The U.S. appeals court in Washington “is breathing new life into a previously dismissed lawsuit alleging pork checkoff funds were indirectly used to benefit the lobbying efforts of the National Pork Producers Council,” said Agri-Pulse. The reversal by the appellate court could lead to reconsideration of the lawsuit, filed in 2012 by an Iowa hog farmer, the Humane Society of the United States and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. The lawsuit says the National Pork Board’s purchase of four trademarks associated with “Pork: The other white meat,” actually was “a sweetheart deal” to help NPPC, the largest trade group for pork, and “support its lobbying efforts,” said Agri-Pulse. The pork board bought the trademarks for $60 million but changed its advertising slogan five years later. The board operates the pork checkoff, paid by producers, for research and promotion of pork.
Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle said the court decision was “a potentially enormous win for animal welfare groups, small farmers and environmentalists – since they’ve all felt the wrath of NPPC’s intense lobbying efforts.”
The lawsuit was dismissed by a U.S. district court on grounds that the plaintiff farmer, Harvey Dillenburg, failed to show how the pork board’s action hurt him or how he would benefit if the purchase of the advertising slogan was voided.