Assignment:
In 2015, a research food store in Dallas, Texas, developed a new type of organic food called Greatstuff that provided low fat, good taste, low calorie content, and was quickly found to provide a number of health type benefits. The demand for the product skyrocketed, and retail sales in the Dallas area alone quickly began to exceed the supply. The Dallas store expanded their local production by acquiring extra components from Colorado, and also contracted with a similar facility in Beaumont, Texas, to produce the Greatstuff organic food. The reputation of the product continued to boom, and even though the production had increased by 1,000 per cent over the initial supply, the retail demand kept the store shelves empty most of the time.
A similar type organic food store out of Chicago approached the original Dallas store, and asked for the formula for Greatstuff, but the Texas owners declined. The supply and retail market continued to boom all over Texas. The owners of the organic food store in Chicago came to Dallas, bought a truck load of Greatstuff and took it back to their facility in Illinois and sold most of it, but also tried unsuccessfully to replicate production. Through some political connections, a number of members of Congress found out about Greatstuff, and applying the Commerce Clause succeeded in passing legislation that was signed by the president to:
1) place a special federal sales tax on Greatstuff, and
2) require the formula for production to be made public. The Dallas developer of Greatstuff sued in federal court in Dallas, contending that Greatstuff had nothing to do with interstate commerce and was not subject to the Commerce Clause.
You (student) should assume the role of an attorney representing the Dallas Organic Food Store in contending that the production and sale of Greatstuff is not subject to the federal legislation generated under the Commerce Clause. As the attorney for Dallas Organic Food Store, what would you argue to support your client's position that the production and sale of Greatstuff is not subject to Federal regulation? Be specific about why Federal law does not apply and why.