On Friday March 1st, the Western High Court of Denmark ruled in favor of us (the Vegetarian Society of Denmark) and The Climate Movement in our case against meat giant Danish Crown. The court found Danish Crown, Europe's largest pork exporter, guilty of greenwashing in its "Climate-Controlled Pigs" marketing campaign.
More info in the Guardian and via Bloomberg: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/danish-firm-climate-controlled-pork-claim-misleading-court-rules
The verdict is here (in Danish): https://domstol.dk/vestrelandsret/aktuelt/2024/3/dom-i-sag-om-greenwashing/
The main reason for the verdict was that the so-called "control" was not a real control.
It is the first climate lawsuit (and the first greenwashing lawsuit) in Denmark, and also, apparently, the first food-related greenwashing lawsuit and verdict in Europe.
The Danish Consumer Council (Forbrugerrådet Tænk) supported the case on our side, while the main agricultural lobby organisation, the Agriculture & Food Council (Landbrug & Fødevarer), and the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri) supported Danish Crown as bi-intervenients.
So basically, we were facing, apart from Danish Crown itself, the two most powerful lobby organizations in the country.
The lawsuit was originally made possible through micro donations from 1,700 Danish citizens. Later, we were granted a free trial, covered by government funding (a possibility in principled cases, where verdicts have not been made before).
While we won the part of the case of largest economic value to Danish Crown, we did not win the other part of the lawsuit, which concerns their slogan "our pigs are more climate-friendly than you think". On this part, the court sided with Danish Crown, arguing that the relative claim ("more than"), and the claim of consumers beliefs ("you think"), was somehow substantiated.
Of course, we find it troubling that the word "climate-friendly" can apparently be used, if enough creativity is applied, so our lawyers are looking into the possibility of appealing the case to the Supreme Court (the legal possibilities, and what it would cost).
If you have any questions regarding the case, you can post them here, and you are also welcome to contact me at rc@vegetarisk.dk.
