D.C. Circuit Court Allows USDA Country of Origin Labels for Meat

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations that mandate country of origin labels on meat. The case arose when a group of trade organizations, including the American Meat Institute, representing collectively "big meat," sued in opposition of the regulations.

The regulations require meat packaging (not including packaged hamburger) to include a label listing the meat's country of origin. The regulations further require that labels list all countries where processing of the meat took place. If, for example, a cow was born in Canada, but raised and processed in the United States, the regulations require the label state "born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States." Industry opposed the measure, at least in part, because the regulation will force costly changes in the processing stage. Industry practices today allow meats from different countries to mix together during processing. The regulations, thus, make it difficult for industry to maintain business as usual. The court did not find the industry perspective convincing, while also noting increasing consumer demand for more transparency in food production methods. The court also cited food safety concerns regarding co-mingling of meat from different sources as a basis for its decision.

The decision further deals a blow to commercial speech advocates, and provides a win for consumer and public health advocates. In the decision, the court refused to extend commercial speech protection to include industry claims that country of origin labeling infringed freedom of speech.

Neil Pederson, J.D. expected 2015, William Mitchell College of Law.

Photo Credit: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/109091

"The Fate of Our Nation Rests On School Lunches"

Famous chef and activist Alice Waters, recently wrote for Time on the topic of the National School Lunch Program. Her main point, that the foods we choose to provide to children through school lunch is an issue central to confronting America's obesity epidemic.

Data compiled by the USDA's Economic Research Service illustrates just how high the stakes are in terms of the nutrition content of meals we provide at our nation's schools. in 2013, Nearly 50 million children were eligible to receive breakfast and lunch under the National School Lunch Program.

Providing meals to children should be recognized as a huge success in terms of feeding hungry children. With the increasing role of the National School Lunch Program in children's lives, however, it is important to also observe that this means that school lunch provides two out of three meals (or all meals for some children) for millions of children each day--much of it fast food.

As Waters notes: "[b]y allowing fast food culture into the cafeteria, we have effectively endorsed that industry’s values [and] helped facilitate the obesity epidemic."

Neil Pederson, J.D. Expected 2015, William Mitchell College of Law.

Photo: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/835470

FDA and EPA Issue Draft Advice for Seafood Consumption

The FDA and EPA recently issued draft advice on the recommended weekly consumption of fish and seafood (i.e. shellfish) for pregnant and breastfeeding women, women who might get pregnant, and young children.

The draft advice recommends consumption of 8-12 ounces of fish each week, which amounts to about 2 or 3 servings a week. The draft advice further recommends that individuals consume fish low in mercury, and avoid a handful of fish that are particularly high in mercury. Mercury, found in fish as methylmercury, is a neurotoxin.

The draft advice would update recommendations from 2004 to comport with the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

According to the draft advice, the four categories of fish that have the highest reported levels of methymercury are: Shark, Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, Swordfish, and King Mackerel.

To provide a comment to the FDA, click here.

Neil Pederson, J.D. Expected, William Mitchell College of Law

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skynoir/6876522468/">Sky Noir</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

Farmer's Markets, SNAP benefits, and the Farm Bill

Farmers' markets provide one avenue for increasing access to healthy foods--especially fruits and vegetables. For instance, instead of shopping at local corner stores that often sell an abundance of junk food, the line of reasoning begins, individuals living in "food deserts"can purchase fruits and vegetables from local farmers' markets. One way to encourage the consumption of healthy foods available at farmers' markets is by providing for the use of SNAP, or "food stamps," at farmer's markets, which many farmer's markets around the country are beginning to do.

According to the L.A. Times, the "market match program" in California, a program that serves SNAP recipients, served over 38,000 families just last year. The program offers an additional incentive to SNAP recipients, providing $5 to those already spending $10 or more at a farmers' market.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 (H.R. 2642), general known as the 2014 Farm Bill, provides funding and creates programs that support the use of SNAP benefits at Farmer's Markets. Section 4011 of the Farm Bill paves the way for the modernization of SNAP transfers through providing for the development of mobile and internet transfer methods.

Related, Section 4012 opens the door for SNAP recipients to use their benefits to purchase Community -Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares.

USDA: Pesticide Levels are Safe; Eat your vegetables!

USDA recently released its 2010 annual summary of pesticide labels.  The conclusion is that pesticide levels are safe.

Statement from USDA:
“Age-old advice remains the same: eat more fruits and vegetables and wash them before you do
so.  Health and nutrition experts encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables in every
meal as part of a healthy diet. This message is affirmed in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
released last year, in USDA’s My Plate, as well as federal nutrition guidance that urges people to
make half their plate fruits and vegetables.”  

Since its inception, the program has tested 105 commodities including fresh and processed fruit
and vegetables, meat and poultry, grains, catfish, rice, specialty products, and water.  The data is
a valuable tool for consumers, food producers and processors, chemical manufacturers,
environmental interest groups, and food safety organizations. 

A commentary on Food Safety News notes that good news such as this gets little attention.  You can see the 2010 Summary here. The report itself is about 200 pages.  In addition to the summary, USDA publishes information for consumers regarding the pesticide summary on the Pesticide Data Program website.

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law