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`MEREDITH STEVENSON (CA Bar No. 328712)
`GEORGE KIMBRELL (Pro Hac Vice pending)
`AMY VAN SAUN (Pro Hac Vice pending)
`Center for Food Safety
`2009 NE Alberta St., Suite 207
`Portland, OR 97211
`Ph: (971) 271-7372
`Emails: meredith@centerforfoodsafety.org
` gkimbrell@centerforfoodsafety.org
`avansaun@centerforfoodsafety.org
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`
`
`
`
`Counsel for Plaintiffs
`
`
`NATURAL GROCERS, CITIZENS
`FOR GMO LABELING, LABEL
`GMOS, RURAL VERMONT, GOOD
`EARTH NATURAL FOODS, PUGET
`CONSUMERS CO-OP, AND CENTER
`FOR FOOD SAFETY
`
`
`Case No. 20-5151
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR
`DECLARATORY AND
`EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`
`THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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`Plaintiffs,
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`v.
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`SONNY PERDUE, Secretary of the
`United States Department of
`Agriculture; BRUCE SUMMERS,
`Administrator of the Agricultural
`Marketing Service; and the UNITED
`STATES DEPARTMENT OF
`AGRICULTURE,
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`Defendants.
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 2 of 95
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`INTRODUCTION AND NATURE OF ACTION ................................................................ 1
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE .............................................................................................. 3
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`THE PARTIES ........................................................................................................................... 4
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`LEGAL AUTHORITY ............................................................................................................. 10
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`GENERAL FACTUAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 13
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`CLAIMS ..................................................................................................................................... 18
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`I.
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`Claim 1: Electronic or Digital Disclosures ................................................. 18
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`FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION ................................................................................................. 39
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`II.
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`Claim 2: USDA’s Exclusion of Common, Similar Terms ........................ 42
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`SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION ............................................................................................ 61
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`III. Claim 3: Exclusion of “Highly Refined” Bioengineered
`Foods ................................................................................................................... 63
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`THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION ................................................................................................ 77
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`IV. Claim 4: First Amendment Freedom of Speech ........................................ 80
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`FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION ............................................................................................ 88
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`RELIEF REQUESTED ........................................................................................................... 91
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 3 of 95
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`Plaintiffs Natural Grocers, Citizens for GMO Labeling, Label GMOs, Rural
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`COMPLAINT
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`Vermont, Good Earth Natural Foods, Puget Consumers Co-op, and Center for Food
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`Safety, on behalf of themselves and their members allege as follows:
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`INTRODUCTION AND NATURE OF ACTION
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`1.
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`This case is about ensuring meaningful food product labeling, the
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`public’s right to know how their food is produced, and producers’ and retailers’
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`rights to provide it to them. Throughout U.S. history, government mandated food
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`and ingredient information has always been the same: on packages and in language
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`consumers could understand. This rulemaking is a significant departure from that
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`standard.
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`2.
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`Genetically engineered (GE) organisms have been a controversial topic
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`in the public arena since their introduction into the food supply nearly three
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`decades ago. Advocates, including plaintiffs, sought their labeling, like the labeling
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`mandated by 64 other countries around the world. After several states passed
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`labeling laws, Congress finally passed the Bioengineered Food Disclosure Act
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`(Disclosure Act) in 2016.
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`3.
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`The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), charged with writing the
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`implementing rules, finished them in 2019. Unfortunately, in its final decision the
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`agency fell far short of fulfilling the promise of meaningful labeling of GE foods. In
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`fact in many ways the result is in the direct or de facto concealment of these foods
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`and avoidance their labeling.
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`4.
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`There are four claims in this action. First is the issue of how the
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`disclosure is provided under the final rule: electronic or digital forms of labeling,
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`also known as “QR code” or “smartphone” labeling. Congress included this potential
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`form of disclosure in the new law, but, recognizing its untested nature, made USDA
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`undertake a study of its potential efficacy to eventually use it alone as a means of
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`labeling. The study showed undeniably what opponents told the agency: (a) it was
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`not realistic to have customers in a grocery store use their phone to scan barcodes
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`for dozens of products, and (b) this form of disclosure would discriminate against
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`major portions of the population—the poor, elderly, rural, and minorities—with
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`lower percentages of smartphone ownership, digital expertise, or ability to afford
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`data, or who live in areas in which grocery stores do not have internet bandwidth.
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`Defendants’ decision nonetheless to greenlight QR codes without other forms of
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`labeling on products was arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law, in violation
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`of the Disclosure Act and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
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`5.
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`Second is the issue of what terminology is permitted. For 25 years, all
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`aspects of the public dialog around GE foods—scientific, policy, market, legislative,
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`consumer—have used either “genetically engineered” (GE) or “genetically modified”
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`(GMO) to refer to genetically engineered foods.1 Those are terms that all federal
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`agencies, including USDA during this very rulemaking, used. They are what the
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`public knows, understands, and expects, and what is currently used in the
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`marketplace by producers. They are what other countries and U.S. trade partners
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`use internationally. And, Congress used the new term “bioengineered” in the Act, at
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`the same time, it instructed USDA to also include “any similar term” in its new
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`standard. Despite that instruction and the overwhelming support from stakeholders
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`to allow continued use of the far more well-known “GE”/ “GMO” terms, in its final
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`rule USDA instead excluded “GE” and “GMO,” prohibiting them from use in the on-
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`package text or symbol labeling, only allowing use of the term bioengineered. That
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`decision was arbitrary and capricious, contrary to the Act’s plain language and the
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`1 For clarity sake, we will use the term “GE” in this complaint to refer to genetically
`engineered foods.
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`APA and failed to fulfill the Act’s fundamental purpose of informing consumers. It is
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`antithetical to the Act’s purpose because it will confuse and mislead consumers.
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`6.
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`Third is the issue of what foods are covered (or not covered) under the
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`scope. The vast majority of GE foods are not whole foods but rather highly processed
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`foods with GE ingredients like sodas and oils, which by some estimates account for
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`over 70% of all GE foods. The Act provided broad scope to USDA to cover all GE
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`foods, and the legislative history shows that USDA and Congress made assurances
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`that the majority of GE foods—those highly refined GE foods—would be covered.
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`Yet in the final rulemaking, USDA decided to exclude highly refined GE foods,
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`creating a new extra-statutory limitation. That decision was contrary to the Act and
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`the APA, and again failed to fulfill the Act’s core purpose of informing consumers.
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`7.
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`Fourth is the right of improving on the limited and flawed disclosure
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`the rules provide, particularly important given all the problems explained above.
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`Manufacturers and retailers have a fundamental 1st Amendment Right to provide
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`truthful commercial information to consumers, and consumers have a right to
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`receive it. In this context, manufacturers and retailers have the right to label foods
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`as produced through genetic engineering or as genetically engineered. Yet the final
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`rule attempts to restrict that right in multiple ways, providing only limited and
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`restricted voluntary labeling beyond its narrow scope. Those speech chilling
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`restrictions violate the statute’s text and purposes as well as the 1st Amendment’s
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`guarantees.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`8.
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`This action arises under the U.S. Constitution and laws of the United
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`States, including the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Jurisdiction is conferred
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`on this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, & 1346.
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`9.
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`Plaintiffs have a right to bring this action pursuant to the APA, 5
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`U.S.C. § 702.
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`10. This Court has authority to grant declaratory and equitable relief
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`herein requested pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 706(2) (setting aside agency action that is
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`arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with
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`law) and 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201–2202, and Rules 57 and 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil
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`Procedure.
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`11. An actual controversy exists between the parties within the meaning of
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`28 U.S.C. § 2201 (declaratory judgments).
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`12. Venue is proper in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
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`California pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e).
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`Plaintiffs
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`THE PARTIES
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`13. Plaintiff Center for Food Safety (CFS) brings this action on behalf of
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`itself and its members. CFS is a public interest, non-profit, membership
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`organization that has offices in San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR; and Washington,
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`D.C. CFS represents over 950,000 members, from every state in the country. The
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`Disclosure Act and USDA’s final rule implementing it adversely affect CFS and its
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`members.
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`14. CFS’s mission is to empower people, support farmers, and protect the
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`environment from the harms of industrial agriculture. A large part of that mission
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`is championing transparency in the food system and preserving informed consumer
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`choice. For that reason a major CFS program area has always been improving food
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`labeling and protecting the consumers’ right to know what’s in their food and what
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`they feed their families.
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`15. For over two decades CFS has worked to ensure that GE organisms
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`that could adversely affect public health, agriculture, and the environment are
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`adequately labeled and properly regulated. CFS has a major program area specific
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`to GE organism oversight, and numerous staff members—scientific, policy,
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`campaign, and legal—whose work encompasses the topic. CFS staff members are
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`recognized experts in the field and are intimately familiar with the issue of GE
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`foods, their inadequate oversight, their risks, and their adverse impacts.
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`16. As part of both of these missions and programs, CFS has long been
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`committed to securing mandatory GE food labeling across the country. To that end
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`CFS has worked closely with dozens of state legislatures and leaders in U.S.
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`Congress on GE food issues and GE food labeling legislation. For example, in 2011,
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`CFS drafted and filed a rulemaking petition with the Food and Drug
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`Administration (FDA), on behalf of over 650 companies and organizations, calling
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`on FDA to require the mandatory labeling of all GE foods, which garnered over 1.4
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`million individual public comments in support. In the void of federal leadership, in
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`2012-2016, several states stepped in to protect the public’s right to know, and to
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`that end, CFS also assisted in the successful passage of several state labeling laws,
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`including the passage of state GE labeling laws in Vermont, Connecticut, and
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`Maine.
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`17. CFS takes a multi-faceted approach in pursuing its mission, utilizing
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`legal, political, and grassroots strategies, including public and policymaker
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`education, outreach, and campaigning. For instance, CFS disseminates a wide
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`array of informational materials to government agencies, lawmakers, nonprofits,
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`and the general public regarding the adverse effects of industrial food production—
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`such as genetically engineered agricultural products and pesticides—on human
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`health, the environment, and farmers and on the transparency of the food system.
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`These educational and informational materials include, but are not limited to, news
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`articles, videos, and other multimedia, policy reports, white papers, legal briefs,
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`press releases, newsletters, product guides, action alerts, and fact sheets. One
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`example is the book Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret
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`Changes in Your Food (Earth Aware Press, 2007).
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`18. Plaintiff Rural Vermont is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded
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`in 1985 and based in Montpelier, Vermont. Rural Vermont is a grassroots
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`membership organization that has worked for 35 years to bring the voices of the
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`people who are affected by public policy decisions into the process of creating public
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`policy. Its mission is to lead the resurgence of community-scale agriculture, through
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`education, advocacy, and organizing.
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`19. From 2011 to 2016, Rural Vermont was a founder and leading member
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`of the “Vermont Right to Know GMOs” Coalition. The Coalition led the grassroots
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`effort that resulted in the successful passage of the first law in the United States
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`that required the labeling of food produced through genetic engineering. That effort
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`brought over 10,000 citizens into the legislative campaign as well as built a
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`supporting coalition of scores of farms, food producers, restaurants, food co-ops,
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`schools and other businesses and organizations who supported Vermonters’ right to
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`know how their food is produced.
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`20. Plaintiff Citizens for GMO Labeling is a nonprofit organization
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`based in Connecticut with a mission of working across the country to pass state
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`legislation to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods. In 2013
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`Connecticut passed one of the first GMO labeling laws. However, it required other
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`states to pass similar laws prior to taking effect. From 2013-2016, Citizens for GMO
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`Labeling provided support to over thirty state-based campaigns to label genetically
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`engineered foods and helped pass similar labeling laws in other states.
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`21. While working to pass these laws, staff members were located in MA
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`and RI and board members in CT, PA, MA, NJ, RI, and NY. The organization
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`testified at state legislative hearings in NH, MA, and RI. In 2015 it hosted an
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`advocate training for 80 GMO labeling advocates from states including, CT, MA,
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`NJ, RI, PA, NH, VT, ME, NY, CA, ID, WA, AZ, FL, CO, HA, IA, MI, IL, NC, VA,
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`DC, OR, NV, OH, DE, MD and GA. The organization’s entire budget went toward
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`passing these state level GMO laws and protecting the laws that CT, VT, and ME
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`passed.
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`22. The Disclosure Act preempted all current and future state labeling
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`laws, and did so far beyond the scope and substance of what the law offered the
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`public. In doing so it undid all the work the organization had undertaken prior to its
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`passage and made it impossible to continue that work absent judicial review.
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`23. Plaintiff Label GMOs is a California-based nonprofit organization
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`that spearheaded California Prop 37 (2012), a state ballot initiative to require the
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`mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food. Prop 37 was the first major
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`state-wide effort at GMO labeling, and was narrowly defeated (51%-49%) after
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`opponents of disclosure broke the state record for spending in their opposition to it
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`($44 million). However Prop 37 galvanized a grassroots movement across the
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`United States for the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food, and
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`inspired and sent off a chain of aligned future ballot initiatives in Washington
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`(2013) and Oregon (2014) as well as state legislative efforts, including those that
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`eventually passed into law in Vermont, Connecticut, and Maine. All of those
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`disclosure laws and efforts were substantially identical. Label GMOs also worked to
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`pass Senate Bill 1381 (2014) and other California legislative GMO labeling efforts
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`prior to the preemption of those efforts by the 2016 Disclosure Act.
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`24. Plaintiff Good Earth Natural Foods is an independent natural and
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`organic grocer based in Marin, California since 1969. Good Earth is committed to
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`advocating for a healthier and more sustainable food system. Historically Good
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`Earth was one of the original pioneers and creators of the organic farming
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`standards and labeling, at the state level and then at the federal level, and has
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`since that time worked to ensure the organic standard retains its original integrity.
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`Later Good Earth helped start the Non-GMO project and its Non-GMO verified
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`label. In 2011, Good Earth launched its own in-store labeling of products, including
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`locally produced and non-GMO verified. In 2012, Good Earth supported Prop 37, the
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`California Right to Know GMO labeling initiative. Good Earth is committed to full
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`transparency for its customers, including ensuring that foods produced with genetic
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`engineering are labeled as such.
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`25.
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` Plaintiff Puget Consumers Co-op, which operates stores under the
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`tradename “PCC Community Markets,” is the nation’s largest community-owned
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`food market based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1953 and with an active
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`membership of just over 80,000 households, PCC operates 14 stores in the Puget
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`Sound area and is a Certified Organic retailer.
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`26. PCC aims to create a cooperative, sustainable environment in which
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`sustainable and organic supply chains thrive. A critical part of that work includes
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`increasing transparency for consumers on how their food is grown and raised and
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`what is in their food. To that end, PCC has been a dedicated advocate of GMO
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`labeling and supporter of GMO absence certification programs, such as Certified
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`USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified.
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`27. As far back as in 2000, PCC members wrote over 12,000 letters to
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`Congress in support of GMO transparency in foods. In 2012-2013, PCC led the effort
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`for statewide GMO labeling as a steering committee member for I-522, the People’s
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`Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. Although the ballot initiative was
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`narrowly defeated by record spending, it helped build the momentum for labeling
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`transparency nationwide and the successful passage of other state labeling laws.
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`In 2011, PCC pledged to label all GMO items in its stores by 2018. In 2016-2018,
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`PCC undertook substantial planning and actions to complete this pledge, including
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 11 of 95
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`after the passage of the 2016 Disclosure Act. However, the final USDA rules forced
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`PCC to shelve its store labeling plans because of the speech restrictions created by
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`the disclosure scheme, legal uncertainty from its lack of clarity, and potential
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`consumer confusion.
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`28. Plaintiff Natural Grocers is a Colorado-based specialty retailer of
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`natural, organic groceries, body care products and dietary supplements since 1955,
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`currently operating 157 stores in 20 states. Natural Grocers is committed to
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`educating communities on nutrition and providing only natural and organic
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`products that meet high standards for ecological sustainability. As part of these
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`efforts, all Natural Grocers brand products are organic or non-GMO if organic is not
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`available, and Natural Grocers sells only certified organic produce. Across all stores,
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`Natural Grocers carries over 9,000 Non-GMO Project Verified products and over
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`10,000 organic grocery products.
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`29. Natural Grocers has long been a supporter of GMO labeling at both the
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`state and federal level. In 2014, Natural Grocers supported the Right to Know
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`Colorado Proposition 105 to label GMO foods and hosted Proposition 105 petition
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`gatherers in all of its 34 Colorado stores. Natural Grocers is committed to providing
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`transparency for its customers and consistently posts information on GMOs on its
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`website to assist its customers in avoiding GMO products.
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`Defendants
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`30. Defendant Sonny Perdue is sued in his official capacity as USDA
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`Secretary. As Secretary, Mr. Perdue has the ultimate responsibility for USDA’s
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`implementation of the Disclosure Act.
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`31. Defendant Bruce Summers is sued in his official capacity as
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`Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), an agency of the
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`United States Department of Agriculture. The AMS administers programs at USDA
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 12 of 95
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`related to the marketing of food and agricultural products. As Administrator, Mr.
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`Summers has ultimate responsibility for AMS’s implementation of the Disclosure
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`Act.
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`32. Defendant United States Department of Agriculture is a federal
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`agency of the U.S., which is charged with acquiring and providing to the people of
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`the United States useful information on subjects connected with, among other
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`things, agriculture and food labeling. As relevant here, USDA, including AMS, is
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`the Agency that Congress made responsible for the implementation of the
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`Disclosure Act, including its implementing regulations.
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`UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
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`LEGAL AUTHORITY
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`33. The 1st Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law . . .
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`abridging the freedom of speech. . . .” U.S. Const., Amend. I.
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`ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT
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`34. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) provides that “[a] person
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`suffering legal wrong because of agency action, or adversely affected or aggrieved by
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`agency action within the meaning of a relevant statute, is entitled to judicial review
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`thereof.” 5 U.S.C. § 702.
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`35. The definition of agency action within this statute “includes the whole
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`or a part of an agency rule, order, license, sanction, relief, or the equivalent or
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`denial thereof, or failure to act.” Id. § 551(13).
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`36. The APA instructs that reviewing courts “shall . . . hold unlawful and
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`set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be . . . arbitrary,
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`capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law…[or]
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`contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity.” Id. § 706(2)(A).
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 13 of 95
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`37. Under the APA’s standard of review, the Court evaluates whether the
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`agency “examine[d] the relevant data and articulate[d] a satisfactory explanation
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`for its action including a rational connection between the facts found and the choice
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`made.” Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S.
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`29, 43 (1983). An action is arbitrary and capricious if the agency “has relied on
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`factors which Congress has not intended it to consider, entirely failed to consider an
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`important aspect of the problem, offered an explanation for its decision that runs
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`counter to the evidence before the agency, or is so implausible that it could not be
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`ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.” Id. at 43.
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`THE BIOENGINEERED FOOD DISCLOSURE ACT
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`38. The purpose of the Disclosure Act is to “establish a national mandatory
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`bioengineered food disclosure standard with respect to any bioengineered food and
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`any food that may be bioengineered” within two years following its enactment. 7
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`U.S.C. § 1639b(a).
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`39. Bioengineering and any similar term is defined to be food “(A) that
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`contains genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant
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`deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques; and (B) for which the modification could
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`not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.” 7
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`U.S.C. § 1639(1).
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`40. While the Act generally uses the term, “bioengineered,” it expressly
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`includes “and any similar term” when it defines the “bioengineering” classification.
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`7 U.S.C. § 1639(1).
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`41. A food may “bear a disclosure that a food is bioengineered only in
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`accordance” with the Act’s implementing regulations. 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(b)(1).
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`42. The Act requires USDA to “establish such requirements and
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`procedures as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the standard.” 7
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 14 of 95
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`U.S.C. § 1639b(a)(2). The Act mandates that USDA also “establish a process for
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`requesting and granting a determination by the Secretary regarding other factors
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`and conditions under which a food is considered a bioengineered food” beyond those
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`set out by the statute elsewhere in the agency’s implementing regulations. 7 U.S.C.
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`§ 1639b.
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`43. While the Act permits the disclosure to be in the form of on-package
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`text, symbol, or electronic or digital link, it required USDA to first study the efficacy
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`of the electronic or digital disclosures, “to identify potential technological challenges
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`that may impact whether consumers would have access to the bioengineering
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`disclosure through electronic or digital disclosure methods.” 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(c)(1).
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`44. The Act sets forth detailed factors USDA was required to analyze in
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`the study: the availability of wireless Internet or cellular networks; the availability
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`of landline telephones in stores; the challenges facing small retailer and rural
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`retailers; efforts that retailers and other entities have taken to address potential
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`technological and infrastructure challenges; and the costs and benefits of installing
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`in retail stores stand-alone electronic or digital link scanners or other technology to
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`provide disclosure information. 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(c)(3)(A)‐(E).
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`45. The Act also requires that USDA “shall” solicit and consider public
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`comments on the Study, underscoring its importance to the rulemaking process. 7
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`U.S.C. 1639b(c)(2).
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`46. The Act further specifies that any QR codes used for disclosure must be
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`accompanied with the text “scan here for more food information” or similar
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`language as well as include an accompanying phone number. 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(d)(1),
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`(d)(4).QR codes must provide access “in a consistent and conspicuous manner, on
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`the first product information page that appears for the product on a mobile device,
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`Internet website, or other landing page, which shall exclude marketing and
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`promotional information.” 7 U.S.C. 1639b(d)(2).
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 15 of 95
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`47. The Act prohibits USDA from requiring a food to be “considered a
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`bioengineered food solely because the animal consumed feed from” a bioengineered
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`source. 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(b)(2)(A). The Act further provides that USDA’s regulations
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`shall exclude “food served in a restaurant or similar retail establishment.” 7 U.S.C.
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`§ 1639b(G)(i).
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`48. The Act includes an express admonition that it is not stripping FDA of
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`any Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) authority or any party of any
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`FFDCA obligation, meaning that the duty to not label in a false and misleading way
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`still applies and there is no regulatory shield simply because a product is classified
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`and labeled under the Act. 7 U.S.C. § 1639c(b)(1).
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`49. The statute provides that, if USDA determines in the study that
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`“consumers, while shopping, would not have sufficient access to the bioengineering
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`disclosure through electronic or digital disclosure methods,” then USDA “shall
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`provide additional and comparable options” for accessing the disclosure for
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`consumers. 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(c)(4).
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`50. The Act has a savings provision that requires that USDA “shall” apply
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`the law “in a manner consistent with the United States obligations under
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`international treaties.” 7 U.S.C. § 1639c(a).
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`GENERAL FACTUAL BACKGROUND
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`I. Americans Have Long Asserted Their Right To Know Which
`Products Are Produced With Genetic Engineering, For a Multitude
`of Reasons
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`51. American consumers have called upon the U.S. government to label
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`genetically engineered foods for many years, to secure access to the same
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`information as residents of 64 other countries around the world. Polls consistently
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`CASE NO. 20-5151
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY & EQUITABLE RELIEF
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`Case 3:20-cv-05151 Document 1 Filed 07/27/20 Page 16 of 95
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`show that nearly 90 percent of Americans