Sustainable and Equitable Food Production
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...
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19), identified in December 2019, has become a major outbreak and has recently spread rapidly across the United States, impacting life and society in many ways, including our food systems. The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) is engaged in an emergency response effort to address the impact that COVID-19 is having on our food systems. Our efforts include initiatives supporting donations of excess food due to closures of universities and other venues, analyzing opportunities to increase low-cost home food delivery, and shoring up emergency food systems.
...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.
...The food system is responsible for an estimated 19 to 29 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Perennial agriculture, which refers to the production of crops that are harvested multiple times and live for several seasons without being uprooted, offers a unique and transformative opportunity to drastically reduce these emissions and sequester carbon while offering a wide range of additional environmental and societal benefits. Nonetheless, there remains a disconnect between public policy scholars and practitioners on one hand, and scientists and farmers on the other, impeding the expansion of perennial practices. To help bridge that gap, the Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) works with a coalition of leading perennial agriculture organizations to support the advancement of a perennial agriculture policy agenda.
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