At first blush, it’s hard to determine if the recent lawsuit by New York State Attorney General Letitia James against JBS Company, the largest beef producer in America, is designed to protect consumers from false advertising, or if it is yet another example of the AG going after an entity to which she is ideologically opposed. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4495492-jbs-new-york-state-beef-environmental-lawsuit/
The lawsuit initiated by James alleges that the company engaged in false advertising in claiming that it will reduce carbon emissions to zero by the year 2040.
The problem for James is that the company doesn’t claim to have already reduced their emissions to zero. Rather, they are claiming they will have them reduced by 2040.
While this may be wildly speculative, we have to point out that numerous governors, attorneys general and legislatures have had press conferences touting their plans which they promise will end carbon output by 2035 or 2040.
What if they’re wrong and they were exaggerating, or really had no clue as to whether they could accomplish this goal? Should they be prosecuted?
We imagine it’s all a matter of degree.
We don’t want a company claiming that their product helps cure cancer if there’s no factual basis for such a statement. Nor do we want a company claiming that their product is gluten-free if it’s not. So there is a need for an aggressive attorney general to stay on top of those who lie in the marketplace.
We guess the devil is in the details. Does JBS have even a semblance of a carbon reduction plan that they can point to? If not, James may have a case. But then again, have we ever seen James go after those suspect entities on the left such as Al Sharpton, Black Lives Matter or Antifa? Nope! And don’t hold your breath waiting for those lawsuits to come about anytime soon.
Yet. she relishes going after right-wing adversaries, be they former President Donald Trump, whom she infamously promised to prosecute before naming the crime, or the National Rifle Association (an easy target in deep-blue New York).
The problem for James is that, even if she has a credible case against JBS, she has blown all of her credibility with her outrageous partisan maneuvers since she took office.
Too bad, because it might obscure the fact that, from time to time, she might actually have a legitimate case.