Big Food Filed 239 Lawsuits to Block Life-Saving Health Policies, Investigation Reveals

A global investigation by Lighthouse Reports and The Guardian reveals how Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mondelēz filed 239 lawsuits across six countries to delay, dilute, and derail public health policies targeting junk food — nearly 600 years of litigation designed to wear down regulators.

A global investigation by Lighthouse Reports, in collaboration with The Guardian and academic researchers across four continents, has uncovered the scale at which the world's largest ultra-processed food companies are using the courts to fight public health regulation: 239 lawsuits filed between 2010 and 2025, spanning six countries.

The investigation found that just nine parent corporations were behind more than one in three identifiable cases. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mondelēz lead the pack, with Kellogg's, Danone, and Ferrero close behind. The lawsuits collectively represent nearly 600 years of litigation — a deliberate strategy of legal attrition designed to exhaust regulators and deter future policy.

The targets tell the story. Companies sued over front-of-pack warning labels that would tell consumers what they are actually eating. They sued over marketing restrictions that would stop junk food advertising aimed at children. They sued over soda taxes and ultra-processed food taxes — measures that research consistently shows are among the most effective tools for reducing consumption of harmful products.

Publicly, these same companies claim to support public health goals. But in court, as the Guardian reports, their legal filings argue that health regulations violate corporate rights to free speech, intellectual property, and free trade. In several cases, corporations successfully petitioned courts to keep their names sealed — making it impossible for the public to know who was fighting against their own health protections.

The strategy is effective even when it loses. Of the cases that have been resolved, three-quarters were decided in favor of the governments. But winning in court came years too late. Lawsuits successfully delayed policy implementation for years, sometimes a decade, while government officials were tied up in expensive litigation. According to AgFunderNews, the parallel to Big Tobacco's playbook is unmistakable: deny the science, attack the researchers, sue the regulators — this time with cookies, sodas, and breakfast cereals.

The human stakes are clear. Ultra-processed foods are now linked to harm in every major organ system of the human body. Consumption is rising globally, with UPF now making up half the average diet in the UK, the United States, and Australia. The World Health Organization estimates that unhealthy diets kill millions annually and cost healthcare systems tens of billions of dollars. Children, who have the least agency over what they eat, bear the heaviest burden.

Sources: Lighthouse Reports, The Guardian, AgFunderNews