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Note: This website is intended to provide general information about legal issues, crop insurance, farm policy, and other risk management issues and should not be construed as providing legal advice. It should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority. For advice about how the issues discussed here might apply to your individual situation, you should consult an attorney.

Welcome to the Maryland Risk Management Education Blog, provided by the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and features the work of the Maryland Crop Insurance Education program and the University of Maryland - MPowering the State's Agriculture Law Education Initiative, a University of Maryland Extension Signature Program. This blog provides readers with information on risk management issues important to Maryland agriculture, upcoming events, and new materials that may interest readers.

The National Bioengineered (GMO) Food Disclosure Standard

Feb 12, 2019
3 min

The National Bioengineered (GMO) Food Disclosure Standard

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On December 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service issued its final rule establishing the national bioengineered (BE) food disclosure standard (Standard)- in other words the federal GMO labeling law. You may remember back in 2016, in an attempt to prevent states from passing conflicting GMO labeling laws, Congress passe

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A Class Action Lawsuit Over Carnitas- Schneider, et al v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Oct 16, 2018
3 min

A Class Action Lawsuit Over Carnitas- Schneider, et al v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

By Sarah Everhart See here for the site’s reposting policy. On September 29, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California granted a motion for class certification in Schneider, et al v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Case No. 16-cv-02200-HSG. The four plaintiffs in the case are alleging that Chipotle’s claims that its products were “non-GMO” and “GMO-free” violated California, Maryland, and New York consumer protection laws. According to Maryland’s consumer

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Weekly Roundup Sept. 1st

Sep 1, 2017
2 min

Weekly Roundup Sept. 1st

By Sarah Fielder Injured Woman Sues Organizers of the Punkin Chunkin Championship A Delaware woman injured last year during the Punkin Chunkin Championship in Delaware has sued the organizers, the state agency in charge of checking the air cannon used, and the Discovery Channel in federal court. The plaintiff claims injuries due to the negligence of the parties involved. This comes on the heels of organizers struggling to find sponsors and potentially having to cancel this

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Weekly Roundup May 12th

May 12, 2017
3 min

Weekly Roundup May 12th

By Sarah Fielder Undercover Video of Pennsylvania Dairy Released Compassion Over Killing has released an undercover video of alleged abuse on a Pennsylvania dairy this week. The dairy is responding to these allegations currently. The story in Dairy Herd Management highlights what farms should do when faced with a crisis such as this, check out the story here http://bit.ly/2q2NOTJ. Syngenta Class Action Update Tiffany Lashment on her blog has a very good update of the ongoin

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GMO Labeling Timeline – What Happened and Why? Part II

Aug 15, 2016
5 min

GMO Labeling Timeline – What Happened and Why? Part II

By Mayhah Suri and Ashley Ellixson The past few weeks have been chock-full of developments on the genetically modified organisms (GMO) labeling front. Late last month, President Obama has signed a bill requiring all foods containing GM ingredients be labeled. Today is the second in a two-part blog post on this huge development in food law. For a refresher on what “GMO” means, check out Ashley’s post from last year. As mentioned in part one of this series , the U.S. Departmen

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GMO Labeling Timeline – What Happened and Why? Part I

Aug 11, 2016
4 min

GMO Labeling Timeline – What Happened and Why? Part I

By Mayhah Suri and Ashley Ellixson The past few weeks have been chock-full of developments on the genetically modified organisms (GMO) labeling front. As we reported in our news post last Friday, President Obama has signed a bill requiring all foods containing GM ingredients be labeled. Today is the first in a two-part blog post on this huge development in food law. This post lists the timeline of key events over the past three years which brought us to this point. The timeli

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Two More New England States Look at GMO Labeling

Mar 15, 2016
2 min

Two More New England States Look at GMO Labeling

By Ashley Ellixson If you read last week’s post on Vermont’s genetically modified organisms (GMO) labeling bill, you should be up to speed on what is going on at the state level when GMO labeling is discussed. To review, on April 23, 2014, Vermont became the first state requiring labeling of GMO foods. Vermont’s legislature approved a bill requiring raw agricultural commodities and processed foods offered for sale in Vermont retail stores to display special labeling (with c

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Vermont’s Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) Labeling Law: UPDATED!

Feb 23, 2016
2 min

Vermont’s Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) Labeling Law: UPDATED!

By Ashley Ellixson Not too long ago, I gave an overview of genetically modified organisms and labeling laws in respect to them. To summarize, there is currently no Federal law requiring a label to state that a product contains genetically modified products. It is also important to note there is no Federal definition of genetically modified. With that said, on April 23, 2014, Vermont became the first state requiring labeling of GMO foods. Vermont’s legislature approved a bi

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Oregon’s GMO Alfalfa Growers Settlement

Jan 20, 2016
2 min

Oregon’s GMO Alfalfa Growers Settlement

By Ashley Ellixson Back on May 29, 2015, an Oregon Federal court issued its ruling in Schultz Family Farms, LLC v. Jackson County, addressing two legal topics currently seen often in the agriculture world: genetically modified crops and right to farm laws. The lawsuit began when the plaintiffs, several growers of genetically modified alfalfa in Jackson County, filed suit challenging the validity of Jackson County Ordinance 635, where voters approved a May 20, 2014, ban on gr

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Right to Farm Claim Does Not Hold Up for Oregon Farmers Growing GMO Alfalfa

Jul 16, 2015
3 min

Right to Farm Claim Does Not Hold Up for Oregon Farmers Growing GMO Alfalfa

By Ashley Ellixson This article originally appeared in Lancaster Farming, Southern Edition, Saturday, July 4, 2015. On May 29, 2015, an Oregon Federal court issued its ruling in Schultz Family Farms, LLC v. Jackson County, addressing two legal topics seen frequently lately in the agriculture world: genetically modified crops and right to farm laws. The lawsuit began when the plaintiffs, several growers of genetically modified alfalfa in Jackson County, filed suit challenging

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Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015: GMO Discussion Continues

Jun 17, 2015
3 min

Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015: GMO Discussion Continues

By Ashley Ellixson Remember when I said that there is no current Federal genetically modified foods (GMO) labeling law? And recall a few weeks ago when I updated you on Vermont’s GMO labeling law and its current constitutional challenge? Well, today I will outline what could eventually be a Federal GMO labeling law which would effectively preempt all state laws on the topic. So what does that mean exactly? There would be Federal regulations outlining requirements for GMO labe

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Frequently Asked Questions: Organic Crops and GMO Pollen Cross-Contamination

Jun 11, 2015
3 min

Frequently Asked Questions: Organic Crops and GMO Pollen Cross-Contamination

This post should not be construed as legal advice. For the most part, crops are in the ground and growing now, but issues can exist when we have genetically modified organism (GMO) crops growing near organics. Let’s talk about GMO contamination of organic crops. From time-to-time, many of you will ask, “What about GMO cross-pollination of organic crops?” Well, I’m sorry to tell you that there is no exact answer because this is a developing area of the law. That said, when

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Food Labeling Continues: Let’s Talk About GMOs

Jan 21, 2015
3 min

Food Labeling Continues: Let’s Talk About GMOs

By Ashley Ellixson Many of you have asked us to discuss genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling. This post will inform you of the present issues and the state of current regulations regarding genetically modified crops and foods. Right now there is no Federal law requiring a label stating that a product contains genetically modified products. It is also important to note there is no Federal definition of genetically modified. To clarify, let’s highlight a few definiti

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