Want to help us make lasting change? Become a Food Project Ally today.
