How much stake should international interests have in America's food system? It's a question more people are asking. Over the past several years, concerns about food sovereignty and foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, food companies, and supply chains have moved from the margins into mainstream policy debates. Opinions vary on what, if anything, should be done about it. But whatever your view, Americans deserve to know who is behind the food they eat and who is shaping the rules that govern it.
That's where lobbying disclosure comes in. When companies hire lobbyists to influence Congress, federal law requires those lobbyists to file public reports about who they work for, what issues they work on, and how much they're paid. One question on those reports matters a lot: whether any foreign company or government has a stake in the lobbying. That answer lets lawmakers and the public see when a foreign interest is shaping U.S. policy, even when the lobbying is done in an American company's name.
In August, the Center for Responsible Food Business filed a federal complaint with Congress showing that lobbyists for Smithfield Foods, one of the country's largest pork producers, had been answering that question incorrectly for years.
On September 3rd, CRFB issued a press release detailing Smithfield’s response.
What we found
Smithfield Foods may be a familiar American brand, but it is 86.9% owned by WH Group, a company based in Hong Kong. Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, lobbyists must report on their quarterly filings (on a section known as Line 19) whether any foreign entity has an interest in the specific issues they lobby on.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP, the firm that lobbies for Smithfield, filed its report for the second quarter of 2026 on July 20. That report covered $120,000 in lobbying of the House, the Senate, and the Department of the Treasury. The issues included reauthorizing the Farm Bill and rules on foreign ownership of U.S. farmland. In answer to whether a foreign entity had an interest in that lobbying, the firm wrote “None.”
This was not a one-time omission. Since the start of 2023, fifteen consecutive quarterly reports listed lobbying for Smithfield on foreign land ownership legislation while stating that no foreign entity had an interest in it.
What happened next
CRFB filed its complaint with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House on August 3. On August 18, Greenberg Traurig submitted an amended report naming WH Group as a foreign entity with an interest in both the Farm Bill and the foreign land ownership lobbying. The earlier reports have not been corrected.
“Lobbying disclosure rules exist so that lawmakers and the public know whose interests are behind the policy positions they hear,” said Taylor Warren, President of the Center for Responsible Food Business. “It shouldn’t take a watchdog complaint for a major global company to comply with them. We’re glad the latest report has been corrected, and we expect the earlier reports to be corrected as well.”
Why it matters
The Farm Bill is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation for the U.S. food system. Congress renews it every several years, and it shapes farm subsidies, crop insurance, conservation programs, and food assistance for millions of Americans. Foreign ownership of farmland has also become an active policy debate, with lawmakers at the state and federal levels weighing new limits and reporting requirements.
On both issues, the foreign interest behind the lobbying is directly relevant. A company owned by a foreign parent lobbying on rules about foreign ownership of farmland is exactly the kind of situation disclosure rules are meant to bring to light. Lawmakers deserve to know whose interests they are hearing from, and the public deserves to know who is shaping the policies that affect what we eat and who owns the land it’s grown on.
With the amended filing now on the record, that information is available for the most recent quarter. CRFB will continue to track whether the earlier reports are corrected.