by Elizabeth | Jan 2, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 2, 2014 Thirteen senators recently expressed concern about the potential effects of an “anti-science” provision in the House version of the farm bill, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and 12 other...
by Elizabeth | Jan 2, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biofuels, Environmental Law, Renewable Energy
Posted January 2, 2014 The Renewable Fuels Association recently released a report citing the successes of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. The report is available here. The report, “Celebrating Six Years of The...
by Elizabeth | Dec 23, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal Welfare, Food Safety, International Trade, Meat Processing
Posted December 23, 2013 New Mexico’s attorney general, Gary King, filed a lawsuit on Thursday, to block a horse slaughter facility from opening in the coming weeks, according to an article by the Associated Press available here. Horse slaughter in the U.S. has...
by Elizabeth | Dec 23, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Disaster Assistance Programs, Farm Bill, Federal Loan Programs, International Trade, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted December 23, 2013 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says a new farm bill is needed to continue record U.S. agricultural exports, according to the Secretary’s Column of the USDA blog, available here. Exports of U.S. farm and ranch products reached a...
by Elizabeth | Dec 23, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety, Food Safety Modernization Act, Water Law
Posted December 23, 2013 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will revise proposed food safety rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), according to a Capital Press article available here. Recent posts from this blog, hereand here, provide...
by Elizabeth | Dec 20, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted December 20, 2013 The National Agricultural Law Center offers a wide range of resources, one which is the Environmental Law Reading Room available here. Environmental law is a “body of law dedicated to the protection of the natural environment.” The...
by Elizabeth | Dec 20, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Labeling
Posted December 20, 2013 Two court decisions issued last week in food labeling class action lawsuits considered the issue of a “reasonable consumer,” according to the Washington Legal Foundation and published in Forbes here. In Ang v. Whitewave Foods Company,...
by Elizabeth | Dec 20, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, International Trade, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted December 20, 2013 President Barack Obama nominated Darci Vetter to be the new chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, succeeding Ambassador Islam Siddiqui, according to an article by Agri-Pulse available here. Vetter...
by Elizabeth | Dec 20, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted December 20, 2013 A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit in which the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sought to compel USDA to enforce Animal Welfare Act amendments adopted in 2002, according to an article by the Kansas City Star available...
by Elizabeth | Dec 19, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biotechnology, Environmental Law, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted December 19, 2013 An apple variety which has been bioengineered to resist browning is likely to be approved by USDA early next year, according to an article by Agri-Pulse available here. The apple varieties, Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny, were developed...
by Elizabeth | Dec 19, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biotechnology, Food Labeling, International Trade
Posted December 19, 2013 The European Commission recently proposed a draft rule banning the cloning of farm animals, imports of cloned livestock, and the sale of food from cloned animals, according to a Bloomberg article available here. The European Commissionis...
by Elizabeth | Dec 19, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling, Food Safety
Posted December 19, 2013 On Tuesday, attorneys for ABC and other defendants argued their motions to dismiss in the Beef Products Inc. (BPI) “pink slime” lawsuit, according to a Politico article available here. For background on the case, a recent post from this...
by Elizabeth | Dec 18, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted December 18, 2013 Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has suggested that House Democrats should not pass the farm bill unless the savings are used to extend unemployment benefits, according to an MSNBC article available here. Rep. Van Hollen said,...
by Elizabeth | Dec 18, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted December 18, 2013 Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, will lead a team of U.S. officials and leaders of the farm industry in annual trade talks with China next week in Beijing, according to a Reuters article available here. Recent rejection of U.S. corn...
by Elizabeth | Dec 18, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted December 18, 2013 Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has introduced a bill that would provide a program for large wireless carriers make unused spectrum available for rural carriers, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. Rural Broadband Association...
by Elizabeth | Dec 18, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted December 18, 2013 Evrett Lundquist, an organic certification inspector who was facing a $7.6 million lawsuit, won summary judgment and the judge recently ordered the plaintiff to pay a portion of his attorneys’ fees. The story begins when Lundquist, a...
by Elizabeth | Dec 17, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Farm Labor, Immigration, Labor
Posted December 17, 2013 A recent report shows that stronger labor protections and enforcement are needed to improve conditions for farm workers in the United States, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. The report, released on Tuesday by Farmworker...
by Elizabeth | Dec 17, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted December 17, 2013 In a case of agricultural espionage, federal prosecutors recently announced that the FBI arrested several individuals for stealing or attempting to steal seed technology, according to a USA Today article available here. The seed technology...
by Elizabeth | Dec 17, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted December 17, 2013 The Grocery Manufacturers Association has called on the FDA to draft a rule defining the term “natural” and allowing foods with GMO ingredients to carry the label, according to a Politico article available here. The six-page letter,...
by Elizabeth | Dec 16, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Safety
Posted December 16, 2013 A South Dakota judge will hear oral arguments on a motion to dismiss in the $1.2 billion Beef Products Inc. (BPI) defamation lawsuit against ABC News on Tuesday, according to an article by the Sioux City Journal available here. BPI argues...
