7 USC 7801 – Findings and declaration of policy
(a) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1) Hass avocados are an integral food source in the United States that are a valuable and healthy part of the human diet and are enjoyed by millions of persons every year for a multitude of everyday and special occasions.
(2) Hass avocados are a significant tree fruit crop grown by many individual producers, but virtually all domestically produced Hass avocados for the commercial market are grown in the State of California.
(3) Hass avocados move in interstate and foreign commerce, and Hass avocados that do not move in interstate or foreign channels of commerce but only in intrastate commerce directly affect interstate commerce in Hass avocados.
(4) In recent years, large quantities of Hass avocados have been imported into the United States from other countries.
(5) The maintenance and expansion of markets in existence on October 28, 2000, and the development of new or improved markets or uses for Hass avocados are needed to preserve and strengthen the economic viability of the domestic Hass avocado industry for the benefit of producers and other persons associated with the producing, marketing, processing, and consuming of Hass avocados.
(6) An effective and coordinated program of promotion, research, industry information, and consumer information regarding Hass avocados is necessary for the maintenance, expansion, and development of domestic markets for Hass avocados.
(b) Purpose
Terms Used In 7 USC 7801
- consumer information: means any action or program that provides information to consumers and other persons on the use, nutritional attributes, and other information that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchase, preparation, and use of Hass avocados. See 7 USC 7802
- Hass avocado: includes &mdash. See 7 USC 7802
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- industry information: means information and programs that are designed to increase efficiency in processing, enhance the development of new markets and marketing strategies, increase marketing efficiency, and activities to enhance the image of Hass avocados and the Hass avocado industry domestically. See 7 USC 7802
- person: means any individual, group of individuals, firm, partnership, corporation, joint stock company, association, cooperative, or other legal entity. See 7 USC 7802
- promotion: means any action to advance the image, desirability, or marketability of Hass avocados, including paid advertising, sales promotion, and publicity, in order to improve the competitive position and stimulate sales of Hass avocados in the domestic marketplace. See 7 USC 7802
- research: means any type of test, study, or analysis relating to market research, market development, and marketing efforts, or relating to the use, quality, or nutritional value of Hass avocados, other related food science research, or research designed to advance the image, desirability, and marketability of Hass avocados. See 7 USC 7802
- State: means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. See 7 USC 7802
- United States: means the United States collectively. See 7 USC 7802
It is the purpose of this chapter to authorize the establishment, through the exercise of the powers provided in this chapter, of an orderly procedure for the development and financing (through an adequate assessment on Hass avocados sold by producers and importers in the United States) of an effective and coordinated program of promotion, research, industry information, and consumer information, including funds for marketing and market research activities, that is designed to—
(1) strengthen the position of the Hass avocado industry in the domestic marketplace; and
(2) maintain, develop, and expand markets and uses for Hass avocados in the domestic marketplace.
(c) Limitation
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to provide for the control of production or otherwise limit the right of any person to produce, handle, or import Hass avocados.