Written by Katharine Richter
On October 20, 2015, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), the chairman
of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and
Consumer Rights, “sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack…calling
for an investigation into the American Egg Board (AEB).” The allegation levied against the board
involves an anti-competitive campaign aimed at eliminating a non-egg mayonnaise
from Whole Food’s shelves. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Agriculture Marketing Services (AMS) is currently investigating whether federal
laws or administrative regulations have been violated.
The AEB is part of the USDA AMS “check-off” program, which was
created in 1937 and is designed to “promote and provide research and
information for a particular agricultural commodity.” According to Senator Lee’s letter to Vilsack,
information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act has led to acquiring
600 pages of correspondence which suggest that the AEB staff and USDA officials
may have used their power and resources to target Hampton Creek, a producer of
vegan mayonnaise. The aim was to “reduce
marketplace demand” for the product because of concerns of the impact on the
egg industry.
According to Senator Lee’s letter, the AEB may have violated
a law which states that funds received may not be for political purposes. Further, the USDA AMS issues guidelines that “forbid
any advertising considered disparaging or those that depict other commodities
in a negative or unpleasant light via either over or subjective video,
photography, or statements.”
According to agri-pulse, the USDA review “involves a
substantial amount of material and while AMS expects to complete the review in
an expeditious manner, a complete review will take some time.”
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