The en banc DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Agriculture Department’s meat labeling rules on July 30, ruling 9-2 that the department could require the industry to label the country of origin on meat products. The Court said there was an important public interest in informing consumers of the origin of their meat. (The Hill, July 29, 2014, by Benjamin Goad)
The meat industry responded to the decision saying that the ruling would hurt livestock producers and offer little of value to consumers. But the National Farmers Union said livestock producers “are very proud of what they produce and happy to let consumers know here their meat comes from.” (Farm and Dairy, July 30, by Chris Kick)
Writing in The Washington Post, July 30, 2014, Jonathan Adler writes that in these cases consumer curiosity is not sufficient to justify disclosure, that the government must identify a more substantial interest “…such as protecting consumers or even correcting a true ‘market failure -– than a generic ‘right to know.'”