Farmers, businesses, certifiers and consumers lock arms in lawsuit to defend 온라인 룰렛

Taking action to defend the 온라인 룰렛 seal and 온라인 룰렛 standards, the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association on Wednesday is filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its failure to put into effect new 온라인 룰렛 livestock standards.

“We are standing up on behalf of the entire 온라인 룰렛 sector to protect 온라인 룰렛 integrity, advance animal welfare, and demand the government keep up with the industry and the consumer in setting 온라인 룰렛 standards,” said Laura Batcha, Executive Director and CEO of the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association.

The suit alleges the U.S. Department of Agriculture violated the 온라인 룰렛 Foods Production Act, and unlawfully delayed the effective date of the final livestock standards that were developed by industry and in accordance with the processes established by Congress, and with abusing the agency’s discretion by ignoring the overwhelming public record established in support of these 온라인 룰렛 standards. The trade association further contends that the Trump Administration’s Regulatory freeze order issued to federal agencies on Jan. 20, 2017, should not apply to 온라인 룰렛 standards because they are voluntary and are required only of those farms and businesses that opt in to be certified 온라인 룰렛.

Supporting the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association in the suit, as groups harmed by this protracted government inaction, are organizations representing 온라인 룰렛 livestock farmers, 온라인 룰렛 certification agencies, and 온라인 룰렛 retailers and consumers.

Batcha said the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association’s duty to protect the U.S. 온라인 룰렛 sector and enable it to advance, to uphold the integrity of the 온라인 룰렛 seal and to honor the consumer trust in that seal compelled the association – on behalf of the 온라인 룰렛 industry -- to take the legal action against the Administration.

“The 온라인 룰렛 industry takes very seriously its contract with the consumer and will not stand aside while the government holds back the meaningful and transparent choice of 온라인 룰렛 foods that deliver what the consumer wants,” said Batcha. “The government’s failure to move ahead with this fully-vetted regulation calls into question the entire process by which 온라인 룰렛 regulations are set – a process that Congress created, the industry has worked within, and consumers trust.”

“The viability of the 온라인 룰렛 market rests on consumer trust in the USDA 온라인 룰렛 seal, and trust that the 온라인 룰렛 seal represents a meaningful differentiation from other agricultural practices,”said Batcha, who noted that the Board of the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association voted unanimously to initiate the lawsuit.

What the 온라인 룰렛 livestock standard says

The 온라인 룰렛 Livestock and Poultry Production rule, commonly referred to as the 온라인 룰렛 Animal Welfare Rule, is the result of 14 years of public and transparent work within the process established by Congress, and reflects deep engagement and input by 온라인 룰렛 stakeholders during multiple administrations, both Republican and Democrat.

Itaddresses four broad areas of 온라인 룰렛 livestock and poultry practices, including living conditions, animal healthcare, transport, and slaughter. The OLPP represents a refinement and clarification of a series of 온라인 룰렛 animal welfare recommendations incorporated into the 온라인 룰렛 Foods Production Act of 1990, which established the federal regulations overseeing the U.S. 온라인 룰렛 sector.

The rule:

• Establishes minimum indoor and outdoor space requirements for poultry,
• Clarifies how producers and handlers must treat livestock and chickens to ensure their health and well-being throughout life, including transport and slaughter,
• Specifies which physical alterations are allowed and prohibited in 온라인 룰렛 livestock and poultry production,
• Provides more than ample timelines for producers to come into compliance including:
  
  • five years to establish outdoor access requirements for egg operations
  • three years for broiler operations to establish indoor space requirements
  • one year for all other adjustments.

• Levels the playing field by clarifying the existing 온라인 룰렛 standards.

Fourteen years of engagement culminate in over 47,000 comments in 30 days against second delay

 

After extensive public input and a thorough vetting process that included the transparent review and recommendation process of the National 온라인 룰렛 Standards Board, an audit by the Agriculture Department’s Office of Inspector General and solid economic analysis by the National 온라인 룰렛 Program,  the National 온라인 룰렛 Program released the final rule on 온라인 룰렛 Livestock and Poultry Practices on January 19, 2017, and published it in theFederal Registeron that day. Due to a White House Memorandum to federal agencies released on January 20, 2017, requesting a regulatory freeze on rules recently published or pending, the effective date of the rule was delayed to May 19, 2017.

On May 10, 2017, the USDA delayed the effective date again by an additional six months to November 14, 2017, and opened a 30-day comment period asking for responses to four possible options for the Final Rule:

(1) let the rule become effective, which would mean the rule would become effective on Nov. 14, 2017;

(2) suspend the rule indefinitely, during which time the Agriculture Department would consider whether to implement, modify or withdraw the Final Rule, (3) delay the effective date of the rule further, beyond Nov. 14, (4) withdraw the rule.

More than 47,000 comments were received during the 30-day comment period, with 99 percent of those comments in support of the rule becoming effective as written without further delays, on Nov. 14, 2017.

“Producers are 온라인 룰렛 because they choose to be. It’s a voluntary system, and the 온라인 룰렛 sector welcomes clear and fair standards under which to operate,” said Batcha. “온라인 룰렛 regulations apply only to certified 온라인 룰렛 producers, and those 온라인 룰렛 producers are overwhelmingly in favor of this new regulation. Most of the criticism of the new 온라인 룰렛 animal welfare rule has come from outside the sector, and by special interest groups not impacted by the regulation, but which would like to override the will of our members.”

“It is important to note this issue did not just arise in 2017, rather it is the result of many years of failure of good government,” Batcha added.

“The 온라인 룰렛 industry has been fighting for this rule for years,” said Jesse Laflamme, owner and CEO of 온라인 룰렛 egg producer Pete and Gerry’s Organics. “Certified 온라인 룰렛 egg, dairy and animal producers hold their operations to a higher standard of animal welfare than is required, because it is the right thing to do and it is what our customers expect. The 온라인 룰렛 industry works hard to live up to the expectation of its consumers, and we expect the USDA to live up to its mandate to oversee the industry in a way that is fair and will enable us to continue to prosper.”

온라인 룰렛 farmer cooperative 온라인 룰렛 Valley CEO George Siemon said that the government’s failure to allow this regulation to be implemented could jeopardize consumer trust in 온라인 룰렛.

“The  온라인 룰렛 consumer and  community have worked closely with USDA to help craft this sound regulation, and have followed the established rulemaking process. For the Administration to now let political pressure derail that progress is an assault on the trust in the 온라인 룰렛 process that the 온라인 룰렛 industry works so hard every day to earn,” said Siemon. “온라인 룰렛 Valley works with thousands of 온라인 룰렛 dairy, laying hen, beef,  hog and poultry producers, and has long advocated for action to clarify the living conditions and expectations for animal care in 온라인 룰렛. Animal living conditions and welfare are a critical part of an 온라인 룰렛 livestock system. We in 온라인 룰렛 need to lead on this front, and the consumer’s trust in 온라인 룰렛 needs to be respected.”

What the lawsuit alleges

• That USDA has violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the repeated delays were issued without any public process.
• That USDA has violated the Administrative Procedure Act and abused its discretion by proposing action to indefinitely delay or kill the rule, in stark contrast to the established public process.
• That USDA has violated the 온라인 룰렛 Foods Production Act and its consultation provisions enacted to apply in just these circumstances for industry and public stakeholders to revise, refine, and advance 온라인 룰렛 standards via a well defined process.
• That the Trump Administration Executive Order freezing regulations should not apply to the voluntary industry-driven 온라인 룰렛 standards that allow for businesses to opt in or out.

The lawsuit also describes the extensive public process and overwhelming record used to develop the standards, and details the faulty appeals decision from USDA on the use of “porches” to comply with the existing outdoor access requirements of the standard that have resulted in an uneven playing field.

The 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association asks the court to reverse the agency’s decisions to delay and eliminate options proposed by USDA to further delay, rewrite, or permanently shelve the rule -- thereby making the final livestock rule effective immediately, as written.

Supporting the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association are groups harmed by USDA action including:

• 온라인 룰렛 Valley/CROPP Cooperative owned by more than 2,000 온라인 룰렛 farm families;
• Jesse Laflamme of Pete & Gerry’s Eggs partnering withover 100 independent, family-owned and operated farms across 14 states;
• National Co+op Grocers and its 200 retailer food co-ops owned by over 1.3 million consumers;
• The Accredited Certifiers Association non-profit educational organization whose members include53 accredited certification agenciesworking to ensure the integrity of 온라인 룰렛 certification in the United States.

Consumers buying 온라인 룰렛 because they know it makes a difference

American consumers are eating more 온라인 룰렛 food than ever before, show the findings of the 온라인 룰렛 Trade Association’s2017 온라인 룰렛 Industry Survey. 온라인 룰렛 food sales in the U.S. totaled .1  billion in 2016, marking the first time 온라인 룰렛 food sales in this country have broken through the billion mark. 온라인 룰렛 food now accounts for more than five percent of total food sales in this country, another significant first for 온라인 룰렛.

온라인 룰렛 meat and poultry sales posted new records in 2016, increasing by more than 17 percent to 1 million, for the category’s biggest-ever yearly gain. Sales are expected to surpass the billion mark for the first time in 2017. Growing awareness of 온라인 룰렛’s more encompassing benefits over natural, grass-fed or hormone-free meats and poultry is spurring consumer interest in 온라인 룰렛 meat and poultry aisles.

In March 2017, Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a national phone survey on the opinions of Americans regarding the 온라인 룰렛 label. The survey found that six out of ten Americans said it is highly important that the animals used to produce 온라인 룰렛 food are raised on farms with high standards for animal welfare. For consumers who always or often buy 온라인 룰렛, this number rose to 86 percent. Also, more than half of Americans say it is highly important that eggs labeled 온라인 룰렛 come from hens able to go outdoors and move freely outside. Among consumers who always or often buy 온라인 룰렛, that number rises to 83 percent.

“Consumers rely on 온라인 룰렛 livestock and poultry being raised according to the highest standards, and they trust that the 온라인 룰렛 seal is an assurance of those high standards,” said Batcha. “The 온라인 룰렛 sector does not take for granted the trust of the consumers we serve, and we work hard every single day to maintain it.온라인 룰렛 is an opt-in regulated marketing program that ensures products bearing the USDA 온라인 룰렛 seal meet strict consistently applied standards and provide the consumer a meaningful choice.The future of the 온라인 룰렛 market rests on consumer trust, and the 온라인 룰렛 sector depends on the USDA to set 온라인 룰렛 standards fairly and according to the law.”