Legal Niches

"Helping Veterans Trade Their Swords for Plows"

Posted on February 06, 2011
In Helping Veterans Trade Their Swords for Plows,  Patricia Leagh Browne reports for the The New York Times on some amazing efforts to assist combat veterans readjust to civilian life and to develop new careers -  in sustainable and organic farming...

Comments on Round-up Ready Alfalfa Decision

Posted on February 02, 2011
Some follow up comments on the deregulation of Round-up Ready (RR) Alfalfa.  See Andrew's informative post about the recent USDA decision.Secretary Vilsack proposed an approach he termed coexistence in an open letter to stakeholders on December 30, 2010...

USDA Decides GM-Alfalfa Is No Little Rascal

Posted on January 31, 2011
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is one of the most important crop plants in the world. Its uses range from cattle forage to human food. Worldwide, it is cultivated more than any other legume crop. Monsanto Corporation developed a patented genetically modified ("GM") variety of alfalfa - Roundup Ready Alfalfa - that is resistant to glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine), a powerful herbicide used to eliminate weeds from agricultural fields...

Innovation As An Innovation

Posted on January 28, 2011
On January 25, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered the 2011 State of the Union Address packed with references to innovation.  In fact, he mentioned "innovation" no fewer than nine times during his speech.  In each of his 2010 and 2009 Addresses, President Obama mentioned innovation only twice...

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The Pickle Project

Posted on January 28, 2011
I just learned about a unique food, agriculture, and culture project spearheaded by two Fulbright Research Fellows, Sarah Crow and Linda Norris. Both had the opportunity to live in Ukraine, a fascinating country with long standing food and agricultural traditions...

New Report: Food Safety and Liability Insurance

Posted on January 26, 2011
Food safety and related liability issues can be a particular concern for small and limited resource producers who want to sell local food directly to institutions such as colleges, universities, and public schools. The Community Food Security Coalition just released a new report on this subject called Food Safety and Liability Insurance: Emerging Issues for Farmers and Institutions...

Food, Farming & Sustainability

Posted on January 10, 2011
I am pleased to announce that my new casebook, Food, Farming & Sustainability: Readings in Agricultural Law, has been published by Carolina Press.  I even found it posted on Amazon.It is my hope that this casebook will encourage more law professors to teach, and more law students to enroll in, courses that explore our agricultural laws and the policies surrounding our food system...

The Foodie Blues - FDA Of Future Passed

Posted on January 08, 2011
On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Food Safety Modernization Act ("FSMA"), which the U.S. Senate and House both passed in late 2010. The FSMA amends the existing Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act in numerous ways, but four changes stand out in particular:(1) FDA must develop and employ science-based standards that govern the growing and harvesting of fruits and vegetables, and these standards must take into account both anthropogenic and "natural" risks to food safety,(2) Food facilities must produce written assessments that identify risks to the food they handle, and specify prophylactic measures to minimum these identified risks,(3) FDA must greatly step up its inspections of food facilities, both in the U...

OU Law School New LL.M. Program

Posted on January 05, 2011
The University of Oklahoma Announces the John B. Turner LL.M. Program in Energy, Natural Resources and Indigenous Peoples The John B. Turner LL.M Program extends the University of Oklahoma's long history of excellence and expertise in law relating to energy, natural resources, and American Indians and all indigenous peoples...

House Passes The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Posted on January 03, 2011
On December 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act" by a decisive 215 to 144 vote margin.  As discussed yesterday, in "Senate Votes For Mom And (Safer) Apple Pie," this legislation represents the most significant overhaul to food-related regulation in the history of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act...

Senate Votes For Mom And (Safer) Apple Pie

Posted on January 03, 2011
In a surprise to many, late on December 19, 2010, the United States Senate unanimously passed a modified version of S.510, the "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act," by voice vote.  If passed by the House, this bill will constitute perhaps the most significant overhaul to the food regulation provisions of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act since its inception in 1938...

Patently Innovative China

Posted on January 03, 2011
China long ago became a manufacturing superpower.  However, its earlier-industrialized competitors have consoled themselves that China is merely a copycat of others' innovation.  The government of China is not content with such a role.  Even though the evidence that patents best spur innovation is far from conclusive, the Sunday New York Times today (January 2, 2011) reports that patents are a central pillar in the official Chinese strategy to foster a culture of home-grown invention...

Genetically Modified Food For Legal Thought

Posted on January 02, 2011
he United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") justifies the Plant Protection Act ("PPA")(7 U.S.C. §7701 et seq.) as "necessary because of the major impact plant pests currently have and could have on the agriculture, environment, economy, and commerce of the United States...

Sustainable agriculture

Posted on December 16, 2010
Several weeks ago, Susan Schneider posted about a new group promoting production agriculture. In that post Susan spoke of the need for a dialogue about sustainable agriculture, as opposed to advertising campaigns. I agree with her. Thus, I offer several brief comments about sustainable agriculture...

A Lecture on Collective Grassland Management

Posted on December 15, 2010
A video of a recent presentation I made can be found at this link. The paper upon which the presentation is based (which I think I've posted before) can be downloaded at this link.This isn't shameless self-promotion (at least not totally). If you have thoughts on the subject, I would be happy to hear from you.

Dirt! The Movie

Posted on December 07, 2010
Check local PBS listings to watch an interesting documentary that is being shown this week on the acclaimed series, Independent Lens.  The docmentary,  Dirt! The Movie "tells the story of Earth?s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility ? from its miraculous beginning to its tragic degradation...

Publication Opportunity: Journal of Food Law & Policy

Posted on December 07, 2010
The Journal of Food Law & Policy at the University of Arkansas School of Law is seeking submissions for its Spring 2011 issue. This Journal, the only student-edited U.S. law journal focused exclusively on food law issues, was started in July 2005, and it is now well established in the academic community...

Divided We Eat

Posted on November 28, 2010
Newsweek Magazine has a very interesting article, written by Lisa Miller and published November 22, 2010, with associated photo essays and side articles on American eating choices. It is titled,  Divided We Eat.As more of us indulge our passion for local, organic delicacies, a growing number of Americans don?t have enough nutritious food to eat...

Alliance to Boost Image of Production Agriculture

Posted on November 22, 2010
There is a news item that has been picked up by a number of sources - the formation of a new alliance of agricultural groups for the purpose of marketing the benefits of production agriculture.  Those concerned about aspects of current agricultural production panned the new alliance and those concerned about media criticism of agricultural production cheered...

USDA - Please Stick to Good Science

Posted on November 09, 2010
In September a USDA press release announced a round of new USDA grants of "Funds to Enhance the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops."  Most appear to be great projects, and it is refreshing to see healthy food getting government dollars.The Atlantic, however, did some digging into the grant recipients - When Big Ag Attacks: Government Sponsored Pesticide Propaganda...

The Role of Government and the Dairy Check Off

Posted on November 07, 2010
Much has been made about "limited" government in this election season, but unfortunately much of that discussion has been more about slogans than about any real analysis. The New York Times raised a related issue today that takes the role of government discussion in a different direction, highlighting a problem that I have raised for years in my teaching of agricultural law subjects...

New Book on Farm Programs and Habitat Conservation

Posted on October 25, 2010
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) recently announced the release of a new resource, Conserving Habitat through the Federal Farm Bill: A Guide for Land Trusts and Landowners.NSAC describes the book as a collaboration of six organizations...

Questioning U.S. Food Aid: Corn/Soy Flour

Posted on October 17, 2010
From Doctors Without Borders, a compelling request. Starved for Attention is a campaign to expose a significant problem with U.S. international food aid. The corn/soy flour that we send may relieve hunger, but it does not provide adequate nutrition for malnourished children...

Food & Agricultural Law Student Writing Competition

Posted on October 16, 2010
On October 1, I had the pleasure of providing the keynote luncheon speech at the Cultivating Our Future food and agriculture conference hosted by the The Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation (JELL) and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at the University of Oregon School of Law...

Blogger Report From the AALA Conference

Posted on October 14, 2010
The American Agricultural Law Association Annual Symposium was held October 7-9, 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska. It was a very successful conference, with record attendance of 295 participants.Over fifty law students attended, and I was pleased to accompany sixteen of our current class of LL...

The Use of Best Management Practices to Reduce Nutrient Pollution in the Everglades Agricultural Area

Posted on October 11, 2010
It is only after my recent move to South Florida where I routinely drive on the Sawgrass Expressway that I appreciate how the wild beauty of the South Florida Everglades lives cheek to jowl with the buzz and press of busy city life.William H. Owen captures this juxtaposition in a recent Earth Magazine article:As the sun rises over the vast Florida Everglades, the endangered Florida panther quietly stalks a white-tailed deer in the tall grass...

Agricultural Law Highlighted in Food Safety News

Posted on September 16, 2010
Agricultural law as a discipline and the LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law are featured in a headline article, Learning the Law From Farm to Fork, on Food Safety News today. The article was written by Claire Mitchell, a current LL.M. candidate and the recipient of the Marler Clark Graduate Assistantship in the LL...

Home Canning

Posted on September 11, 2010
The next step for gardeners and those who buy in-season fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets: home canning. National Public Radio did a wonderful story on tomato canning, Overloaded from your Garden? Just Can it! The descriptions and the sounds of canning brought back all of my memories from canning on our family farm...

Update on Pavlovsk

Posted on September 01, 2010
National Public Radio provided additional information on the proposed sale and development of Pavlovsk Experiment Station in an interesting article, Researchers Fight to Save Fruits of Their Labor. This issue was first noted here in the previous post, Can Twitter Save Rare Pavlovsk Plants?Leonid Burmistrov, a fruit and crop researcher at the institute for 40 years was interviewed for the story...

Cloned Steer Wins Iowa 4H Competition

Posted on August 28, 2010
"I Pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service, and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world...

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