Baylen Linnekin Explains Why Authoritarian Cherry Board Is the Pits

A lawsuit shines a light on a USDA-created board that controls supply, says you can't sell tart cherries without board permission.

|

Large image on homepages | Wikimedia Commons
(Wikimedia Commons)
Cherry
Wikimedia Commons

What if the federal government had a stranglehold on the supply of tart cherries in America? Would you be confused? Outraged?

Baylen Linnekin cannot tell a lie. Such a stranglehold exists.

Tart cherries are (you guessed it) tart, rather than sweet. They're not the fresh ones you buy at the grocery or farmers market. In fact, tart cherries are rarely canned or sold fresh. Nearly all (99%) tart cherries are sold frozen or used to make cherry wine (uh-huh) and other products.

While pretty much anyone can grow tart cherries, no one markets a tart cherry in this country without Cherry Industry Administrative Board permission, writes Linnekin.

But a lawsuit could liberate cherry producers from CIAB control, according to Linnekin.