7 USC 7481 – Findings and declaration of policy

(a) Findings

Congress finds that—

(1) popcorn is an important food that is a valuable part of the human diet;

(2) the production and processing of popcorn plays a significant role in the economy of the United States in that popcorn is processed by several popcorn processors, distributed through wholesale and retail outlets, and consumed by millions of people throughout the United States and foreign countries;

(3) popcorn must be of high quality, readily available, handled properly, and marketed efficiently to ensure that the benefits of popcorn are available to the people of the United States;

(4) the maintenance and expansion of existing markets and uses and the development of new markets and uses for popcorn are vital to the welfare of processors and persons concerned with marketing, using, and producing popcorn for the market, as well as to the agricultural economy of the United States;

(5) the cooperative development, financing, and implementation of a coordinated program of popcorn promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information is necessary to maintain and expand markets for popcorn; and

(6) popcorn moves in interstate and foreign commerce, and popcorn that does not move in those channels of commerce directly burdens or affects interstate commerce in popcorn.

(b) Policy

Terms Used In 7 USC 7481

commerce: means interstate, foreign, or intrastate commerce. See 7 USC 7482
consumer information: means information and programs that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchase, preparation, and use of popcorn. See 7 USC 7482
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 or a program that will lead to the development of&mdash. See 7 USC 7482
marketing: means the sale or other disposition of unpopped popcorn for human consumption in a channel of commerce, but does not include a sale or disposition to or between processors. See 7 USC 7482
popcorn: means unpopped popcorn (Zea Mays L) that is&mdash. See 7 USC 7482
processor: means a person engaged in the preparation of unpopped popcorn for the market who owns or shares the ownership and risk of loss of the popcorn and who processes and distributes over 4,000,000 pounds of popcorn in the market per year. See 7 USC 7482
promotion: means an action, including paid advertising, to enhance the image or desirability of popcorn. See 7 USC 7482
research: means any type of study to advance the image, desirability, marketability, production, product development, quality, or nutritional value of popcorn. See 7 USC 7482
United States: means all of the States. See 7 USC 7482

It is the policy of Congress that it is in the public interest to authorize the establishment, through the exercise of the powers provided in this subchapter, of an orderly procedure for developing, financing (through adequate assessments on unpopped popcorn processed domestically), and carrying out an effective, continuous, and coordinated program of promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information designed to—

(1) strengthen the position of the popcorn industry in the marketplace; and

(2) maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for popcorn.

(c) Purposes

The purposes of this subchapter are to—

(1) maintain and expand the markets for all popcorn products in a manner that—

(A) is not designed to maintain or expand any individual share of a producer or processor of the market;

(B) does not compete with or replace individual advertising or promotion efforts designed to promote individual brand name or trade name popcorn products; and

(2) establish a nationally coordinated program for popcorn promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information.