Tag: organic
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Aurora Dairy Seeks Insurance Coverage for Consumer Class Actions
Aurora Dairy Corp., which is defending multidistrict litigation involving putative class claims that it sold its products as “organic” without following national organic program standards, has sued one of its insurance carriers in federal court seeking a declaration that the insurer has wrongly failed to provide defense coverage. Aurora Dairy Corp. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co.,…
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Sofía Baliño, “Fishing with the Stars,” Food & Water Watch Blog, February 2, 2009
This blog post examines a fish diet trend currently sweeping Hollywood, raising questions about the safety and sustainability of certain seafood selections. According to Food & Water Watch, actor Jeremy Piven became “the rumored victim of mercury poisoning” after eating sushi twice daily, while Madonna has pledged to eat more salmon and Angelina Jolie earlier…
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Organic Fertilizer Producer in California under Investigation
Federal agents reportedly raided a major organic fertilizer producer in Bakersfield, California, over concerns that it was using a synthetic nitrogen, which is banned from organic farms. Port Organic Products Ltd. is believed to produce up to half the liquid fertilizer used on the state’s organic farms. The raid follows by about a month press…
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Plaintiffs Voluntarily Dismiss Whole Foods from Organic Milk Lawsuit
Plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation against Aurora Dairy Corp. over claims that its “organic” milk products do not meet federal certification requirements have reportedly filed an unopposed notice of voluntary dismissal requesting that the court dismiss Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. from the case without prejudice. In re: Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Mktg. & Sales Practices…
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Organic Standards Board OKs Feeding Wild Fish to “Organic” Farmed Fish
Food activist Marion Nestle reports in her “What to Eat” blog that the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board has approved a rule to allow “farmed carnivorous fish to eat meal and oil derived from sustainably wild-caught fish.” The board’s decision means that wild fish cannot be classified as organic, but farm-raised fish can be considered…
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Food & Water Watch Urges Consumers to Oppose Organic Label for Fish
The public interest group Food & Water Watch has urged consumers to contact the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to oppose the use of the “USDA Organic” label for farmed fish. Food & Water Watch has accused industrial fish farmers of attempting to “greenwash” aquaculture practices that, according to the group, disrupt ocean ecosystems “by…
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James Andreasen & Christopher McDonald, “Agricultural Sustainability Standards Could Affect You,” Pork Exec, November 2008
SHB Tort lawyers James Andreasen and Christopher McDonald have co-authored an article that discusses developments in the drafting of an agricultural sustainability standard under the auspices of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Noting that the initial draft, “if finalized, could have broad-reaching impact,” the authors observe that a number of stakeholders have already “expressed…
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EU Relaxes Restrictions on Produce Marketing Standards
The European Commission this week abolished more than 100 pages of rules and regulations governing the size, shape and color of various vegetables and fruits sold in member countries. The rules reportedly included prescriptions dictating that green asparagus must be green for 80 percent of its length and a cauliflower head must exceed 11 centimeters…