This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened an investigation into the American Egg Board (AEB) after revelations by the Guardian that the USDA-appointed group conducted a months-long campaign against a San Francisco food startup called Hampton Creek.

Government-backed egg lobby tried to crack food startup, emails show Read more

Joanne Ivy, CEO of the AEB and 2015’s Egg Person of the Year, has stepped down and taken early retirement. She was originally due to leave at the end of the year.

The investigation comes after Utah senator Mike Lee called for an investigation into reports that the government-backed egg lobby had organized a concerted effort to tackle Hampton Creek, a company described in leaked emails as a “major threat” and “crisis” for the $5.5bn-a-year egg industry.

“[R]ecent news reports have brought to light a series of emails, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act [Foia], that contain compelling evidence that AEB leadership, including the Egg Board’s president and CEO, may have violated the federal laws and administrative regulations governing checkoff programs,” Lee wrote in a letter to agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, calling for the investigation.

A USDA official confirmed an investigation was now under way by its agricultural marketing service (AMS) arm, which carries out the day-to-day oversight of boards.

“AMS is conducting a thorough administrative review of issues involving the American Egg Board. This involves a substantial amount of material, and while AMS expects to complete the review in an expeditious manner, a complete review will take some time. AMS will not comment on personnel matters involving the board,” said a USDA spokesperson.

Emails obtained through a Foia request by attorney Jeffrey Light and passed to the Guardian showed what Lee called “a strategic, multifaceted campaign to use the power and resources of the federal government to undermine the economic prospects of Hampton Creek”.



Members of AEB leadership are alleged to have tried to prevent the sale of Hampton Creek’s product Just Mayo at Whole Foods; to have advised Unilever on its lawsuit against the company (including suggesting Unilever solicit action from the Food and Drug Administration); and to have assessed the company’s patents for flaws.



They also joked about killing Tetrick himself: “Can we pool our money and put a hit on him?” asked Mike Sencer, executive vice-president of AEB member organization Hidden Villa Ranch. Mitch Kanter, executive vice president of the AEB, jokingly offered “to contact some of my old buddies in Brooklyn to pay Mr Tetrick a visit”. (AEB apologized for those statements when contacted by the Guardian.)

Board executives also discussed whether to confront chef Andrew Zimmern, who had featured Hampton Creek on his popular Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods and praised the company in a blog post characterized by them as a “love letter.”

While the Egg Board is a “checkoff” organization into which egg farmers are required to pay, it is specifically prohibited from influencing governmental action or disparaging non-egg commodities.

The AEB also distributed pro-industrial farming talking points through food and recipe blogs to counteract Hampton Creek chief executive Josh Tetrick’s criticism in the media of industrial farming.

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Tetrick said he hoped the investigation would encourage more environmentally friendly farming practices.

“Some, not all, of these checkoff programs act in a way that is not aligned with building a healthier and more sustainable food system,” he said.

“It’s our hope that this is the first step toward reforming them. The actions that were in this case against Hampton Creek are actually against building a food system that’s for everyone.”

Just Mayo, a plant-based egg substitute, does not fall under the jurisdiction of the American Egg Board. But it caused consternation among its members, especially when Hampton Creek began to win lucrative industry contracts. The product became the mayonnaise of choice for the Compass Group, a catering firm that provides food for school cafeterias and smaller restaurant groups.