Tori Oto rounds up Clinical Fellowship with FLPC 

 Clinical Fellow Tori Oto rounded up her two-year fellowship at the Food Law and Policy Clinic in June. Tori joined the FLPC after earning her JD from Harvard Law School, and her fellowship focused on domestic food waste policy advocacy. We caught up with Tori for her insights into her time at FLPC.  

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing during your time here? 

TO: My greatest accomplishment at FLPC is seeing the federal food waste policy work I started as a student come full circle as a fellow. As a student, I drafted policy recommendations for Congress to include in the Farm Bill in the report Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2023 Farm Bill. As a fellow, I worked with our Congressional partners to see those recommendations included in new legislation, such as the NO TIME TO Waste Act, and in the draft Farm Bill. I also worked with our federal agency partners and ultimately saw a number of these policy recommendations included in the Administration’s National Strategy For Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics.  
 
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities that you think will shape the food law and policy landscaping in the coming years? 

TO: Since my area of focus centers on food loss and waste, I’ll answer from the perspective of FLW. Key policymakers, funders, and governments are recognizing the need to address food loss and waste as part of their climate plans and goals. It will be key to capitalize on this directed energy towards food loss and waste to ensure funding goes toward food loss and waste infrastructure, research, and technology and that policies are introduced and implemented to address food loss and waste across the supply chain. One moment in particular that is crucial to this conversation is the 2024 Farm Bill that will set the USDA up for the next 5-7 years to use its authority to address food loss and waste at the federal level and to support actors doing the same at the state and local levels.  
 
Q: What is your advice for incoming fellows at FLPC? 

TO: My advice for incoming fellows is to stay true to why you came to the clinic by pursuing your food system policy passions and setting yourself up for success after the fellowship. Identify and seize opportunities that will help you grow as a professional and expand your subject matter expertise.