Americans aren’t too keen on mystery meat, and thankfully, the U.S.D.A. is backing us up on that. On the second go around, the D.C. Circuit upheld a country-of-origin labeling rule for meat products, finding that the rule did not compel meat producers to speak.

With only one option left, we’ll have to wait and see if the plaintiff will seek redress from the U.S. Supreme Court. Until then, let’s look at the legal backdrop.

Country-of-Origin Labeling

U.S. law requires that meat product labels designate the country-of-origin (known as Country of Origin Labeling, or “COOL”). In 2013, the U.S.D.A. adopted a rule that required more specificity in labeling. Rather than just listing countries of origin, under the new rule, labels needed to indicate the countries of origin for each production step – that is, the label had to list where the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered.

The D.C. Circuit Opinion

In district court, AMI sought a preliminary injunction preventing the enforcement of the revised labeling rule. The district court denied the motion.

The En Banc Opinion

In a 9-2 decision, written by Judge Williams, the D.C. Circuit reinstated the judgment and opinion of the three judge panel. The full panel chose to examine AMI’s claims under the lower standard set forth in Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, and held that a disclosure mandate can be upheld even when “government interests in addition to correcting deception” were at play. Two concurring and two dissenting opinions were also filed.

AMI Interim President and CEO James H. Hodges was “disappointed” with the D.C. Circuit Court’s opinion and stated, “We have maintained all along that the country of origin rule harms livestock producers and the industry and affords little benefit to consumers. This decision will perpetuate those harms. … We will evaluate our options moving forward.”

Related Resources:

  • En banc D.C. Circuit upholds USDA country-of-origin labeling rule (The Washington Post)
  • Action Alleging Discrimination by U.S. Department of Agriculture (FindLaw’s D.C. Circuit Blog)
  • ‘Pink Slime’ Defamation Suit Against ABC Going to Trial (FindLaw’s In House)

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