Here’s something you probably didn’t hear about this week.
While you were shopping for groceries, some of the world’s biggest food companies were in court. Not because they were being sued — because they were doing the suing.
A Guardian investigation with Lighthouse Reports, published July 22, 2026, documented 235 lawsuits filed across five countries between 2010 and 2025, aimed at blocking, weakening, or delaying food health regulations. Warning labels on packages. Marketing restrictions on junk food aimed at kids. Taxes on sugary drinks. All challenged in court.
Most of it happened where you weren’t looking: 193 of those cases were in Mexico, with the rest spread across Colombia, Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Who was doing the suing
Three-quarters of those lawsuits came from ultra-processed food manufacturers or their trade associations. Where investigators could identify the company behind a case, 38% traced back to just eight parent corporations — among them Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mondelēz, Kellogg’s, Danone, and Ferrero.
Eight companies. A third of the identifiable litigation. That is not a coincidence; that is a strategy.
Even when they lose, they win
Of the cases that have been resolved, three-quarters were lost by the food companies. So why keep filing?
Because the delay is the product. The investigation found the legal battles added up to almost 600 years of cumulative time in court. Six hundred years of labels not appearing on packages. Six hundred years of shoppers not being told.
You don’t have to win a case to win the argument. You just have to keep it going long enough that everyone gets tired.
Sound familiar?
It should. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at NYU, put it plainly in the investigation: “Food companies are well trained. They follow the tobacco industry playbook to the letter. When all else fails, sue.”
Challenge every regulation. Drag every policy through the courts. Drain the public budget. Keep your product on the shelf, unlabeled, while everyone argues.
The good news — and there is some
They’re fighting this hard because the regulations work. Warning labels change what lands in the cart. Marketing restrictions reduce consumption. If these measures didn’t bite, nobody would spend a decade in court over them.
And the science underneath keeps getting stronger. In November 2025, The Lancet published a three-paper series by 43 international experts documenting how ultra-processed foods displace traditional diets, degrade diet quality, and track with chronic disease and premature death.
The difference between now and the 1990s is that we can see the playbook while it’s being run.
You don’t need a verdict to read a label
No court case required. Scan the barcode and see the processing level, the Gator Grade, and the flagged additives before it goes in the cart.
Download Rock The New Food Pyramid. Scan your groceries. Know what you’re feeding your family.
The industry is counting on confusion and delay. Don’t give it to them. 🐊
References
Gregory, A., Lei Win, T., & Freudenthal, E. (2026, July 22). “If all else fails, sue”: how ultra-processed food firms are using the courts to obstruct health rules. The Guardian, in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/22/processed-food-firms-courts-obstruct-health-regulations
Lighthouse Reports. (2026). Big Food vs. The People. https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/big-food-vs-the-people/
The Lancet. (2025). Ultra-processed foods and human health [Series]. https://www.thelancet.com/series-do/ultra-processed-food
Rock The New Food Pyramid — Scan. Know. Choose Better.