Cape Law Firm Blog

by Joel Cape

Happy Almost Thanksgiving! | Ultra-Processed Convenience
Agriculture

Happy Almost Thanksgiving! | Ultra-Processed Convenience

HAPPY ALMOST THANKSGIVING! We hope you’re looking forward to a little rest and relaxation next week, and giving thanks for friends, family, and being alive another day on earth. We would like to give a Big THANKS to our friends, clients, and acquaintances, both new and old. Ultra-Processed Convenience While it may be rarely discussed among Ag interest groups, on occasion we catch an inkling that should make us ponder whether the American Ag sector is producing products consumers want or need. That was the case with Andrea Petersen’s recent Wall Street Journal report describing growing concern with ultra-processed foods. The concern is that ultra-processed foods are unhealthy and make people fat and

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One Insecticide with Two Court Decisions and Other Legal News
Agriculture

One Insecticide with Two Court Decisions and Other Legal News

Chlorpyrifos Back in the Game The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated the Environmental Protection Agency’s revocation of all residue tolerances for the insecticide chlorpyrifos which effectively banned the product. The ruling has been welcomed by numerous ag interests since chlorpyrifos has long been one of the primary tools for controlling insect pests in crop production. The EPA’s ban on chlorpyrifos stems from litigation going back to at least 2012 when several environmental and other interest groups petitioned the Agency to revoke residue tolerances for the insecticide. Over the course of 14 years of evaluations by the EPA and several trips through the courts, in 2021 the Ninth Circuit

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Beware the Livestock Show Rules, EPA to Examine Treated Seed
Agriculture

Beware the Livestock Show Rules, EPA to Examine Treated Seed

Junior Livestock Show Taken to Court The age-old traditions of junior livestock shows have become the fodder for a lawsuit as reported by Tiffany Lashmet of Texas A&M in her recent post. The suit concerns a junior goat exhibitor who had become deeply attached to her show goat and did not want to sell the goat at the junior livestock auction which occurs after the livestock exhibition competition. This case is also great example of the absence of reason and common sense in modern America. Like many junior livestock shows, the Shasta District Fair conducts a premium auction of the animals following the competition, allowing the exhibitors to reap a

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Seed Wars | Cape Law Firm
Agriculture

Next Round of Seed Wars and Other Legal News

Corteva Launches Next Round of Seed Wars Corteva has sued crop technology start-up Inari, accusing Inari of illegally accessing Corteva’s public deposits of protected seed, gene-editing the seed in Belgium, and then seeking to commercialize the newly edited varieties so they can be used and sold to U.S. farmers. Corteva’s complaint, filed in Delaware federal court, asserts claims for Plant Variety Protection infringement, patent infringement, and state law claims for unfair trade practices. The case raises a host of interesting and novel issues in the intellectual property realm for plants and crops, some of which are foundational I.P. principles. The Patent Bargain – in exchange for disclosing a new invention

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Premium Pork, Bad Science, and Other Legal News
Legal News

Premium Pork, Bad Science, and Other Legal News

Premium Pork Producers Promote Prop 12 Not every grower of swine felt that the sky was falling when the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld California’s animal welfare law, known as Proposition 12. As reported in a recent article in Farm Progress, some pork producers and processors have been ahead of the curve and began the transition to larger living spaces for pigs and away from confinement facilities years ago. These producers welcome the ruling and view it as a market opportunity to earn a premium. Brad Clemens, president of Clemens Food Group, indicated that his company gave their producers a choice to convert from non-confinement facilities or keep the status quo:

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A Big "HELL NO" to the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act | Cape Law Firm
Agriculture

A Big “HELL NO” to the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act | Cape Law Firm

The Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act will Screw Farmers and Ranchers (Part 2) Last week we took a deep dive into the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act ​​(H.R. 4288) and explained why this Bill is terrible for American agriculture. This week we’re taking a closer look at some of the scare tactics the industry is using to muster support for the Bill. Falsehoods and Scare Tactics Used by Pesticide Manufacturers & Proponents of the Bill Falsehood – EPA’s labeling decision means a label is in compliance “with all applicable laws.” The EPA has never confirmed that a label is fully compliant with all applicable laws. Congress made this clear over 50 years ago when it

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