WIN! Thanks to a lawsuit by Earthjustice & our allies, U.S. EPA will finally update water pollution rules for slaughterhouses! Current standards have been outdated for DECADES, allowing severe pollution in vulnerable communities. A 🧵on its significance:

The thousands of American Jews who have marched against apartheid and collective punishment of Palestinians--myself included--are not extremists. We are compassionate citizens committed to equality, justice, and human rights. Shame on this administration.

I'm grateful to Rashida Tlaib for her courage. Her voice is absolutely necessary right now, and the effort to censure her is morally grotesque. Don't pretend it's about anything other than silencing a powerful, principled voice for human rights.

Not only does Columbia University have this ethical obligation but indeed the Rules of University Conduct would appear to reject the University's decision, given their full-throated incorporation of free speech & expression principles.

A must-read post by Noah Zatz on how the conflation of anti-Zionism & antisemitism "relies on pervasive racist & anti-Muslim stereotypes of Palestinians as endemically hateful, violent, deceptive, and hostile to Jews" in violation of civil rights law lpeproject.org/blog/palestini…

Everyone who cares about clean air and water, wildlife, a stable climate, or our health should learn about the Farm Bill and engage with policy makers. Best opportunity this year!

I'm suing JBS USA, the world's largest beef producer, for misleading the public about its environmental impact. The beef industry is one of the largest contributors to climate change, and JBS has falsely advertised its commitment to sustainability and endangered our planet.

This part of the NYAG lawsuit against JBS is magnificent because it shows shows the extent to which abstract terms like "regenerative" and claims about ag practices that are not backed by scientific evidence become perfect tools for corporate greenwashing and false advertising.

JBS, the world's biggest meat company, has been claiming that it can reach net-zero emissions by 2040. Now the New York Attorney General is suing them for consumer fraud. My latest for Vox analyzes this vitally important greenwashing lawsuit. vox.com/future-perfect…

In response to the WSJ op-ed spinning NYAG's JBS case, the NAD itself wrote a letter to the editor making precisely this point! "Holding businesses accountable for the promises they make isn't antibusiness; it's vital for marketplace trust." CC: Jan Dutkiewicz

When should global livestock emissions peak and what's the most effective way to reduce them? Helen Harwatt (and her coauthors) posed these questions (and more) to 210 climate scientists & I wrote up the findings (w/charts!). It's much sooner than you'd think. vox.com/future-perfect…

Very interesting and important new paper. Suggests animal welfare labeling is not a stepping stone to decreased meat consumption and may even be an "absorbing stone" that stymies meat reduction by locking in welfarist norms. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

I attended Columbia University Law School and currently teach human rights advocacy here. Deeply ashamed of this institution today.

Here's Knight First Amendment Institute's comment on today's events at Columbia. knightcolumbia.org/content/knight…

Here's the letter that Knight First Amendment Institute just sent to President Shafik about free speech at Columbia (with corrected URL) knightcolumbia.org/blog/knight-in…

Very excited about this ambitious, creative, and righteous new case that Knight First Amendment Institute's @2ramyakrishnan filed yesterday with Ethan Zuckerman. wired.com/story/meta-sec…

Public agencies across NYS want to put their money where their mouth is -- by buying food that meets their values of sustainability, nutrition, and justice. The #GoodFoodNY bill will help them do this. Call your legislators TODAY to pass it NOW. bit.ly/GoodFoodNYacti…

Another remarkable thing about this episode: EPA is now using the (thoroughly debunked) industry narrative about meat supply shortages during the pandemic to justify weak water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses: earthjustice.org/press/2024/com…

We’re suing: Tyson Foods claims it is producing “climate-friendly beef” with plans to reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – but they’re using deceptive math and a lack of transparency to support those claims. ejus.tc/3Zu5JUj

A new lawsuit contests claims by Tyson Foods about its efforts to bring down emissions. Critics call it greenwashing. My latest The New York Times nytimes.com/2024/09/18/cli…