“Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate,” writes New York Times investigative reporter Michael Moss in this article about Dairy Management Inc., a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “marketing creation” with a $140 million annual budget “largely financed by a government-mandated fee on the dairy industry.” According to Moss, “The organization’s activities, revealed through interviews and records, provide a stark example of inherent conflicts in the Agriculture Department’s historical roles as both marketer of agriculture products and America’s nutrition police.” Moss claims that despite federal efforts to curb the consumption of saturated fats, Dairy Management has “worked with restaurants to expand their menus with cheese-laden products,” in addition to spending “millions of dollars on research to support a national advertising campaign promoting the notion that people could lose weight by consuming more dairy products.” His exposé opines that the group’s…
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The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that parts of an Ohio law regulating the use of labeling on dairy products from cows not treated with growth hormones violate the First Amendment. Int’l Dairy Foods Ass’n v. Boggs, Nos. 09-3515/3526 (6th Cir., decided September 30, 2010). The court also upheld other provisions and remanded parts of the rule relating to antibiotics and pesticides for further proceedings. Thus, the court overturned, in part, a district court determination that upheld most of the rule’s provisions. The Ohio Director of Agriculture adopted a rule in May 2008 that (i) prohibited dairy producers from claiming their milk was hormone-free (a composition claim) and (ii) placed stringent restrictions on the use of the claim “this milk is from cows not supplemented with rbST [recombinant bovine somatotropin or recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH)]” (a production claim). Among other matters, the latter require verification, and contiguous…
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of one defendant and several claims in multidistrict litigation (MDL) alleging that a dairy certified as organic and the retailers selling its milk violated state deceptive trade practices laws because the dairy did not comply with national organic program standards. In re: Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Mktg. Sales Practices Litig., No. 09-2762 (8th Cir., decided September 15, 2010). While finding express and conflict preemption as to those matters dismissed, the court also determined that some claims could survive, depending, on remand, how the district court rules on defendants’ motions to strike the consolidated class complaint and the plaintiffs’ motion to amend that complaint. Dismissed outright from the 19 consolidated putative class actions was the company that certified Aurora Dairy as an organic supplier. According to the court, “to the extent state law permits outside parties, including consumers, to interfere…
Hundreds of farmers reportedly attended one in a continuing series of Department of Justice (DOJ) hearings on antitrust issues in agriculture. The focus of the meeting held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was on the dairy industry. According to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the number of dairy farms has fallen from 111,000 in 2000 to 65,000 today. Farm consolidation and voluntary retirement are reportedly responsible for some of the losses, but most are purportedly due to farmers forced out of business by high costs and the low prices they receive for dairy products. Some of the dairy farmers who spoke during the June 25, 2010, meeting reportedly complained about how prices are set for dairy products by mercantile exchanges; others pointed to the largest dairy companies as the source of reductions in competition. A spokesperson for a cooperatives trade association was quoted as saying, “There are five people who…
A federal court in Wisconsin has reportedly denied the motion to dismiss filed by Dean Foods Co. in antitrust litigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the attorneys general of three states, challenging the company’s acquisition of a milk producer in 2009. U.S. v. Dean Foods Co., No. 10-59 (E.D. Wis., filed January 2010). More details about the case can be found in issue 335 of this Update. While the court’s ruling rejects Dean Foods’ claim that the complaint lacked sufficient details, the court expressed some concerns about the government’s pleading, criticizing “structural issues” and “a lack of specificity in content.” A Dean Foods spokesperson was quoted as saying,” We believe our acquisition of Foremost Farms is promoting competition in the region and has already produced benefits for consumers and farmers. We continue to believe that the government’s complaint against us is unfounded.” Noting the court’s “recognition…
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has responded to a recent recall of melamine-tainted milk from China by urging her peers to pass country-of-origin labeling (COOL) legislation (S.B. 1783) for all dairy products sold in the United States. Introduced by Al Franken (D Minn.) as the Dairy COOL Act of 2009, the bill would extend current labeling requirements for nuts, fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter. “We must do more to protect consumers and provide a competitive edge to New York dairy farmers,” Gillibrand said in a March 3, 2010, press release. “All consumers have the right to know whether the milk, yogurt and cheese that we buy are made in Upstate New York or China.” See Dairy Reporter.com, March 4, 2010. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) in 2009 registered opposition to the proposal, which is still under consideration by the Senate Committee on…
During a recent meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s Committee on Milk and Milk Products, delegates reportedly agreed to recommend that the commission revoke the international standards on processed cheese when it meets in July 2010. A committee working group had been charged with redrafting a proposed standard for processed cheese and reported that it was unable to do so given the delegations that “continued to insist on textual solutions reflecting closely their own national situation, which did not attract consensus.” According to the working group’s co-chairs, “the fundamental difficulty with attempting to develop this standard arises from the requirement for the standard to address the very large variety of products marketed as processed cheese, while retaining scope for innovation.” A representative of the International Dairy Foods Association, speaking on behalf of the U.S. representatives to the committee reportedly said, “The U.S. government and dairy industry have long believed that…
Scientists and others objecting to the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to stimulate milk production in dairy cows have reportedly resubmitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) challenging the new animal drug application approval for an rBGH drug. FDA apparently failed to respond to the original petition, filed in 2007. The petition also requests that dairy products made from cows treated with rBGH be labeled with a health-hazard warning. The petitioners include Samuel Epstein, chair of the Cancer Prevention Coalition; Ronnie Cummins, national director, Organic Consumers Association; Arpad Pusztai, a consultant biologist from Scotland; and Jeffrey Smith, executive director, Institute for Responsible Technology. They claim that rBGH milk poses major cancer and other risks to the U.S. population and that the drug has toxic effects on cows. See World-Wire.com, January 15, 2010.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced an agreement with dairy producers “to accelerate adoption of innovative manure-to-energy projects,” with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent by 2020. USDA has vowed to work with farmers and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to develop and implement anaerobic digester technology, “a proven method of converting waste products, such as manure, into electricity.” According to USDA, only 2 percent of U.S. dairies that are candidates for a profitable digester are currently utilizing the technology, which can generate enough electricity to power 200 homes. The agency’s memorandum of understanding reportedly pledges to “increase the number of anaerobic digesters supported by USDA programs,” as well as develop “new technologies to help dairies reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” “Use of manure to electricity technology is a win for everyone because it provides an untapped source of income for…
An administrative law judge recently issued an order suspending a Nebraska-based livestock operation’s organic certification for four years, agreeing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2008 complaint that the company failed to keep and produce adequate records. In Re Promiseland Livestock, LLC, No, 08-0134 (USDA, Nov. 25, 2009). A supplier for Aurora Dairy and other organic farms, Promiseland Livestock, LLC, apparently operates five ranches in Missouri and Nebraska with more than 22,000 head of beef and dairy cattle. The judge concluded that Promiseland “willfully . . . failed to make requested records available” to USDA and denied agency representatives “access to review and copy organic operation records required to determine compliance” with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and National Organic Program regulations. Promiseland first came under scrutiny when The Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog, targeted Aurora Dairy for allegedly “illegal” operations, according to a recent press release issued by…
