Delano Farms Co. v. California Table Grape Commission

Several grape growers object to being compelled by state law to pay money for generic advertising of grapes. The Supreme Court has issued a decision that such a program for growers of nectarines, plums, and peaches did not violate the First Amendment, but a program for mushroom growers did. The only issue in this case is whether the principle distinguishing those two cases makes the grape growers more like the nectarine, plum, and peach growers, or more like the mushroom growers.

Facts.

In 1967, a California statute called the Ketchum Act established- the California Table Grape Commission for “the promotion of the sale of fresh grapes for human consumption by means of advertising, dissemination of information” and oth *897 er means. 1 The Commission’s Policy Statement says that its purpose is to aid “producers of California fresh grapes in preventing economic waste in the marketing of their commodity,” 2 and in acting “in the public interest to protect and enhance the reputation of California fresh grapes for human consumption in intrastate, interstate and foreign markets.” 3 It promotes the sale of grapes, by advertising the desirability of California grapes and also by…