The SLAPP lawsuit against Witoon Lianchamroon, director of the BioThai Foundation, by a powerful agro-food corporation over the spread of invasive blackchin tilapia across multiple Thai provinces is more than a legal case. It is a textbook example of how speaking truth to power can rattle corporate giants that not only dominate food systems but also control the very narratives about them.

As the Indian scientist-turned-activist Vandana Shiva once observed: “When our work is effective, backlash will occur. Backlash is part of the environmental movement and social change, because it shows that transformation is happening.” By this measure, the lawsuit against Witoon is not merely retaliation—it is a Green Backlash.

Keystone actors of the Anthropocene

The corporation suing Witoon is no ordinary company. Internationally, it is recognized as one of the keystone actors of the Anthropocene—a term used by scientists to describe a small group of corporations with outsized control over global ecosystems. Research has identified just 13 seafood companies that together control between 11–16% of global marine catches (9–13 million tons) and as much as 40% of the largest and most economically valuable fish stocks, including species vital to ecological balance.

These keystone actors dominate every part of the seafood supply chain, operate through sprawling global subsidiaries, and wield enormous influence over fisheries and aquaculture policy. If they embraced sustainability leadership, their actions could cascade across the entire seafood industry, steering it toward responsible marine resource and ecosystem management. Instead, too often, they use their power to silence critics.

A lifelong activist under fire

But Witoon Lianchamroon is no ordinary target. For more than four decades, he has stood as one of Thailand’s most principled defenders of food sovereignty and farmers’ rights.

I first met him in the 1970s, when he was already a tall, soft-spoken activist with a deep, steady voice. He came to Nern Phayom in Rayong—then a gathering place for young activists of the Wind and Sunshine era—to rally us to investigate Shell’s million-rai forest plantation project on the Rayong–Chanthaburi border. I followed him to the Association of Appropriate Technology (half-jokingly dubbed the “Association of Sensible Technology” by friends), where our work included locating groundwater in drought-stricken communities with the simplest of tools.

Over the decades, Witoon helped lead some of Thailand’s most significant food and agriculture campaigns. He played a central role in the fight against GMO papaya, working alongside Greenpeace, while BioThai and the sustainable agriculture network pursued relentless campaigns on Bt cotton, Bt corn from Monsanto, biosafety, toxic agrochemicals, food democracy, and the dangers embedded in trade agreements like the CPTPP.

Through it all, he has remained committed to amplifying farmers’ voices, protecting biodiversity, and challenging the grip of agro-industrial giants on Thailand’s food system.

The bigger picture: SLAPPs and democracy

This lawsuit against Witoon is not just an attempt to silence a single activist. It is part of a broader pattern of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)—a tactic increasingly used by corporations to intimidate critics, drain them of resources, and discourage others from speaking out.

In Thailand, SLAPPs have been used against environmental defenders, journalists, and local communities. Globally, the pattern is similar: whether in Latin America, Africa, or Asia, communities that dare to expose corporate harms face the risk of crippling legal battles. These lawsuits do not merely threaten individuals—they undermine democracy, erode civil society, and weaken the ability of societies to hold the powerful accountable.

Solidarity in the face of power

Almost every time I met Witoon in recent years, he would fondly recall a photograph taken some 40 years ago at a workshop in Penang, Malaysia, hosted by the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM, Friends of the Earth Malaysia). That memory symbolized the cross-border solidarity that has long been the backbone of Southeast Asia’s environmental movements.

Today, that solidarity is more urgent than ever. Because this case is not just about Witoon. It is about the right of citizens everywhere to question corporate power without fear of being silenced.

I send my solidarity and strength to Witoon Lianchamroon—a bedrock and vanguard of Thailand’s struggle to defend its food systems from the unchecked influence of corporate giants. His fight is also our fight. For if keystone corporations are allowed to sue their critics into silence, the future of democratic accountability—and the sustainability of our global food systems—will be at risk.