Food Law and Policy
Despite the essential role workers play in supplying the nation with food, food system workers have historically experienced high rates of poverty, poor working conditions, and discrimination. Farmworkers, in particular, are excluded from many worker protection laws and often face resource barriers linked to immigration status, language differences, and geographic isolation. Workers in the meat and poultry industries also face wearying and dangerous working conditions that threaten their health and safety, a problem that gained increased public scrutiny as the COVID-19 pandemic swept through these facilities. Food service workers, too, work in an industry plagued by discrimination, harassment, and low wages, exacerbated by the sub-minimum wage laws for tipped workers that persist at the federal level and in many states. The Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) works to advance the rights, well-being, and empowerment of workers across the food system.
...A growing number of local food advocates have become concerned about the impacts of the current food system on our health, our environment, and our economies. Many advocates seek to address the system’s environmentally damaging practices, inequitable distribution of healthy foods, and lack of opportunity for civic engagement in the current model of food production and consumption. Solving these challenges often requires healthy, environmentally sustainable, and economically and socially just food policies.
...The rising demand for locally produced food in the United States has fueled a dramatic increase in small-scale food production in recent years. Offering the opportunity for the sale of home-produced foods also supports economic development and food justice, as it reduces barriers to entry and the majority of home cooks are women, immigrants, and other historically marginalized individuals. All fifty states now allow at least some cottage food sales, which generally include low-risk value-added products such as baked goods, jams, granola, popcorn, candy, coffee, and tea. Many states are now allowing a broader range of foods through “food freedom” laws and laws that allow home kitchens to sell prepared meals with few restrictions. Cottage food operations, home kitchens, and food freedom laws support culturally distinct foods and create economic opportunities for residents. However, the laws regulating these operations vary widely from state to state and have been in flux with many states updating their laws in recent years.
...Every 5-7 years, Congress passes legislation known as the “farm bill.” The farm bill is an omnibus piece of legislation that affects every aspect of the food system; including financial support for agriculture, nutrition programs, rural development, trade, and many others. Historically, the farm bill has faced shortcomings in terms of supporting small-scale and regional food systems; minority and female farmers; and conservation and environmental goals. In order to foster a better farm bill, since 2016, the Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) has led the Farm Bill Law Enterprise (FBLE), a national partnership of law schools working toward a farm bill that reflects the long-term needs of our society. FBLE values economic opportunity and stability; public health and nutrition; c...
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