Written
by M. Sean High – Staff Attorney
The
following information is an update of recent, local, state, national, and
international legal developments relevant to agriculture:
Litigation: PA Federal Judges
Certifies Class Action against Egg Producers
On
February 2, 2016, United States District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter of the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a motion
to certify a class action in a case involving an alleged conspiracy by the
nation’s leading egg producers to inflate prices by limiting the supply of eggs
(Case No. 08-md-2002). Appointed as
class representatives are T.K. Ribbing’s Family Restaurant, LLC; John A.
Lisciandro d/b/a Lisciandro’s Restaurant; Eby-Brown Company; and Karetas Foods,
Inc.
Labeling: FDA Bans Importation
of GE Salmon
On
January 29, 2016, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the department will “not allow the introduction or delivery for
introduction into interstate commerce of any food that contains genetically
engineered salmon, until FDA publishes final labeling guidelines for informing
consumers of such content (Import Alert 99-40).” The alert did not provide a
timetable for the completion of the final labeling guidelines.
Biotechnology: New Monsanto Biotech
Soybean Now Available
On
February 3, 2016, Monsanto announced that the company had received import
approval from China for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. The Roundup Ready 2
Xtend soybeans are genetically modified to be tolerant to both glyphosate and
dicamba herbicides, and as a result China’s import approval, will now be made “available
in the United States and Canada in time for the 2016 season.”
International: China Seeks to
Modernize Farm Policy
On
February 4, 2016, the International Center for Trade and Sustainable
Development reported that China appears to be shifting its agricultural industry
towards a modern, market-base system. Specifically,
according to the report, there appears to be a movement towards “the reform of
the maize purchasing and storage system, [to] reflect market supply and demand
in corn prices.” Additionally, the report stated that “[w]hile the timing and
specifics of the new approach remain unclear…Beijing was believed to favour
making compensation payments to farmers when prices fell short of a target
price, instead of purchasing stocks to support prices when these fell below a
pre-established floor.”
Research: USDA Awards over $30
Million for Research Projects
On
February 3, 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that
the department had awarded “$30.1 million in competitive grants to fund 80
research projects to improve food safety, reduce antibiotic resistance in food,
and increase the resilience of plants in the face of climate change.” According to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, the
research funding was necessary because “[i]n the face of diminishing land and
water resources and increasingly variable climatic conditions, food production
must increase to meet the demands of [a] world population projected to pass 9
billion by 2050.”
