A federal court in Florida has refused to enforce a $97 million judgment obtained in a Nicaraguan court by 150 banana plantation workers who alleged that exposure to the pesticide DBCP caused their sterility. Osorio v. Dole Food Co., No. 07-22693 (S.D. Fla., decided October 20, 2009). The plaintiffs sought to enforce the award under a Florida law allowing for the recognition of out-of-country foreign money judgments. Defendants Dole Food Co. and Dow Chemical Co. contended that the Nicaraguan law under which the case was litigated, Special Law 364, violated their due process rights in a number of respects, and the court agreed, finding multiple grounds for non-recognition under the Florida statute. Among other matters, the Nicaraguan law targeted a limited number of defendants, established irrefutable presumptions about causation, restricted defendants’ ability to introduce evidence, required significant financial deposits by defendants even before liability was determined, and granted no right…
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EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has reportedly announced €280 million ($417 million) in additional subsidies to dairy farmers affected by plummeting agricultural prices. Intended to appease vocal protesters and agricultural lobbies, the aid responded to requests from 21 member states, including France and Germany, despite objections from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In addition, the European Union has agreed to cap milk production, although it stopped short of creating a pan-European institution to regulate the market. “We hope that we can stabilize the market with the proposals that we have today,” Swedish Farm Minister Eskil Erlandsson was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, the European Milk Board has welcomed the subsidies and production limits but noted that farmers have already lost €15 billion ($22 billion) in the current economic crisis. “That shows that 280 million euros won’t get us far,” the board president told reporters. See The Canadian Press, Daily…
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit public feedback on issues related to the hazards of “combustible dust” in workplaces, including agricultural and grain handling industries, and factories that manufacture food, animal food, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. OSHA defines combustible dust as “all combustible particulate solids of any size, shape, or chemical composition that could present a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or other oxidizing medium.” Materials that can form combustible dust include wood, coal, plastics, biosolids, candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed, grain, fertilizer, tobacco, paper, soap, rubber, drugs, dried blood, dyes, and certain textiles and metals. OSHA will accept comments on the proposed rule until January 19, 2010. See Federal Register, October, 21, 2009.
Three U.S. Senators have introduced a bill (S. 1783) that would extend mandatory country-of-origin (COOL) labeling to dairy products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current COOL law took effect in 2008 and requires origin labeling on meats, nuts and raw produce, but not dairy products or processed foods. The Dairy COOL Act of 2009 extends the current law to include milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter, but retains the exemption for processed foods. “With the discovery last year of widespread use of melamine in Chinese dairy products, consumers deserve to know whether the milk used to produce the dairy products they buy meets the high safety standards used in the U.S.,” said Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), who co-sponsored the legislation with colleagues Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Al Franken (D-Minn.). Franken said the bill helps address the issue of low milk prices by helping “American dairy farmers stand out in…
An organization that seeks to advance the interests of organic and family farmers has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) and state officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota, asking for an investigation of Target Corp. for alleged violations of federal organic regulations. The Cornucopia Institute contends that Target advertised Silk® soymilk “with the term ‘organic’ pictured on the carton’s label, when in fact the product’s manufacturer, Dean Foods’ WhiteWave division, has been sourcing this product line with conventional soybeans.” According to an institute press release, “Dean Foods, had quietly shifted their products away from organics,” before the Target ads appeared in newspapers throughout the Midwest. Cornucopia’s senior farm policy analyst was quoted as saying, “Major food processors have recognized the meteoric rise of the organic industry, and profit potential, and want to create what is in essence ‘organic light,’ taking advantage of the market…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a letter to the food industry to provide guidance on front-of-package (FOP) labeling and warn that the agency “will consider using our regulatory tools” if the industry fails to provide “a common, credible approach to FOP and shelf labeling.” According to FDA, consumers are less likely to read the nutrition facts label on the back or side of a food package and thus rely on information appearing on the front of the package. Acknowledging that food companies have begun relying on “symbol programs” to convey nutritional information, FDA states that it is assessing the criteria established by food manufacturers and comparing them with its regulatory criteria. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg stated during a conference call with journalists that the agency plans to “take enforcement for egregious examples,” observing that “[s]ome nutritionists have questioned whether this information is more marketing oriented than nutrition…
The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority has reportedly banned an advertising campaign launched by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), fearing that it would cause some readers to infer that eating meat causes swine flu. The ad stated in bold letters “Meat Kills: Go Vegetarian” and contained repeating background lines of text that said, “E. Coli, Mad Cow, Swine Flu, MRSA.” The “Swine Flu” font was highlighted and made the disease more prominent. The advertising authority apparently determined that the ad was spreading “undue fear and distress” about swine flu. Other PETA ads have also reportedly caused controversy in Great Britain. See MarketingWeek.co.uk, October 14, 2009.
The Irish government reportedly plans to prohibit the cultivation of all genetically modified (GM) crops and will introduce a voluntary GM-free label for meat, poultry, eggs, fish, crustaceans, and dairy products made without the use of GM animal feed. Echoing a similar move by Germany, the policy specifies that the government will “declare the Republic of Ireland a GM-Free Zone, free from the cultivation of all GM plants,” according to a press release, which called the policy “a new dawn for Irish farmers and food producers.” The GM-crop ban and voluntary GM-free label “makes obvious business sense for our agri-food and eco-tourism sectors,” said a spokesperson for GM-Free Ireland, a multi-stakeholder network of social, political and legal-action groups. “Everyone knows that U.S. and EU consumers, food brands and retailers want safe GM-free food, and Ireland is ideally positioned to deliver the safest, most credible GM-free food ban in Europe, if…
The North Carolina State Health Plan (SHPNC) has reportedly approved fee increases for state employees who use tobacco or whose body mass index (BMI) qualifies them as obese. Under the new arrangement, private contractors hired by SHPNC will monitor workers’ weight and take saliva samples to test for cotinine, a nicotine derivative. The plan requires tobacco users to enroll in a more expensive insurance plan by July 2010, while members with a BMI exceeding 40 have until July 2011 to improve their overall health before seeing a cost increase. According to SHPNC, these fees will help alleviate budget shortfalls that last year necessitated an emergency infusion of $250 million to cover claims. “Tobacco use and poor nutrition and inactivity are the leading causes of preventable deaths in our state,” an SHPNC spokesperson told reporters. “We need a healthy workforce in this state. We’re trying to encourage individuals to adopt healthy…
California and Michigan have adopted laws that animal welfare groups have reportedly heralded as landmark legislation. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) signed a bill (S.B. 135) prohibiting tail docking of dairy cows, a “ common and cruel mutilation,” according to the Humane Society of the United States. The California bill takes effect January 1, 2010. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) signed a bill (H.B. 5127) requiring that certain farm animals be provided enough room to stand up, turn around and extend their limbs rather than being confined in cages that impede their movement. “All animals deserve humane treatment, including those raised for food,” said the head of the humane society about the Michigan bill, which phases out veal crates for calves within three years, and battery cages for laying hens and gestation crates for breeding sows within 10 years. See Humane Society of the United States Press Releases, October 12, 2009.
