“Food law? What’s that?”
This is a common refrain heard by students, professors, and practitioners working in this emerging field. The answer is not simple, as the practice of food law spans a number of existing legal practice areas and some new areas not previously covered in the traditional practice of law, making a definition difficult to pinpoint.
The Food Law Student Network defines food law as “the study of the basis and impact of the laws and regulations . . . that govern the food and beverages we produce, transport, buy, sell, distribute, share, cook, eat, and drink. Food law and policy encompasses several different areas of law, including agricultural law, administrative law, animal law, environmental law, labor law, and health law.” The field continues to evolve as we see advancements in food science, agricultural practices, international trade, and the global food industry.
Though food law is still in its infancy—only emerging as a recognized field in 2004—law schools have seen an explosion of food law courses, clinics, internship opportunities, and journals over the past decade and a half. In a published in the Journal of Food Law & Policy, Professors Emily Broad Leib and Baylen Linnekin note the developing field of food law and policy and its growing presence in law schools around the nation. The article highlights Colorado Law as one of the top 34 law schools offering courses in food law and policy.
Much of the success of Colorado Law’s budding food law program is owed to the passion and energy of Associate Professor Alexia Brunet Marks, who joined the faculty in 2009. With an MS and PhD in agricultural economics, her research focuses on regulating risks in the global food supply. She has published articles on food safety and foodborne illness liability in legal journals across the nation, including the Harvard Journal on Legislation and the Vermont Law Review.
Last spring, Brunet Marks hosted an interdisciplinary workshop that brought together food law attorneys, professors, and professionals from related fields to discuss such topics as food justice, sustainability, and labeling issues. Participants also learned about food law issues specific to Colorado, such as the regulation of marijuana edibles and the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages that Boulder voters authorized in 2016.
Brunet Marks’s research projects involve exploring the role of certifications in promoting sustainable and regenerative agricultural systems and examining comparative legal approaches to regulating foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. In October 2017, Brunet Marks received the University of Colorado Provost’s Achievement Award for her article “,” which appeared in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. This fall, she is serving as a fellow at the University of Copenhagen at iCourts, the Danish National Research Foundation’s Center of Excellence for International Courts, to further her research in comparative food law.
Thanks to the efforts of Brunet Marks and a few motivated students, Colorado Law has made a name for itself in the field of food law. In addition to coursework, Colorado Law students can work on real-world food law projects through the Sustainable Community Development Clinic, intern or extern with a variety of food-focused organizations around Colorado and the U.S., and take advantage of food law lectures and volunteer and research opportunities through the student-led Food Law Society. With such a robust array of opportunities, students are able to leave Colorado Law with the experience necessary to enter the exciting new practice of food law.
Last spring, Colorado Law offered Food Law and Practice, a unique course co-taught by Brunet Marks and Nicole Nice of Mars Foods. The course combined doctrinal law with practical application and provided a survey of food law, covering such topics as federal food safety regulation, the federal farm bill, food labeling, biotechnology, public health, and trade. Students from CU’s Masters of the Environment Graduate Program with a focus on sustainable food systems joined law students, providing an even more diverse learning experience. Brunet Marks also teaches a Food Law and Policy seminar that allows interested students to take a deep dive into a particular topic within food law, and many of the students submit their research for publication in a variety of periodicals.
The Clinical Education Program offers more opportunities for students to get involved in food law, particularly through the Sustainable Community Development Clinic (SCDC), taught by Professor Deborah Cantrell. The clinic has taken on several food- and agriculture-related projects in Boulder, including assisting an agricultural cooperative with business formation, developing a toolkit to assist new farmers in accessing land in Boulder County, and working with food insecurity organizations to navigate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations. In addition to community-based projects, students in the clinic are responsible for leading the class in a weeklong immersion in a legal topic of their choice. This year’s students led classes on food waste, hydroponic farming, urban agriculture, and insects as food.
Outside of the classroom, Colorado Law students have taken advantage of food law and policy-related internship and externship opportunities with Boulder County Public Health, Ardent Mills, White Wave Foods, the National Young Farmers Coalition, California Certified Organic Farmers, the Vermont Law School Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, among others. Food law students interning at law firms bring a unique perspective and knowledge of food issues, which is advantageous as more firms develop practice groups specific to this area.
Students who want to participate less formally in food law, or just want to learn about the field in general, can participate in activities planned by the Food Law Society throughout the year. Founded in fall 2016 by Jennifer Benson (’18) and Meredith Kaufman (’18), the student-led organization hosts speakers on a variety of food law topics, organizes volunteer opportunities with food organizations in the community, and provides opportunities for students to learn more about the field of food law. The group has hosted panels of food law practitioners, a lecture by prominent Seattle-based food safety litigator Bill Marler, volunteer days with Growing Gardens, a nonprofit that aims to enrich the lives of the community through sustainable urban agriculture, and more. Food Law Society members have attended the annual Food Law Student Leadership Summit (FLSLS), hosted by the national Food Law Student Network and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, where they have had the opportunity to learn from and network with like-minded law students, professors, and practitioners from across the country. From the FLSLS, students have gotten to be involved with national projects, including working with the Farm Bill Law Enterprise to make recommendations for the 2018 Farm Bill and researching food workers’ rights for the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United.
As the field of food law continues to grow, we are likely to see more law schools developing food law programs of their own. With the expertise and guidance of Brunet Marks, the innovative Sustainable Community Development Clinic, and the active Food Law Society, Colorado Law is sure to continue to be a leader in this exciting legal field.
Jennifer Benson, a 2018 graduate of the University of Colorado Law School, is the Western regional policy director for the National Young Farmers Coalition. During law school, she interned at the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, worked for the Farm Bill Law Enterprise, and was managing editor of the University of Colorado Law Review, where her research focused on the 2018 Farm Bill and racial diversity in farming.
Pictured: Colorado Law’s Food Law Society volunteers at Growing Gardens, a Boulder nonprofit that brings gardening, nutrition education, and produce donations to more than 136,000 Boulder County residents.