Dr. Schönig, CO2-neutral meat production is considered one of the key aspects in the fight against climate change. Can we really make a big difference through our food choices? According to expert estimates, conventional...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - EU Announces “Farm to Fork Strategy” The European Commission has announced the adoption of strategies to support biodiversity and “transition to a sustainable EU food system that...more
20 years or five months? On March 8, 2019, nearly 20 years after AquaBounty Technology discovered a novel approach to increase the growth of Atlantic salmon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally “deactivated”...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - CBD Banned from New York Restaurants, in Limbo in Idaho - New York City’s health department has reportedly ordered restaurants to stop serving products that contain cannabidiol...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - FDA Seeks Input on Plant-Based Milks - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has solicited public input on questions related to plant-based substitutes for dairy products...more
AgWeb discussed current U.S. drought conditions. The New York Times reported on the development of self-destructing plastic. CNBC reported on rideshare technology aimed at reducing food waste....more
Deceptive Trade Practices - Meat Exporter Had No Duty Under FCA to Pay for Beef Inspection - In United States ex rel. Barrick v. Parker-Migliorini Int'l, LLC, 878 F. 3d 1224 (10th Cir. 2017), the court affirmed...more
FDA Announces Intent Not to Enforce Portions of FSMA - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will not enforce certain provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) because the agency needs...more
Proposition 65 - After California voters approved the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65), the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) began publishing a list of...more
NOSB Votes to Continue Allowing Hydroponics - The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has reportedly voted to continue allowing food grown in water-based nutrient solutions to be labeled “organic,” rejecting a...more
Furans in Baby Food May Pose Health Risk, EFSA Reports - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued an assessment of the risks of furans and related compounds 2- and 3-methylfurans, concluding that they pose a...more
The European Court of Justice has held that Member States may not adopt emergency measures prohibiting genetically modified food and feed (GMOs) unless there is clear evidence that a particular GMO presents a serious risk to...more
Alika Atay et al v. County of Maui, et al, No. 15-16466 (9th Cir., Nov. 18, 2016) - Hawai’i Papaya Indus. Assn., et al v. County of Hawaii, No. 14-17538 (9th Circ., Nov. 18, 2016) - Robert Ito Farm, Inc., et al. v. County...more
On November 3, 2016, a Thurston County Superior Court judge levied an $18 million penalty against a trade association for violations of Washington campaign finance laws. This is believed to be the largest campaign finance...more
While Americans have been bombarded with news of Pokemon sightings, legislation concerning our food safety passed through the House, with barely a whisper from the mainstream media. The House of Representatives submitted...more
Four years after California’s genetically engineered (GE) food labeling initiative was defeated, but just days before Vermont’s GE law is to go into effect, the U.S. Senate is poised to impose such labeling nationwide. The...more
In a hearing this morning in the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, committee members voted 14-6, including all Republican members and three Democrats (Klobuchar (MN), Heitkamp (ND), and Donnelly (IN)), to...more
The proposed Federal regulation of GMOs is proceeding. Following the White House’s recent action on GMOs, Representative Pompeo’s “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act” (H.R. 1599) was passed by the House Agriculture Committee...more
This week, the federal district court in Hawaii struck down a Maui County law imposing a moratorium on the cultivation of genetically engineered organisms (GE plants, or GMOs). This decision is the third of three challenges...more
On Friday, Federal Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke partially dismissed a lawsuit brought by commercial alfalfa farmers seeking to overturn a Jackson County ordinance that banned the use of GMO seed stock (“It is a county...more
Coming on the heels of the reintroduction of the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, on March 3, 2015, the New York State Assembly Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection voted 9 to 6, with one abstention, to...more
Just how hot is GMO-labeling legislation? On Jan. 6, 2015, a Republican state senator introduced just such a bill - in Indiana, the nation’s breadbasket. Still, federal legislation on both sides of the issue has stalled, the...more
This has been a big year for GMO legislation. In 2014 alone, 25 states have proposed 67 pieces of legislation aimed either at the labeling of products containing GMOs or at the ban of GMO-containing crops. While this space...more
On November 26, Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren struck down Hawaii County’s Ordinance 13-121, which restricts the open-air growth and cultivation of genetically engineered crops or plants (GMOs). See Slip Op. at 28. In this...more
Across the country, numerous state and local governments have enacted or are considering laws affecting the cultivation, use, and labeling of genetically engineered plants (“GMOs”). These laws are best described in three...more