UPDATE: The article was published Summer 2021, and can be found here.
Some good news! UCLA Law 2L Nicholas Miller’s article, “A Palatable Option for Sugar-Coated Palates: Labeling as the Libertarian Paternalism Intervention that American Consumers Need”, will be published in the University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy early in 2021.
Nicholas is a second year law student at UCLA, where he is involved in a range of activities including OUTLaw and the Dukeminier Awards Journal of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law. As the son of a caterer and a lawyer, he was naturally drawn to food law, which combines his love of food and his desire to understand the legal frameworks that protect society and guide behavior. He chose to write about labeling – specifically of sugar content – because it raises the issue of how to balance progressive public health policy and the historically American fear of paternalistic overreach by the government. He sees this dynamic of public health initiatives that impede on individual liberty at play now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, and hopes his analysis will help advance the dialogue on how best to guide people to make good decisions about their health.
Here is the abstract for the article:
Addressing nutritional health for Americans has proven uniquely challenging in a marketplace flooded with non-nutritious food products. Compounding the issue, consumers consistently misjudge the contents of these processed foods and undervalue their pernicious effect. At the same time, consumers are wary of overly intrusive or paternalistic government interventions, such as bans and portion limits. This paper reflects on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of previous attempts by the FDA to combat public health threats. Finally, the paper proposes a path forward, with growing political momentum, that builds on the innovative food labeling models being tested in markets around the world.
We can’t wait to see this in print.
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