The National Pork Board announced that 145 Pork Checkoff delegates unanimously joined the North Carolina Pork Council in support of an advisement introduced during the National Pork Board delegate assembly at the National Pork Industry Forum, held March 3-5. The delegates represent 43 US states and importers, and every state represented in the delegate body added their name as co-sponsors to the advisement.

The advisement urges U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to uphold a 2006 purchase agreement between the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), which allows the National Pork Board to purchase the “Pork. The Other White Meat” marketing positon from NPPC. The Pork Checkoff currently pays NPPC $3 million each year until the payment schedule is fulfilled in 2026.

The agreement has been under attack since 2013, when the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) filed a lawsuit against the USDA under a pretense that the transfer and payment for the advertising slogan “Pork. The Other White Meat” from NPPC to NPB is an “unlawful” act. The case was originally dismissed for lack of standing, but has recently been reversed by a federal court of appeals.

USDA has recently entered into settlement discussions with HSUS. The terms of the settlement being discussed with NPB have not been shared, but USDA has withheld approval of the annual payment to NPPC in 2016, and has ordered a re-evaluation of the trademark’s value, causing concern that USDA is not vigorously defending the Secretary’s previous decision to approve the sales contract and that they are subjecting the contract and marketing decisions to the whims of litigants and courts.

The full advisement, introduced as 2016 Advisement – Industry Relations 1, reads:

Whereas the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) has filed a federal lawsuit against USDA contesting contractual agreements between the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council; and, Whereas the outcome sought by HSUS would damage the ability of the National Pork Board to exercise its judgment in marketing free from judicial and third-party review; therefore, be it resolved that the delegates of the National Pork Board, appointed by the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, do petition him to mount a strong and vigorous defense of the Department’s past approval of National Pork Board contracts, employing all possible legal tactics to preserve the authority and independence of the National Pork Board to negotiate and enter into contracts related to its statutory responsibilities under the Pork Act and Order.