Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Q: Published on Feb 13, 2015 
  
 Though it has been established that eggs contain cholesterol, it has not yet been proven conclusively that they actually raise the level of serum cholesterol in the human bloodstream. ||||| 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. 
  
 Josh Tetrick's food revolution: saving the world one egg at a time Read more 
  
 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. ||||| Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
  
 NEW YORK — The CEO of the American Egg Board has stepped down earlier than planned, following the release of emails indicating she tried to stop the sale of a vegan mayonnaise at Whole Foods. 
  
 Joanne Ivy retired at the end of September. Before the release of the emails, the egg board said Ivy would retire Dec. 31. 
  
 Ivy and representatives of the egg board, which promotes the industry and is responsible for the "Incredible, Edible Egg" slogan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the board, confirmed Ivy's retirement but declined to comment on the reason. 
  
 The early departure comes as the USDA investigates the egg board regarding its actions related to Hampton Creek, a San Francisco startup that makes the eggless mayonnaise alternative Just Mayo. On Sept. 2, The Associated Press reported on emails in which Ivy told a consultant that she would "like to accept your offer to make that phone call to keep Just Mayo off Whole Foods shelves." 
  
 The request, made in 2013, was not successful, as Just Mayo is still sold at Whole Foods. 
  
 The communication nevertheless raised regulatory questions because the egg board is one of about 20 "checkoff" programs overseen by the USDA, making them quasi-governmental bodies. The programs, which include the National Pork Board and the Mushroom Council, are funded by producers and supposed to be promotional. 
  
 In a statement regarding its investigation, the USDA said it is "committed to establishing a level playing field that protects and promotes all appropriate agricultural endeavors." It said it did not "condone any efforts to limit competing products in commerce" and that its administrative review would take "some time" to complete. 
  
 Other emails by egg board executives illustrated the alarm over the media attention being showered on Hampton Creek, which makes plant-based alternatives to eggs it says are better for the environment. Publicly, egg board executives have sought to play down the company and avoided referring to it by name. Internally, however, the board was getting advice from public relations agency Edelman on how to respond to Hampton Creek. 
  
 In one exchange, an Edelman employee alerted the board that Hampton Creek had just challenged it to a bakeoff on Twitter. The employee advised the board not to respond. 
  
 It's not the first time checkoff programs have come under scrutiny. In 2012, the USDA's inspector general issued a report saying departmental oversight should be improved. 
  
 The emails by egg board executives were obtained through a public records request by Ryan Noah Shapiro, a Freedom of Information Act expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his attorney, Jeffrey Light, who specializes in FOIA matters. Shapiro knows Hampton Creek co-founder Josh Balk and provided the documents to the company, which provided them to the AP. 
  
 In the meantime, Hampton Creek is dealing with a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration saying its name violates the federal standard of identity for mayonnaise. The agency said that "mayo" is often understood to be mayonnaise, which is defined as having eggs. 
  
 A representative for the FDA said Friday there was no update on the matter. 
  
 Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick said the company is scheduled to speak with FDA on the matter in coming weeks, and that he hopes to "find some common ground" with the agency. 
  
 The company has retained The Glover Park Group, which describes itself as a strategic communications and government affairs firm. Glover Park says on its website that it helps clients "develop and execute legislative and regulatory strategies to advance their goals in Washington." 
  
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A:
You could say the American Egg Board has egg on its face after the group was allegedly caught trying to sabotage the makers of a vegan mayonnaise it considered to be a "major threat," the Guardian reports. The problem is the board—as a government-backed food lobby—is not allowed to "disparage non-egg commodities." Utah senator Mike Lee, who launched the investigation into the Egg Board, says it conducted “a strategic, multifaceted campaign to use the power and resources of the federal government to undermine the economic prospects of Hampton Creek." According to the New York Times, Hampton Creek makes plant-based egg substitutes, including vegan mayonnaise Just Mayo. It claims its products are better for the environment than eggs. Among the American Egg Board's alleged transgressions: trying to keep Whole Foods from selling Just Mayo, joking about killing the Hampton Creek CEO, and thinking about confronting celebrity chef and TV host Andrew Zimmern over his positive comments on Hampton Creek, the Guardian reports. According to the Times, the board also made concerted efforts to never refer to Hampton Creek by name and had a PR agency advising them to, among other things, ignore Hampton Creek tweets about eggs and egg-related matters. In response, the USDA—which oversees the American Egg Board, National Pork Board, Mushroom Council, and others—has launched an investigation, and the CEO of the Egg Board stepped down. As usual, we'll leave the final word on eggs and egg governing bodies to The Simpsons.