Agriculture Law Commons^™

The Rise Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Their Effects, And How We Can Stop Their Growth, Andrea Prisco

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Dramatic changes in the agricultural industry over the last century have led to the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations– industrial facilities that raise a large number of animals in confined spaces. Animals raised in these facilities suffer from poor quality of life and abuse. For humans, these facilities have had adverse effects on the environment and public health, but they are also associated with high productivity and low food costs. This Comment analyzes the effects of concentrated animal feeding operations on animal well-being, the environment, and public health. This Comment also analyzes current federal legislation that helps combat the …

The Future Of Dairy Cooperatives In The Modern Marketplace: Redeveloping The Capper-Volstead Act, Sarah K. Phillips

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Agriculture plays a fundamental role in the U.S. economy as a multibillion-dollar industry that feeds people all over the world. However, over the past decade, the dairy industry in particular has changed from a reliable sector of the greater agricultural industry into an unsettled, politically-charged, and fractured group. Dairy farmers’ consistently receiving low milk prices has facilitated this divide. Tired of being ignored and underpaid, dairy farmers are demanding change in the current dairy market structure.

Federal Milk Marketing Orders and a variety of statutes regulate the dairy industry, but the 1922 Capper-Volstead Act remains the most notable piece of …

Distressed Watershed: A Designation To Ease The Algae Crisis In Lake Erie And Beyond, Kenneth K. Kilbert

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Algae pose a severe problem in many waterbodies nationwide, but the algae crisis is perhaps most acute in Lake Erie. Harmful algal blooms choke the lake every year, causing economic and ecologic damage and threatening public health. Solving the algae crisis in Lake Erie depends on reducing the amount of nutrients entering the lake, especially from agricultural stormwater runoff. Ohio’s recent designation of Lake Erie as “impaired” under the Federal Clean Water Act is a positive step, and the resulting Total Maximum Daily Load (“TMDL”) should be a useful planning tool in the fight against algae. But because the Clean …

Symposium - The 9 Billion People Question: The Challenge Of Global Resource Scarcity

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Food As A Key Resource For Security And Stability: Implications Of Changes In The Global Food System 1950-2000, Bryan L. Mcdonald

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Food security remains an urgent problem affecting the national security and interests of states, as well as the human security of people and communities around the world. This article examines the changing landscape of food security threats and vulnerabilities by examining three sets of concerns that are converging to amplify, disrupt, and transform food relations: nutrition, food safety, and global environmental change. Ensuring food security will require utilization of a range of capabilities from the state, private, and non-state sectors to confront world food problems and build a sustainable and resilient world food network.

World Poverty And Food Insecurity, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The article draws upon the insights of Yale philosopher Thomas Pogge to suggest a way that we might think about the structural inequities in the global economic order that produce food insecurity. The article argues that chronic undernourishment is not a function of food scarcity, bad weather, or simply bad luck. Rather, it is a function of international political and economic arrangements that systematically benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor. The article concludes with several legal and policy reforms that the United States and the European Union can adopt to reduce the burdens that our societies place …

The Future Of Food Assistance: Opportunities And Challenges, Erin Lentz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The past decade has seen a radical remaking of direct food security interventions and an expanded understanding of preventing undernutrition. Today, there are more food assistance choices; researchers have identified the first 1000 days as a critical window for life-long cognitive development and health outcomes; and our understanding of the value of more tailored, nutritionally-specific interventions has expanded. The opportunities resulting from these findings can generate more effective food assistance programs. However, benefits from these findings will only be achieved if policymakers and practitioners clarify and prioritize among objectives and seek ways to build greater programming flexibility into the current …

The World Trade Organization Agreement On Agriculture And World Food Security, David Blandford

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

This article discusses the nature of food insecurity in poor countries, its causes, and how these can be addressed. Disciplines are imposed on domestic agricultural policies through World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, in particular the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), resulting from the Uruguay Round negotiations that were completed in 1994. The AoA provides considerable flexibility for countries to pursue a range of economically efficient policies aimed at food security objectives. However, it limits the use of some policy measures, such as price supports and input subsidies, that can be costly and inefficient, and also has negative environmental consequences. There is …

Land Is Not The New Oil: What The Nigerian Oil Experience Can Teach South Sudan About Balancing The Risks And Benefits Of Large Scale Land Acquisition, Scott P. Stedjan

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Recent global food price volatility combined with the growing use of agricultural land to produce biofuels has sparked a global scramble for land, with Sub-Saharan African countries serving as the main targets for investors. Derided as “land-grabbing” by those opposed to the practice, the phenomenon of large-scale acquisition of farmland by governments and private investors sparked a global debate since the global food crisis of 2008. Although international investment in agriculture plays a vital role in development and poverty reduction, large scale international investment poses some serious risks to both communities and international investors. Because there are no signs of …

Not In My Backyard: Unconventional Gas Development And Local Land Use In Pennsylvania And Alberta, Canada, Nathaniel L. Foote

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Pennsylvania has struggled with rapid expansion in the state's unconventional oil and gas sector with the development of the Marcellus Shale formation. Likewise, Alberta, Canada has experienced similar growth. Yet Pennsylvania and Alberta's approaches to local land use and resource extraction differ considerably. This paper discusses each region's experience with oil and gas development, and contrasts their approaches to land use regulation in this context. The paper concludes that the Canadians' approach holds important lessons for Pennsylvania.

Foreword, Scott P. Stedjan

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Geopolitics Of Resource Scarcity, Kent Hughes Butts

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

From Scarcity To Abundance: The Changing Dynamics Of Energy Conflict, Michael T. Klare

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Energy security and geopolitics have played a pivotal role in international affairs for a very long time, ever since the development of oil-powered vehicles and weapons of war. Until recently, the geopolitics of energy have largely been governed by perceptions of scarcity—the assumption that oil and other energy reserves were relatively limited, and that competition over their exploitation would lead to recurring crisis and conflict. However, the recent utilization of advanced extractive technologies—including deep-sea drilling and hydraulic fracturing—have resulted in unexpected production gains and fostered a sense that abundance, rather than scarcity, will govern the future energy picture. …

U.S. Aid To Agriculture: Shifting Focus From Production To Sustainable Food Security, Marc J. Cohen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Since the 1960s, agriculture has waxed and waned as a key theme of U.S. international development assistance. In the 1970s, the United States and other donors focused on “growing the pile of food” through the use of high-yielding cereal grain varieties, mineral fertilizer, and synthetic pesticides in developing countries—the Green Revolution. This led to huge productivity increases and lower food prices in Asia and Latin America. But donors paid less attention to questions of equity, environmental sustainability, and gender equality. Due to increased food availability at lower prices, the United States and other donors reduced their focus on aid to …

Global Hunger And The World Trade Organization: How The International Trade Rules Address Food Security, Terence P. Stewart, Stephanie Manaker Bell

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Living With Monsanto, 2015 Mich. St. L. Rev. 559 (2015), Daryl Lim

Faculty Scholarly Works

Bowman v. Monsanto Co. signaled the end of an era of seed saving. Farmers must buy new seed for replanting or risk patent infringement. The familiar rhetoric of oppressed farmers belies the fact that Monsanto’s success rests in part on farmers prizing its innovations. Current trends indicate that this reliance on Monsanto will continue. The Supreme Court correctly found for Monsanto. However, future cases must iron out the kinks in the Bowman decision. Despite the Court’s best intentions, inadvertence cannot shield farmers from patent infringement. The Court must also make it clear that patentees cannot use licensing restrictions to claw …

Living With Monsanto, Daryl Lim

Faculty Scholarly Works

Bowman v. Monsanto Co. signaled the end of an era of seed saving. Farmers must buy new seed for replanting or risk patent infringement. The familiar rhetoric of oppressed farmers belies the fact that Monsanto’s success rests in part on farmers prizing its innovations. Current trends indicate that this reliance on Monsanto will continue. The Supreme Court correctly found for Monsanto. However, future cases must iron out the kinks in the Bowman decision. Despite the Court’s best intentions, inadvertence cannot shield farmers from patent infringement. The Court must also make it clear that patentees cannot use licensing restrictions to claw …

Should There Be Another Ewe? A Critical Analysis Of The European Union Cloning Legislation, Khristan A. Heagle

Penn State International Law Review (1982 - 2011)

No abstract provided.