Food Safety
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—December 15, 2023
Antitrust: Federal Jury Finds Egg Producers Liable for Price-Fixing and Conspiracy, Damages Awarded 🌾
On November 21, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a minute entry of a jury verdict finding the defendant egg producers liable in an antitrust case alleging that numerous egg producers—including United Egg Producers, Inc., United States Egg Marketers, Inc., and Cal-Maine Foods—“unlawfully agreed to and did implement their conspiracy to control supply and artificially maintain and increase the price of eggs through a series of collective actions.” Kraft Foods Global v. United Egg Producers, No. 1:11-cv-08808. The case […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 20, 2023
Antitrust: DOJ Files Complaint, Proposed Consent Decree to Prohibit Koch Foods’ Contract Termination Penalty Fees 🌾
On November 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, a complaint alleging that poultry producer Koch Foods, Inc. “anticompetitively and unfairly required chicken farmers, or growers, to pay Koch a termination penalty to switch from working for Koch to a rival chicken processor.” United States v. Koch Foods, No. 1:23-cv-15813. Also announced by DOJ, the complaint states that “Koch’s termination penalty . . amounted to more than half of […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 6, 2023
Agricultural Labor: National Labor Relations Board Publishes Final Rule for New Joint Employer Status Test 🌾
On October 27, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published in the Federal Register a final rule titled “Standards for Determining Joint Employer Status” (88 FR 73946), which replaces the previous 2020 rule (85 FR 11184). Also announced by NLRB, the final rule establishes that “an entity may be considered a joint employer of another employer’s employees if the two share or codetermine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment,” which the rule defines using seven categories: 1) “wages, benefits, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 23, 2023
Ag-Gag Statutes: Supreme Court Denies Petition to Decide Whether First Amendment Protects ‘Newsgathering Activities’ in Non-Public Farm Areas 🌾
On October 16, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari for a case seeking reversal of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision upholding parts of North Carolina’s Property Protection Act—but enjoining enforcement of the act for “newsgathering activities.” Stein v. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc., No. 22-1150 (U.S.); PETA v. NC Farm Bureau, No. 20-1776 (4th Cir.). The Fourth Circuit’s opinion, which held that […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 2, 2023
National Agricultural Policy: GAO Decision Finds USDA’s Use of Commodity Credit Corporation Funds Lawful 🌾
On September 20, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a decision concluding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “did not violate the [Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)] Charter Act or the Antideficiency Act when it used CCC funds for programs that were not specifically included in its [FY 2021] budget submission to Congress” because the “Government Corporation Control Act (GCCA) does not require corporations to delineate specific programs in their budget submissions prior to carrying them out.” Additionally, the GAO decision found that […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 25, 2023
Pesticides: Federal Court Approves Settlement in 2011 EPA Pesticide Registration Dispute 🌾
On September 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order approving a stipulated settlement agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and plaintiff environmental groups, resolving a longstanding dispute over EPA’s registration of 382 pesticide active ingredients. Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 3:11-cv-00293. Also announced by EPA, the settlement “resolves all outstanding claims” of the “megasuit,” filed in 2011 and partially settled in 2019, “which was ultimately reduced to 35 […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—July 24, 2023
Water Quality: States and EPA Jointly Move to Dismiss Chesapeake Bay Water Pollution Suit 🌾
On July 12, 2023, all parties involved in Chesapeake Bay Foundation v. Environmental Protection Agency filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a joint stipulation notifying the court of the parties’ voluntary dismissal, without prejudice, of all claims. Chesapeake Bay Foundation v. EPA, No. 1:20-cv-02529. The case was initially filed in September 2020 by Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and several environmental groups against EPA seeking to compel the agency to enforce Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay nutrient and […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—July 17, 2023
Conservation Programs: USDA Announces $300 Million, Draft Federal Strategy to Improve Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Carbon Sequestration 🌾
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a notice in the Federal Register (88 FR 44251) requesting public comment on an interagency draft report: Federal Strategy to Advance Measurement and Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Monitoring for the Agriculture and Forest Sectors. Additionally, USDA announced $300 million in available funding to “improve measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in climate-smart agriculture and forestry.” According to the announcement, the draft strategy […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—July 3, 2023
Food Labeling: USDA Issues Grant of Inspection to Upside Foods, Furthering Commercial Cell-Cultured Chicken Sales
On June 21, 2023, Upside Foods announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the company a Grant of Inspection (GOI), marking the completion of the pre-market regulatory review process required for the company to produce and sell its cell-cultured chicken in the United States. The USDA approval follows Upside’s receipt of a “No Questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 16, 2022, and a label approval from USDA on June […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—June 19, 2023
Pesticides/Herbicides: Environmental Groups Challenge EPA’s Registration of Enlist One and Enlist Duo 🌾
On June 6, 2023, the Center for Food Safety and two other advocacy groups filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking injunctive and declaratory relief against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) registration decision for Enlist One and Enlist Duo. Ctr. for Food Safety v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, No. 1:23-cv-01633. In January 2022, EPA granted an extended seven-year registration for the two herbicides in 34 states, which may be expanded to six other states pending a […]
