by Elizabeth | Jan 14, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 14, 2014 Smithfield Foods, Inc. is recommending that all of its contract sow growers follow the company’s lead in converting their facilities to group housing for pregnant sows, according to an article by Global Newswire available here. Smithfield...
by Elizabeth | Jan 13, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Country of Origin Labeling, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 13, 2014 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments on Jan. 9 in the case involving the USDA’s most recent Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule, according to an article by Feedstuffs available here. The lawsuit,...
by Elizabeth | Jan 13, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 13, 2014 Monsanto recently announced that it was making progress on the development of herbicide-tolerant wheat, advancing the possibility of biotech wheat being on the market, according to a Reuters article available here. Monsanto, a leading...
by Elizabeth | Jan 13, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Aquaculture, Farm Bill, Food and Drug Administration, International Trade, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 13, 2014 The subject of the USDA catfish inspection program resurfaced lasted week, as letters from opponents were sent to lawmakers, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) sent a letter, available here, to...
by Elizabeth | Jan 10, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Law
Posted January 10, 2014 A federal judge recently ruled in favor of Florida and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on their 2013 agreement which allows the state to set water quality standards in Florida waterways, according to an article by the Florida...
by Elizabeth | Jan 10, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biotechnology, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted January 10, 2014 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently decline requested by three federal judges to determine whether the term “natural” includes genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, according to an article by Food Navigator USA available...
by Elizabeth | Jan 9, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 9, 2014 A recent management review of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) by the Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) last week verified that CBB is operating in compliance with the Beef Promotion and...
by Elizabeth | Jan 9, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Local Food Systems, Nutrition Programs
Posted January 9, 2014 An updated National Farm to School Network (NFSN) survey shows in 2012 and 2013, twenty states passed farm to school related legislation and seventeen other states introduced legislation, according to an article by PRWEB available here. The...
by Elizabeth | Jan 9, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biotechnology, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted January 9, 2014 The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which represents companies like ConAgra, PepsiCo, and Kraft, is proposing a federal GMO food labeling law, according to a Politico article available here. The GMA’s proposal advocates for an...
by Elizabeth | Jan 8, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 8, 2014 While Congress has been on break for the holidays, key members of the farm bill conference have been working on a compromise farm bill proposal, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. While a conference meeting has not been...
by Elizabeth | Jan 8, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biotechnology, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticides, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 8, 2014 Last week, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recommended the deregulation of genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean plants while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts risk assessments to decide...
by Elizabeth | Jan 8, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Law
Posted January 8, 2014 Chesapeake Energy, an Oklahoma oil and gas company, will pay $10 million for violating the Clean Water Act and for repairs to wetlands and streams, according to an Oklahoma KFOR News article available here. The violations stem from...
by Elizabeth | Jan 8, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 8, 2014 The owner of an Indiana wind farm recently filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy Indiana Inc., alleging breach of contract in the utility’s obligation to buy electricity, according an article by Hoosier Ag Today, available here. The wind farm...
by Elizabeth | Jan 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 7, 2014 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) recently sent a letter to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, urging the organization to oppose dairy cow tail docking, according to the HSUS new release available here. Other states, including...
by Elizabeth | Jan 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling, Food Safety
Posted January 7, 2014 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the comment period for its proposal to reduce trans fat in processed foods, according to the FDA’s Constituent Update, available here. Agri-Pulse reported on the story here. The...
by Elizabeth | Jan 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biotechnology, Environmental Law, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 7, 2014 USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently announced that it will reopen the comment period for the genetically engineered (GE) Arctic Apple, according to an article by Agri-Pulse available here. The Federal Register...
by Elizabeth | Jan 6, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Bureau of Land Management, Climate Change, Conservation Programs, Environmental Law, Land Use Regulation, National Environmental Policy Act, Water Law, Western Water
Posted January 6, 2014 In Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Burke, No. 2:12CV257DAK, 2013 WL 5916815, D. Utah (Nov. 4, 2013), the United States District Court for the District of Utah considered a case involving the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision in...
by Elizabeth | Jan 6, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal Welfare, Food Safety, Veterinary Law
Posted January 6, 2014 A jury recently awarded Oregon dairy farmers, Nancy and Neal Kaste, $750,000 in damages plus attorneys’ fees after feed from Land O’Lakes Purina poisoned 140 of their cows, according to an article by the Oregonian available here. Land...
by Elizabeth | Jan 3, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Environmental Law, Forest Service, Forestry, International Trade, Taxation
Posted January 3, 2014 The National Agricultural Law Center offers a wide range of resources, one of which is the Forestry Reading Room available here. The laws relating to forestry include commercial harvesting of timber, environmental issues, international...
by Elizabeth | Jan 3, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Labeling, National Organic Program
Posted January 3, 2014 In Quesada v. Herb Thyme Farms, Inc., No. B239602, 2013 WL 6730808, (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 23, 2013), a California Appeals Court considered a case of first impression, holding that the federal Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), 7 U.S.C....
