Washington – September 08, 2026 -- Smithfield Foods's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has amended a federal disclosure report to reveal that China-based WH Group, which owns 86.9% of Smithfield, has a direct interest in lobbying over Farm Bill reauthorization and foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land.
Watchdog complaint forces disclosure of Chinese ownership stake
The correction followed an August 3 federal complaint filed by the Center for Responsible Food Business (CRFB) with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. Greenberg Traurig's original second-quarter report, filed July 20, had answered "None" on Line 19, the line where federal law requires lobbyists to name any foreign entity with an interest in the specific issues lobbied. Those issues included Farm Bill reauthorization and foreign ownership of agricultural land, tied to $120,000 in lobbying spending directed at the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and the Department of the Treasury.
Amended filing names WH Group fifteen days after complaint
On August 18, Greenberg Traurig submitted an amended report naming WH Group of Kowloon, Hong Kong, as the foreign entity with an interest in both lobbying areas. The correction came fifteen days after CRFB's complaint was filed.
Fourteen of fifteen prior quarterly reports remain uncorrected
CRFB found that the July filing was not an isolated error. It marked the fifteenth consecutive quarterly report since the start of 2023 in which Smithfield disclosed lobbying on foreign land ownership legislation while denying any foreign entity had an interest. Fourteen of those fifteen reports have not been corrected.
"It should not take a watchdog group's complaint to compel a major global corporation to comply with federal disclosure laws about foreign lobbying interests," said Taylor Warren, President of the Center for Responsible Food Business. Warren said Smithfield's years-long omission and sudden reversal indicate the company sought to avoid acknowledging that its lobbyists represent Chinese ownership interests while pushing policy positions in Washington.
With the amended filing now on record, lawmakers reviewing Smithfield's lobbying on the Farm Bill and foreign land ownership rules can no longer claim uncertainty about the ownership interests behind the company's advocacy.