Introduction to Food Law

The 2012 CA Bar Environmental Law Conference in Yosemite is in full swing, and I just had the pleasure of attending a session on food law. This is an up-and-coming area of the law, and you will probably be reading more posts from me on this. However, for now, I'll stick to the basics as many people are unfamiliar with this topic.

The production of the food we consume has changed dramatically over the last 100 years. Where a farmer used to produce enough food for 10 people, today a (U.S.) farmer can feed over 150! As the world's population has grown, these gains have allowed us to keep pace. This is important, as the world's population is expected to top 9 billion people by 2050. Also, these gains have allowed our society to become more urban, and for more people to focus on producing manufactured goods &/or providing services, but this "progress" hasn't been without a price.

First, let's consider the animals. Cows and chickens used to roam free, grazing on grass or hunting insects. Now, they're often raised in extremely close quarters. They may or may not live lives that even remotely resemble their ancestors--anything from what they eat to how they reproduce. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) may be rife with disease, leading to the use of antibiotics not only to keep the animals disease free, but also to fatten them up. It is estimated that 80% of all antibiotic use in the U.S. is for livestock, not humans. It is believed that the meat, eggs, and milk from these animals contains less nutrients and more pathogens than if the animals had been raised in a more "pastoral" setting. The disposal of waste from these operations can also be a huge issue, and sewage lagoon spills have wreaked havoc on nearby rivers.

The plants & crops being raised may also be less healthy. They are often grown in close proximity with more pesticides to prevent losses. These pesticides may be toxic, or (as in the case of methyl bromide, an ozone destroying gas), they may have other side effects. Significant amounts of fertilizer are also often used, resulting in the accumulation of nitrates and other chemicals in our rivers and aquifers. The large "dead zone" that occurs annually in the Mississippi River delta region of the Gulf of Mexico is a result of this overuse. Obviously this implicates both Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water issues.

Further, crops are being genetically engineered to make them more drought resistant, pest resistant, and/or to increase yields. While some of this engineering may ultimately prove to be harmless, there are concerns that we may not fully understand the consequences of such tinkering for years to come. Also, because this engineering goes beyond anything occurring naturally, companies have proprietary rights to these crops, and farmers may be subject to intellectual property claims.

I am not suggesting here, today, that any one farm, or any one company, has done something illegal or improper--although we know such things are currently occurring. The point of this post is to just give you an idea of the sorts of issues that farm law touches on. Environmental law and food law are inexorably entwined, especially in a state like California with such a large and diverse agricultural economy.

California has a special, perhaps even unique, opportunity to lead the world in this area of the law, and I am glad the CA Bar included this session in the 2012 Environmental Law Conference. I suspect that with issues such as Proposition 37 on the ballot, we will be hearing much more about this in the coming months and years.