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NPPC meets with USDA to discuss HSUS lawsuit

Officials of the National Pork Producers Council met with USDA officials Wednesday to discuss the lingering dispute over NPPC’s sale of “The Other White Meat” trademarks to the National Pork Board.

NPPC’s legal counsel Michael Formica says they were seeking clarification on reports that the USDA is negotiating with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to settle a lawsuit against the transaction.

“First they claimed that they actually aren’t in settlement discussions…they would say ‘we aren’t in settlement discussions, we’ve just reached this agreement to do the review.”

He says agency officials even suggested they did NPPC a favor.

“That (by) reaching an agreement with HSUS, they would not seek recovery of $30 million dollars from the NPPC.  Well, we weren’t afraid of that ever happening anyway.”

In 2006, NPPC sold “The Other White Meat” trademarks to the National Pork Board for $30 million.  The HSUS filed a lawsuit against USDA alleging the payment was an unlawful use of pork checkoff funds.

Last year a federal appeals court reinstated the suit after USDA originally defended its approval of the transaction and a U.S. District Court dismissed the case for lack of standing.

NPPC says USDA entered into settlement negotiations with HSUS without involving the pork industry.

Formica says NPPC will explore all its legal options.