The Latest by Peter Lehner

Managing Attorney

Aerial view of green mechanical combine harvesting in a brown field, with a dust cloud trailing behind the machine.
May 31, 2023

Agriculture, Climate, and 2023 Farm Bill (A 3-Part Blog Series)

About the 3-blog series on helping American agriculture become more resilient and climate-friendly:

Cows at a factory farm.
December 22, 2022

It’s Time to Put an End to Industrial Agriculture’s Relentless Pursuit of Secrecy

Big agriculture is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and yet several bills have been introduced to hide the industry’s pollution.

January 4, 2022

Farming for Our Future: Opportunities Abound

Policymakers must take advantage of the many opportunities to reform agriculture to help curb climate change.

January 8, 2019

Climate Action Is a Secret Winner in the 2018 Farm Bill

The 2018 Farm Bill is surprisingly climate-conscious.

One profit-lovers pizza, please, hold the calorie count.
March 7, 2018

‘Big Pizza’ is Lobbying Congress to Put Profit Ahead of Public Health

Major pizza chains and convenience stores are fighting the federal menu labeling law in a bid to hide calorie counts.

Menu at movies
February 6, 2018

Counting Calories? New Lawsuit Will Make Restaurants Show You the Stats

Earthjustice goes to court over Trump’s illegal delay on nutrition labels.

In New York, home to these Autumn trees, a novel state tax reform proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo taps into a little-known but powerful climate opportunity — the carbon-soaking power of agricultural and forest land.
January 29, 2018

How One Tweak to New York’s Tax Code Could Save Forests, Cut Emissions and Help Rural Communities

New York State has an opportunity to show how climate change can be fought through agriculture by incentivizing farmers and forest owners to sustainably manage trees that sequester CO2.

Chris Teachout, a fifth-generation farmer, examines the quality of his soil, which he keeps healthy by planting cover crops on his farm in southwest Iowa.
November 1, 2017

A New Crop of Ideas for Fighting Climate Change

Agriculture can be a force for environmental health. Here's how.

corn field
June 6, 2017

The Major Food Waste Problem You Haven't Heard About

America wastes millions of acres of land through inefficient food production.

Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit challenging a rule that allows thousands of novel, untested chemicals to be used as food additives without FDA review.
June 1, 2017

FDA Allows Secret, Untested Chemicals into Our Food

Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit challenging a rule that allows thousands of novel, untested chemicals to be used as food additives without FDA review.