Agricultural Law Weekly Review
The Agricultural Law Weekly Review provides an update of recent agricultural law developments from local, state, national, and international levels. Subscribe for updates.
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—February 20, 2023
Food Labeling: Multidistrict Litigation Panel Consolidates Beyond Meat False Advertising Cases 🌾
On February 1, 2023, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer order consolidating in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois five cases alleging false advertising claims against Beyond Meat, Inc., which manufactures plant-based meat substitute products. In RE: Beyond Meat, Inc., Protein Content Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, No. 1:23-cv-00669. According to the transfer order, the plaintiffs claim that Beyond Meat “(1) miscalculates and overstates its products’ protein content; (2) miscalculates and overstates the quality of the products’ protein, which […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—February 13, 2023
Agricultural Labor: Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Meatpacking Plant Workers’ Challenge to OSHA Finding of ‘No Imminent Danger’ 🌾
On January 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion affirming the district court’s dismissal of a complaint filed in July 2020—during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic—by workers at a Dunmore, Pennsylvania-based meatpacking plant operated by Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, Inc. Jane Doe I v. Eugene Scalia, No. 21-02057; Jane Does I, II, III v. Scalia, No. 3:20-cv-01260 (M.D. Pa.). The workers sought an emergency writ of mandamus to compel the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—February 6, 2023
International Trade: U.S. Requests Second USMCA Arbitration Over Canada’s Dairy Tariff-Rate Quotas 🌾
On January 31, 2023, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the U.S. has requested—for the second time—that an arbitration panel adjudicate the U.S.’s claim that Canada’s administration of its dairy tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) violate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). A January 2022 arbitration panel decision found Canada’s TRQ eligibility criteria were a USMCA violation. According to the U.S., Canada’s resulting minimal change to TRQ eligibility does not remedy the underlying violation. The new arbitration request reasserts TRQ eligibility and adds TRQ allocation […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 30, 2023
WOTUS: Ag Groups Challenge New WOTUS Rule 🌾
On January 18, 2023, several agricultural advocacy groups and the state of Texas filed complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Galveston Division seeking to vacate the recently published final rule defining “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Am. Farm Bureau Federation v. U.S. EPA, No. 3:23-cv-00020. Among these advocacy groups are the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and others. The advocacy groups argue that the new final rule […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 23, 2023
WOTUS: EPA Publishes Final Rule Defining ‘the Waters of the United States’ 🌾
On January 18, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers published in the Federal Register a final rule revising the definition of “the Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). This rule defines the range of the waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and will take effect March 20, 2023. According to EPA, the new definition better represents the intent of the CWA, Supreme Court case law, and scientific expertise. More information on the new rule […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 16, 2023
Organic Agriculture: DOJ Indicts Multiple Companies and Individuals for Organic Fraud 🌾
On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of two Dubai-based agricultural companies and three Turkish residents for conspiring to export non-organic grain labeled as “organic” into the United States. The defendants are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and wire fraud. According to the announcement, in 2016, the defendants “shipped 16,250 [metric tons] of non-organic soybeans falsely labeled as ‘organic’ from Turkey to the United States where they were sold for over $10 million.” The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 9, 2023
Water Quality: D.C. Circuit Court Vacates and Remands Conowingo Dam License 🌾
On December 20, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion vacating and remanding the license for Constellation Energy Generation, LLC’s Conowingo Dam. Waterkeepers Chesapeake v. FERC, No. 21-1139. The court concluded that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) exceeded its statutory authority under section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1)) by granting the March 2021 license under a circumstance not enumerated in the CWA. The court stated the CWA only allows FERC […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending December 16, 2022
Agricultural Labor: Fifth Circuit Finds No Federal Jurisdiction In Worker Suit Against Swift Beef For Inadequate COVID Protections 🌾
On December 7, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion vacating and remanding the federal district court’s orders in an action filed by Swift Beef Company employees alleging that they contracted COVID-19 due to the company’s “fail[ure] to provide a safe work environment.” Garcia v. Swift Beef, No. 22-10050; Garcia v. Swift Beef Company, No. 2:20-cv-00263 (N.D. Tex). The case was originally filed in Texas state court but Swift Beef removed it claiming […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending November 25, 2022
Biotechnology: USDA Secretary Releases Statement on U.S.-Mexico Corn Trade After Meeting with Mexican President 🌾
On November 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) published a statement from Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding a meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador addressing his December 2020 decree, which called for the phased-out Mexican use of both glyphosate and genetically modified (GE) corn for human consumption by January 31, 2024. Mexican corn production is approximately 60% of its domestic consumption; corn is Mexico’s top imported U.S. agricultural commodity, and Mexico is the second […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending November 18, 2022
Ag Labor: Federal Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Packers Sanitation
On November 10, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) directing Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. to stop using “oppressive child labor” in its operations. Walsh v. Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., No. 4:22-cv-03246. The TRO was issued in response to a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that cited multiple violations of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor laws in JBS meat packing facilities in Grand Island, Nebraska; Worthington, Minnesota; and in Turkey Valley […]
