Smithfield Foods recently announced that it supports students that participate in the Envirothon program, but several sources call Chinese-owned Smithfield a harmful environmental polluter.
On July 6, Smithfield posted an image on Twitter saying, "At Smithfield, we are continually researching bold, impactful and innovative solutions to optimize our supply chain, reduce waste and improve our energy and water efficiency."
"Smithfield is a strong supporter of the Envirothon program," the company wrote in their Twitter post. "Most recently, Smithfield’s Mike Larrison of our Omaha facility worked with students of Nebraska’s state winning team to help them prepare and compete against others on their knowledge of the environment."
The company states on its website that for the past 20 years, it has been working to lead the way in reducing its environmental footprint and coming up with solutions to environmental challenges. The company has a goal of being carbon negative by 2030 and reducing its water and energy usage.
Several sources dispute Smithfield's ecological claims and refute that the company is a major polluter. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) was part of a legal petition sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in February 2021, asserting that Smithfield Foods "makes false and misleading claims about the sustainability of its pork production and the company’s environmental record," according to the IATP website. Chinese-owned Smithfield was issued at least 66 citations in 2019 for violating environmental protection laws. IATP charges Smithfield with being the third largest water polluter in the U.S. and the 12th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world among meat and dairy companies. The IATP noted that hog feces from Smithfield's North Carolina facilities has polluted waterways there.
In 2014, more than 500 North Carolina residents, most of whom are black, filed lawsuits against Smithfield, citing the company's practice of storing hog feces in open pits, Agriculture.com reported. The North Carolinians, who lived on farms neighboring a Smithfield facility, stated that at times they were unable to leave their homes because of the stench. In 2018 and 2019, jurors determined that the plaintiffs from neighboring farms should be awarded $550 million, but a North Carolina law limiting punitive damages knocked that figure down to around $98 million when Smithfield settled in 2020. Judge Stephanie Thacker wrote for the court that Smithfield “persisted in its chosen farming practices despite its knowledge of the harms to its neighbors, exhibiting wanton or willful disregard of the neighbors’ rights to enjoyment of their property."
Smithfield's hog farms in Missouri have released more than 4.6 million gallons of manure into waterways or emergency containment structures since Smithfield purchased the farms in 2006, Reuters reported, citing data from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This manure release, which represents an increase of 70% from the previous 15-year period, during which the farms were owned by Premium Standard Farms (PSF), raises concerns about air and water pollution.
Food and Water Watch has accused Smithfield of "greenwashing," or deceptively using tag lines and jargon that make it seem as though a company is committed to the environment while continuing practices that are actually harmful.
Smithfield Foods was purchased by China's WH Group Ltd in 2013 for $4.7 billion, Reuters reported.
