Carrie Apfel

Deputy Managing Attorney

Sustainable Food & Farming Program

Carrie Apfel, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice's Sustainable Food and Farming program, is smiling, looking at the camera.

Bar Admissions

DC, NY

Carrie Apfel

Deputy Managing Attorney Sustainable Food & Farming Program

Nydia Gutiérrez
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
ngutierrez@earthjustice.org

Carrie Apfel is the deputy managing attorney of the Sustainable Food and Farming Program. She is based in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Carrie was a litigation partner at Jenner & Block. One of the more notable cases she worked on was a class action on behalf of Native American farmers and ranchers challenging discrimination in USDA’s farm loan program. The team won an enormous, and unprecedented, settlement for her clients. She also maintained a very active pro bono docket at Jenner.

Prior to joining Jenner, Carrie clerked on the Fourth Circuit, and graduated from University of Virginia Law School and Duke University, both with many honors. She also worked for several years at women’s advocacy organizations in D.C.

Expert Posts & Articles

September 1, 2026

Moving Beyond Harmful Bioenergy, Together

The truth and common misconceptions about biomass, biogas, and biofuel energy.
August 5, 2026

E15: Consumers and Planet Pay; Big Ag Benefits

Nothing about the case for year-round E15 adds up. It raises costs at the pump and in the grocery aisle, it requires millions of additional acres of land that make the climate problem worse rather than better, and its financial benefits concentrate in land values for a few rather than real farmer income.
July 14, 2026

Nearly Sixty Farm, Farmworker, Environmental, Health, and Community Groups Tell OMB: Don’t Play Politics with Federal Funding

Federal financial assistance should not be subject to political maneuvering and gamesmanship, yet the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s proposed rule will do just that.
Cows at a factory farm.
November 20, 2025

The End of a Marketing Mirage: In Settlement of Greenwashing Lawsuit, Tyson Agrees to Stop Making Climate Claims

Given the enormous emissions associated with industrial meat production, beef produced in this manner can never be a “climate-smart choice.” Climate-smart beef is plainly an oxymoron.
March 24, 2025

Closing the GRAS Loophole is a Good Idea

Here’s how FDA can protect us from dangerous chemicals in our food.
February 4, 2025

D.C. Court Greenlights Climate Greenwashing Case

The Superior Court for the District of Columbia denied Tyson Food, Inc.’s efforts to avoid liability and allowed the case to move forward.

Nydia Gutiérrez
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
ngutierrez@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

DC, NY

Quoted in the News

June 29, 2026

WYSO

Yellow Springs-based Agraria joins 24 plaintiffs in lawsuit against USDA

“This administration continues to hurt — not help — American farmers.”
January 22, 2021

Investigate Midwest

Biden administration reviews Trump regulatory rollbacks likely to harm farmworkers

“This shows the new administration is considering health and safety, which was pretty much ignored for the last four years.”

Latest Press Statements

August 5, 2026

Nonprofits Move for Court Stay of New USDA Rules Preventing Crucial Work To Support Farms and Hunger Relief

Plaintiffs and other grantees cannot effectively do that work while subject to the unlawful terms and conditions, we are asking the Court to put these rules on hold while the case continues
July 31, 2026

Nonprofits Sue to Block New USDA Rules That Force Them to Change or Abandon Food Access Work

Plaintiff groups seek stay and preliminary ruling to stop potential grantees from facing vague anti-DEI terms and serious threats for failure to comply
A man wearing a long sleeve Minnesota Vikings shirt stands in a corn field holding a pole and bag with a dirt sample inside.
July 14, 2026

Earthjustice Vigorously Opposes Proposal to Politicize Federal Funding

OMB’s proposal would centralize control over federal grant decisions under political appointees
July 1, 2026

Court Restores $127M in Illegally Canceled Grants from USDA’s Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program

Twenty-four grantees win preliminary injunction restoring critical support for a fairer food system
May 27, 2026

Recently Shuttered USDA Program Grantees Join Suit to Restore $125M+ in Illegally Canceled Grants

LCM grantees join initial plaintiffs in case, who won a preliminary injunction restoring critical support for a fairer food system
November 17, 2025

Tyson Foods Acepta Dejar de Hacer Afirmaciones sobre ‘Carne de Cero Emisiones Netas’ y ‘Carne de Res Climáticamente Inteligente’

La demanda alega que Tyson Foods afirmó falsamente que alcanzaría la neutralidad de carbono para 2050 y comercializó sus productos de carne industrial como “climáticamente inteligentes”