Wilson Smoothes Ruffled Feathers in Label Dispute

Bart Ehman just played chicken with the government--and won.

Ehman, you may recall, is the Sebastopol, Calif., entrepreneur who has for five years been shipping chickens under the Rocky the Range Chicken label. He touted the birds as more wholesome because they were “raised on a vegetarian diet and allowed to run outdoors in a stress-free environment.”

But back in January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s labeling review branch ordered Ehman (pronounced ee-man) to cease using “range” and “stress-free” because they were ill-defined terms that might mislead consumers.

The de-ranging of Rocky the Chicken ruffled Ehman’s feathers, and he vowed to appeal the decision to higher agricultural authorities. William T. Bagley, a San Francisco attorney, enlisted the aid of Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), who in turn, Ehman said, put some pressure on the USDA to lighten up and review the situation.

The next thing Ehman knew, three USDA inspectors descended on some of the Rocky-breeding ranches in rural Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. They also investigated a slaughterhouse.

After two days of poking around, they decided that everything was “up to snuff,” said Jim Greene, a spokesman for the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in Washington.

A USDA official was soon on the phone to Ehman to say that the agency would “look favorably” on a change back to Rocky the Range Chicken.

In the catbird seat once again, Ehman said Tuesday that he is “amazed that we got the victory.” But having spent $25,000 on all the back-and-forth with the government and on paying for Rocky the Chicken packaging, Ehman said he will have to wait a bit before resubmitting the labels.

Ehman admits to having taken some pleasure in the controversy.

“It was fun when we lost our label,” he said. “Getting it back almost seems like more responsibility.”