Food and Drug Law Commons^™

The U.S. Department Of Agriculture As A Public Health Agency? A "Health In All Policies" Case Study, Lindsay F. Wiley

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The "war on obesity" is now well into its second decade. What began as an effort to encourage medical doctors to screen and treat patients whose weight put them at risk for health problems has transformed into a much broader public health campaign to address the root causes of obesity. A growing number of state, territorial and local health departments are currently exploring new ways to promote healthy eating and physical activity. At the federal level, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made "nutrition, physical activity and obesity" a top priority.

Locally Grown Food: Examining The Ambiguity Of The Term 'Local' In Food Marketing, Brad Rose

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Locally grown food products are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. In response, many food retailers are devoting more space to locally grown products. The locally grown label is part of a marketing strategy designed to take advantage of consumer desires for fresh and safe products that support local farmers and help the environment. Many consumers believe that locally grown food is "fresher, has fewer chemicals, and comes from smaller, less corporate farms.' This increased demand from consumers has led to an "explosion of the use of the word 'local' in food marketing." However, there is no single definition of "local" …

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program For Women, Infants, And Children (Wic) And The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap): Comparing Policies And Suggesting Changes, Regina T. Cucurullo

Journal of Food Law & Policy

National concerns, such as obesity, should be addressed through national efforts. Considering the national reach of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and their ability to influence the diets of a significant amount of the nation's population, changes to these programs should be made to encourage healthy nutrition.

Food And Agricultural Security Strategy And Its Implementation Under Public Health Security And Bioterrorism Preparedness And Response Act Of 2002, Vivek V. Nemane

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The U.S. agricultural system can be described as concentrated, specialized and industrialized. A typical food chain generally involves agricultural production, storage, processing and distribution. In the U.S. agricultural and food system, most production, distribution and processing is done in a consolidated and centralized manner.

Food Sovereignty In The United States: Supporting Local And Regional Food Systems, Allison Condra

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Today, perhaps more than ever, an increasing portion of U.S. society is paying attention to and asking questions about our food and agricultural system. We are recognizing the immense consequences of the agricultural "efficiencies" we valued and wrote into our policies in the seventies-for example, growing corn "fence row to fence row" and the ease of microwaved meals and prepackaged foods. 3 The increasingly global nature of our food system and its consequences are becoming more apparent. Food safety concerns-prompted by a growing number of foodborne illness outbreaks and the government's response in the 2009 Food Safety Modernization Act-loom large …

The Real Toy Story: The San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance, Cortney Price

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Obesity among children in the United States has tripled over the last thirty years. Incidentally, the world's largest fast food restaurant, McDonald's, first introduced its children's Happy Meal thirty-two years ago. Shortly thereafter, the first Disney inspired toy found its way into Happy Meals and the hearts of the "billions and billions served." Although the iconic Happy Meal and accompanying toy have become "a staple of Americana akin to baseball and apple pie," the continued existence of the practice is being threatened in light of the powerful influence toys have on children's food choices, thus contributing to the current obesity …

Cash, Crops, Chemicals, And Cosmetics: A Mid-Green Eco-Labeling Approach, Michael T. Olexa, R. Benjamin Lingle, Kimberly Stewart, Damian C. Adams

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses grade standards to uniformly characterize the quality and condition of agricultural commodities. The standards are promulgated by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) division in consultation with farming industry groups. Emphasizing produce attributes such as surface defects, shape, cleanliness, color, maturity, and decay, grade standards improve the marketability of agricultural commodities by establishing a common industry language for use in contracts. Use of such a language enables wholesale buyers to know the quality of commodities without first having to inspect them, thus facilitating trade by lowering transaction costs.

Cornography: Perverse Incentives And The United States Corn Subsidy, Anthony Kammer

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Among the most important functions we have afforded to the U.S. Congress is the power to reshape social and economic incentive structures through legislation. Proceeding from the enumerated powers under the Constitution and using a complex toolbox of legislative and regulatory innovations, the federal legislature has enormous power to transform the types of behavior that people will perceive as self-interested throughout our economy and thus how those same people are likely to act. Congress can, among other things, create new forms of criminal and civil liability, establish entitlement systems, subsidize industries, encourage behavior through the tax code, regulate interactions among …

Misappropriation And Patenting Of Traditional Ethnobotanical Knowledge And Genetic Resources, Maxim V. Gubarev

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Four-fifths of all pharmaceuticals have been developed from natural plant resources, and native plant resources similarly play a significant role in the development of new and improved crops.

The Costs And Impacts Of Rising Food Prices Among Low-Income Households, Elaine Waxman

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The pressure of rising food prices on low-income households is often assumed to be primarily an issue for developing economies, where fluctuations in food staple prices can have dramatic consequences for food security and social and political stability. Observers often note that Americans benefit from relatively low food prices and spend far less to feed their families than their counterparts in many other parts of the world. Indeed, the average American household spent 7.6% of their household expenditures on food purchases at home in 2009, while the comparable percentage exceeded 40% of household expenditures in diverse countries such as Mexico, …

Put A Cork In It: The Use Of H.R. 161 To End Direct Wine Shipping Throughout The States Once And For All, Victoria H. Jones

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Due to Congress' recent agenda, oenophiles throughout the country are up in arms about the possible threat to their beloved wine. Wine lovers and other alcohol enthusiasts face the very real fear that access to their favorite products may soon be heavily restricted. This is in large part attributed to the fact that House Resolution 1161 would effectively change the ways in which states regulate alcohol shipment. The possible implications of this bill range from the forced shutdown of many wineries and distilleries due to lack of funding, to the smaller effects of regulation such as the inability of customers …

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie Majster

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Nutrition is increasingly important in both the European Union (EU) and in global food-related policy making. Governments, which up until recently have focused on regulating food products based on a food safety perspective, are now turning to regulate from a nutritional aspect.

Cows V. Capitalists: Visions Of A Post-Carbon Economy, Alison Peck

Journal of Food Law & Policy

I was tempted to entitle this book review something like, "Why the Farm Bill Is the Key to Our Energy Future (Hint: It's Not About Ethanol, Methane Emissions, or Carbon Sinks)." But in addition to being too long to fit across the header of a law review page, such a title would have been slightly misleading. Actually, in Simon Fairlie's view, our future is about ethanol, methane emissions, and carbon sinks - but not in the way our current agricultural policies understand and deal with these subjects.

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of the developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2011. This update considers the regulatory and policy developments and litigation activities by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm.

Global Food Security: In Our National Interest, David P. Lambert

Journal of Food Law & Policy

All Americans have a direct stake in the problem of global hunger, which has many dimensions. For most of us it is a profound moral issue, and we are guided by our faith to respond.

Toward A Constructive Engagement: Agricultural Biotechnology As A Public Health Incentive In Less-Developed Countries, Chidi Oguamanam

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Discourses on global public health crises, especially as they impact the less-developed world, focus mostly on the issue of access to life-saving drugs for needy populations. Also, they implicate the misalignment of global pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) agenda with the health needs of the poor. Equally attracting significant attention is the role of intellectual property in driving up the cost of drugs and exacerbating the drug access freeze to needy populations. More often, the conceptual strings of these discussions are woven around a complex interaction of themes, including those of globalization, the development narrative, and strategic changes in international …

United States Food Law Update: Moving Toward A More Balanced Food Regulatory Regime, A. Bryan Endres, Nicholas R. Johnson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

For decades, the federal government has played a significant role in promoting healthy eating. In the early 1900s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) promoted a foundational diet of milk, proteins, fruits and vegetables, and grains. Most Americans are at least somewhat familiar, although perhaps confused, with the more nuanced healthy eating recommendations contained in the food pyramid - first employed in 1992. And virtually every American has experienced the federally supported school lunch program. In the first half of 2011, these two iconic programs underwent significant change as part of a stepped-up effort to improve the health of …

Legitimate Exercises Of The Police Power Or Compensable Takings: Courts May Recognize Private Property Rights, Terence J. Centner

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Under their police power, governments regulate nuisances and take actions in emergency situations. For protecting humans, animals, and plants from diseases and other pests (jointly referred to as diseases), governments order inoculations, quarantine items and people, and seize and destroy property.' With respect to plants and animals, the United States Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to prohibit the importation and movement of items than may be infested. The Secretary also has the authority to hold, treat, and destroy items to prevent the dissemination of plant and animal pests. State governments take additional actions to prevent the introduction and dissemination of …

Current And Emerging Issues In The New Urban Agriculture: A Case Study, Kathryn A. Peters

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Urban agriculture takes many forms, including individual gardens on privately owned land, neighborhood gardens, community gardens, and gardens located on church and school grounds, housing developments, and other publicly owned property. The most essential factors for successful urban agriculture efforts include land acquisition, zoning ordinances, access to affordable water, infrastructure, and support services such as education and outreach. Cities across the United States have formed task forces with the mission of making their cities more sustainable or strengthening the local food supply system; urban agriculture is instrumental in both of these missions. Major cities across the United States are recognizing …

The Tragedy Of The Horse, American Icon, Tim Opitz

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Whether a prohibition on slaughter improves the welfare of the American horse population is the focus of this article. At the time it was written, winter of 2010-2011, a confluence of Federal and State legislative action had ended domestic slaughter. These actions are detailed in the body of this article. Since 2007, the legal status of horse slaughter remained static. Just as Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion explained, an object at rest tends to stay at rest. Legislative inertia is the perspective from which this article was originally written. However, Newton's first law also stated that the object …

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2010. This update primarily analyzes the regulatory and policy developments and litigation activities by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm.

Getting Into The Field, Jay A. Mitchell

Journal of Food Law & Policy

A group of students enrolled in a law school clinic wanders through a large farmers' market. They stop to chat with the proprietors of a farm that has sold vegetables at the market for many years. They visit with a cheesemaker and an apple grower. A second group learns about the economic costs of organic production from a farmer and talks with an olive oil producer. Both sets of students seem unusually attentive to their surroundings. That may be because the first group helped the sponsor of the market rework the market's rules and regulations, and the second developed a …

Greenwashing The Organic Label: Abusive Green Marketing In An Increasingly Eco-Friendly Marketplace, Greg Northen

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The green wave of environmental advertising among organic food producers, distributors, and retailers begun during the 1990s has become an all-out green tsunami. The organic food market is the fastest growing segment of the American food industry. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the impact their purchases have on several environmental issues. As a result, those consumers are becoming more aware of their spending power and are willingly altering their buying practices to purchase from companies that emphasize environmental responsibility. In fact, some retailers' inventory is already being scanned for alternative green products by their customers' iPhones because, guess what, …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Spring 2011, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

European Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This EU Food Law Update will focus on the developments that occurred since October 2010 in the areas of genetically modified organisms, novel foods, contaminants, food quality, and labeling.

Food Entrepreneurs And Food Safety Regulation, Nina W. Tarr

Journal of Food Law & Policy

It is a bucolic scene: local food growers and producers chatting with consumers who come back each week to participate in a direct and continuing conversation about food with someone they know, and to engage in commerce. This illusion of simplicity masks the ever-growing morass of conflicting, complicated, and expensive regulatory oversight that undermines the local food movement by creating barriers between producers and consumers. Those creating and implementing food policy in the United States are facing a fundamental dilemma of how to reconcile the local food movement with regulations designed to address concerns about food safety.

This article will …

Contents, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

United States Food Law Update: The Fda Food Safety Modernization Act, Obesity And Deceptive Labeling Enforcement, A. Bryan Endres, Nicholas R. Johnson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The long-awaited enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the most significant amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in several decades, provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with significantly enhanced jurisdiction to close some of the gaps in the domestic food safety system. The enhanced FDA authority, however, will have little impact on the shared governance system at the federal level that involves multiple agencies, as the Act does not address the U.S. General Accounting Office's (GAO) repeated calls for consolidation of the fragmented federal food safety system. Rather, the Act perpetuates the division …

The History And Future Of Genetically Modified Crops: Frankenfoods, Superweeds, And The Developing World, Brooke Glass-O'Shea

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In a 1992 letter to the New York Times, a man named Paul Lewis referred to genetically modified (GM) crops as "Frankenfood," and wryly suggested it might be "time to gather the villagers, light some torches and head to the castle." Little did Lewis know that his neologism would become the rallying cry for activists around the world protesting the dangers of genetic engineering. The environmental activist group Greenpeace made great use of the "Frankenfood" epithet in their anti-GM campaigns of the 1990s, though they have since backed away from the word and the hardline stance it represents. But genetically …

Cheaters Shouldn't Prosper And Consumers Shouldn't Suffer: The Need For Government Enforcement Against Economic Adulteration Of 100% Pomegranate Juice And Other Imported Food Products, Michael T. Roberts

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In the modern global food system - marked by the trade flow of a variety of food products and ingredients from multiple locations in the world - economically motivated adulteration has emerged as a growing menace that threatens the health and wellbeing of consumers, the economic livelihoods of honest purveyors of food in the global marketplace, and the integrity and viability of national food regulatory systems. Economic adulteration is a form of cheating that includes the padding, diluting, and substituting of food product. Although this cheating is rooted in past food systems, the new paradigm for economic adulteration - a …