Tag: scholarship

The intersection of pedagogy and practice: an interview with Duke Law Professor Allison Korn

By Lavanya Sathyamurthy*

In law school classrooms across the country, professors and students grapple with society’s most challenging issues and how to address them through the legal system. How can we ensure access to reproductive healthcare after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion inDobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization? How can we meet the needs of our unhoused population when several cities, including Los Angeles, have passed ordinances that ban camping on public property, criminalizing homeless encampments? Through these discussions, students are introduced to important concepts such as community lawyering, which encourages lawyers to work collaboratively with impacted communities, and cultural competency, which describes the ability to work effectively with people from different backgrounds. Theoretical discussions in seminars provide the basis for how students will eventually approach social justice issues in practice. However, the most fruitful learning opportunities arise at the intersection of pedagogy and practice, in clinical courses.

Clinical courses are a cornerstone of the law school curriculum. In the classroom, students learn both legal theories, such as abolition in the criminal context, and practical skills, such as client interviewing and legal research. In the field, they apply this knowledge to serve clients, taking on primary responsibility for every aspect of their case. Through these courses, students learn how to translate theory into practice to zealously advocate for their clients. Clinics also serve an important role in the community, offering assistance to and building relationships with local marginalized populations.

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Executive Director Roberts on Partnering with the FAO on its Constitution Exhibition

by Michael T. Roberts

This post is the first of two by Executive Director Roberts on the FAO’s constitutional framework.

The Resnick Center is honored to be a partner to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The FAO was established in 1945 when its Constitution was signed and ratified by nations meeting in Quebec, Canada.  It was created as part of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s broader efforts to advance the “Freedom from Want,” an aspiration he articulated in response to the catastrophic human suffering caused by hunger and malnutrition. The vision of an international organization grounded in governance principles was also central to the post-World War II global reordering.

In May, I was honored to attend the next phase of a Constitution Exhibition in Rome – a project that I helped create that celebrates and contextualizes the role of the FAO Constitution in shaping the organization’s operations and aspirations. The exhibition complements my ongoing research and writing on the development of FAO’s constitutional framework from 1943 to 1945, as well as its further development and subsequent application in global food governance through 1965.

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To Eat or Not to Eat: For Consumers in a City Without a Food Allergen Ordinance, The Choice Could Be Life or Death

by Melissa Deng*

For many of us without food allergies, we don’t think twice about choosing to dine at a restaurant or order take-out––often, the biggest concern is picking which restaurant you feel like eating at, what to order, and comparing costs.  But for individuals with food allergies, the choice between dining in and ordering out can mean life or death.  Even so, cities you might think are more “food allergy-friendly” like Los Angeles, which has a colloquial reputation for having a vibrant food scene, may not have an ordinance specifically governing food allergen training in restaurants––even while more than fifty percent of adults with food allergies and over forty percent of children with food allergies in the United States have experienced a severe food allergic reaction (of note is that emergency treatment for anaphylaxis resulting from a food allergic reaction increased by 377 percent between 2007 and 2016). 

What gives?  For starters, the restaurant industry is of course profit-driven, and restaurant associations have a significant impact on lobbying for or against legislation.  From an economic perspective, restaurant management might be wary of the increased costs an ordinance specifically mandating food allergen training would impose, compounded by the fact that the restaurant industry generally experiences high turnover (reportedly, there was a 28% average turnover rate for restaurants in LA last year).  From a legal perspective, restaurants might not want to face increased liability: with an ordinance that mandates training, plaintiffs can more easily make a prima facie case of negligence by showing that the restaurant’s conduct deviated from an established standard of care.  And from a psychological perspective, restaurant staff might have misconceptions about their role in preventing food allergic reactions (for example, believing that the onus falls solely on customers to order a dish that doesn’t have food allergens) and might not realize the potentially fatal consequences, such as anaphylaxis resulting from a food allergic reaction.   What this means is that consumers with food allergies are unfairly subjected to a burdensome and dangerous dining experience where each restaurant chooses which food allergen procedures to follow and to what degree. 

It is precisely this issue that drove us at the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy, in collaboration with a professor and clinical immunologist at UCLA, to begin collecting both hospital-based and anecdotal evidence on instances of food-related anaphylaxis in the city, and pursuing the task of proposing a food allergy ordinance in the City of Los Angeles that will mandate a separate food allergen training for all restaurant employees in the city.  In the beginning stages of the project, we sought to answer two underlying questions: how do restaurants communicate allergen information to their consumers; and are they effectively training their personnel in allergen disclosure for menu labeling or food handling?

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The Poisoning of the Gerber Generation:

How Public Nuisance Law Could Address Heavy Metals in Baby Food in the Face of Regulatory Failure

by Lillian Matchett*

A cheerful jingle plays as beaming babies flash across a white background.  These children are the “Gerber Generation,” the voiceover tells you, and they have some big news to share: the nutrition they get in their first five years of life can affect their health forever.   “Think about that,” they say.

Gerber launched its Gerber Generation campaign in 2010 in the face of increased attention on childhood obesity, focusing on the health and nutritional needs of young children at a vital point in their development.  Gerber was right: what a child consumes in the first few years of their life is critically important, but as it turned out, there were other substances in at least some of the Gerber Generation’s food that could have a profound and lasting impact on children’s health.  In 2021, Gerber was one of several companies exposed for selling baby food containing concerning levels of heavy metals—toxins which, even in small amounts, can cause severe and irreversible cognitive impairment and physical illness in young children.

In 2021, a congressional subcommittee issued two reports finding high levels of heavy metals—lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury—in commercial baby foods from seven major manufacturers.  Heavy metals were present in baby foods from all companies, often at concentrations many times than that allowed under existing regulations for other food products.  The reports also illuminated failures of industry self-regulation, revealing that companies largely do not test their final products and often do not adhere to their own internal standards. 

Predictably, a deluge of litigation followed the release of the Congressional Reports.  Despite well-documented findings of high heavy metal levels in baby food and the known effects those substances have on children, lawsuits have thus far been mostly unavailing, failing on issues of causation and standing, though many are still making their way through the courts.  Regulatory and legislative solutions have also fallen short.  The FDA and Congress attempted to address the issue, but the FDA’s response has been slow and unenforceable, while legislation lacks bipartisan support, and has stalled in committee. 

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Exploring the Legal and Policy Implications Behind ‘High on the Hog’: Potential Solutions Forward (Part 4 of 4)

There are a variety of policy solutions that have the potential to help elevate and preserve Black cuisine and resolve inequities faced by Black Americans in the American food system. This post will explore ideas that relate to the preservation of Black culinary tradition, supporting Black farmers and culinary professionals, and increasing the access of culturally-relevant foods to Black communities in order to honor the richness of America’s culinary landscape. 

Preservation of Black Culinary Traditions

The preservation of Black culinary traditions is important to ensure that Black communities are able to celebrate their cultural heritage and to allow for greater recognition of Black people’s contributions to the culinary world. Initiatives like funding programs and grants to support culinary research, education, and documentation of traditional Black food practices could help with this cultural preservation. Furthermore, educational initiatives that introduce Black American cuisine into school curricula have the ability to educate young people about the cuisine’s significance and influence on American food. FoodCorps is an AmeriCorps grantee that has begun undertaking this type of initiative. During black history month of this year (February 2023), the organization held educational programming at elementary schools which taught black history through a culinary lens. 

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Exploring the Legal and Policy Implications Behind ‘High on the Hog’: Intellectual Property and Cultural Erasure (Part 2 of 4)

In “High on the Hog” episode three, we learn the stories of Hercules Posey and James Hemings, the enslaved private chefs of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson respectively. They were widely known and widely praised, yet there are no written recipes attributed to either chef. In Stephen Satterfield’s conversation with Hatchet Hall chefs Brian Dunsmoor and Martin Draluck, the chefs hint at the idea that Martha Washington’s widely praised recipe books may in fact contain recipes developed by the enslaved Hercules. 

Dishes like macaroni and cheese have become an American staple, yet most Americans are unaware that the dish was perfected and popularized by Hemings. Black Americans have long been culinary pioneers in this country and have shaped American cuisine at large. The erasure of Black American’s culinary contributions diminishes Black people’s role in America’s cultural tapestry and perpetuates the idea that Black cuisine is isolated from American cuisine at large. 

Furthermore, cultural erasure of Black culinary traditions is a significant risk because Black communities historically have faced limited access to resources and opportunities in the food industry. Unequal access to capital and credit have likely hindered the ability of Black chefs, restaurateurs, and food entrepreneurs to establish and grow their businesses. The lack of representation and access further perpetuates the erasure of Black culture within the food industry and hampers the promotion and preservation of Black culinary traditions.

Continue reading “Exploring the Legal and Policy Implications Behind ‘High on the Hog’: Intellectual Property and Cultural Erasure (Part 2 of 4)” →

Remedying Discrimination Against Black Farmers

by Rachel Long*

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a long history of discrimination against Black farmers. While there have been some successful attempts at seeking compensation,[i] USDA – and the country – have a long way to go before justice is served to Black farmers.[ii] I wrote a paper on potential remedies to past discrimination against Black farmers. 

In 2021, Congress attempted to remedy some of the historic discrimination against Black farmers: the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) included two provisions aimed at helping Black and other socially disadvantaged farmers (SDFs).[iii] The provisions purported to forgive up to 120% of certain loans of qualified farmers[iv] and was intended to “respond to the cumulative impacts of systemic discrimination and barriers to access” that such farmers have historically faced from USDA.[v]

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Just Released: Model Strategies in Global Food System Law & Policy

The Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy is thrilled to present: “Model Strategies in Global Food System Law and Policy,” an interactive issue brief series designed to democratize sustainable, equitable, and inclusive systems-thinking approaches to food governance.

This project was made possible due to a generous gift by the non-profit Seeding the Future Van Lengerich Foundation. 

Drawing from laws, policies, and research from around the world, the series makes the case for a paradigm shift in how we conceptualize and govern food. Rather than adopt narrowly-defined and siloed laws and policies, public and private policymakers should advance food system laws and policies , i.e., solutions that are holistic, multi-disciplinary, and which account for the diverse set of actors, activities, and feedback loops that comprise the food system.

The Resnick Center invites policymakers and other stakeholders to explore the featured model strategies and accompanying issue briefs to learn how countries around the world are successfully leveraging laws and policies to respond to the most pressing and complex food system challenges.

View the interactive story map here.

Seeding the Future Foundation Supports Resnick Center

The Resnick Center is excited to share our good news!  

We have received a generous gift of $300,000 to our endowment fund from the non-profit, Seeding the Future Foundation, founded by Dr. Bernhard van Lengerich. Dr. van Lengerich, a leader in food science and technology, also serves as an outside advisory board member for the Resnick Center.  

Since its inception, the Seeding the Future Foundation has significantly contributed to transforming the food system.  Its unique Challenge Awards Program, hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists, awards up to $1 million in grants and prizes annually for highly impactful innovations to generate healthier people and a planet.  Since 2021, Seeding the Future has received over 1,500 submissions from academic and research institutions, non-profits, and for-profits, representing over 75 countries, for innovation across the food system.  

The endowment gift to the Resnick Center will forward the missions of the Center and of Seeding the Future by supporting legal education and the development of scholarship and tools to bolster innovation that provides equitable access to safe, nutritious, sustainable, affordable, and trusted food.  

Thanks to a previous operational gift from Seeding the Future, the Resnick Center has developed a Model Food Regulatory Strategies Initiative to be launched in the second half of 2023. The Initiative identifies and amplifies positive systems-thinking approaches to food law and policy by showcasing select model regulatory strategies derived and synthesized from best regulatory practices worldwide.  This new endowment funding from Seeding the Future will enable the Resnick Center to continue to develop these types of initiatives, strategies, and tools to encourage and facilitate innovation for healthier people and the planet.   

Renewed FAO/Resnick Center Partnership

by Michael T. Roberts

I am pleased to announce that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has renewed its partnership with the UCLA Law Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy. An announcement can be found here.

The FAO is the largest and oldest sub-agency of the UN and is headquartered in Rome, Italy. The partnership was initially formed in 2019 when FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva visited the Center in Los Angeles and spoke at the law school along with Hilal Elver, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and a Global Distinguished Fellow at the Center. I am also appreciative of Hilal’s tireless efforts in pulling together this first meeting.

This renewed partnership will elevate the Resnick Center’s role in developmental work conducted by the FAO Development Law Service and complement the Resnick Center’s growing international and comparative food law focus. This focus consists of an upcoming book on international food law and other publications, the development of an online platform to publish best practices in mission-driven food law approaches based on comparative analysis, and a major white paper exploring optimal international public-private strategies in food regulation.

We also look forward to leveraging these projects into strategic collaboration with leading global universities, law firms, and organizations. Finally, as always, we hope to translate these projects and collaboration into opportunities for law students.

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