Research Guides: Food Law: Background Information

Background Information

The A-Z Encyclopedia of Food Controversies and the Law by Elizabeth M. Williams (Editor); Stephanie Jane Carter (Editor)
Call Number: KF 3869 .W55 2011 vols. 1 and 2
ISBN: 9780313364488
Publication Date: 2010-12-22
This two-volume set is a broad compendium of the law, policies, and legal influences that affect the food on our plates today. As food increasingly impacts our health and our wallets, we need to understand the enormous effect of law--both U.S. law and international regulations--on the safety and availability of the food we eat.
Agriculture and Food Handbook by American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: KF 1682 .A7374 2019
ISBN: 9781641054546
Publication Date: 2019-01-01
"Competition in the complex, diverse industries that make up the agriculture and food arena raises many novel and significant antitrust issues that can have worldwide effects. The Agriculture and Food Handbook provides a comprehensive review of the regulatory, antitrust, and consumer protection issues that arise in these industries."-
Agrobiodiversity and the Law by Juliana Santilli
Call Number: K 3876 .S26 2012
ISBN: 9781849713726
Publication Date: 2011-11-03
This book analyzes the impact of the legal system on agrobiodiversity (or agricultural biodiversity) - the diversity of agricultural species, varieties, and ecosystems. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it takes up the emerging concept of agrobiodiversity and its relationship with food security, nutrition, health, environmental sustainability, and climate change.
A Consumer's Guide to Food Regulation and Safety by James T. O'Reilly
Call Number: KF 3875 .Z9 O74 2010
ISBN: 9780199730216
Publication Date: 2010-03-22
A Consumer's Guide to Food Regulation & Safety is a consumer-friendly guide to understanding the laws and policies relating to the food industry. Learn more about current policies designed to protect consumers and how to challenge them if necessary.
Food, Farming, and Sustainability by Susan A. Schneider
Call Number: KF 1682 .S36 2016
ISBN: 9781611636390
Publication Date: 2016-08-19
Food, Farming, and Sustainability provides a survey of the unique network of laws that apply to agriculture, framed in the context of society's need for a sustainable, resilient food supply. Traditionally, agriculture has been favored in the law with exemptions, exceptions, and special rules that reflect the unique character of agricultural production. The work covers many sustainable food & agriculture law issues, including: environmental effects; animal welfare; biotechnology and agriculture; and the regulation of organic food. In addition to sustainable agriculture issues, the text discusses other agriculture issues including financing and crop insurance.
Food and Drug Law by Roseann B. Termini
Call Number: KF 3869 .T472 9th 2017
Publication Date: 2017
This treatise covers twelve subjects regulated by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic act. It is intended for regulated entities, government personnel, and attorneys who practice in this space. To that end, it provides helpful analysis and citations to relevant primary authority throughout the work.
Food Law in the United States by Michael T. Roberts
Call Number: KF 3875 .R63 2016
ISBN: 9781107545762
Publication Date: 2016-01-08
As the modern food system continues to transform food - its composition, taste, availability, value, and appearance - consumers are increasingly confronted by legal and regulatory issues that affect us all on a daily basis. In Food Law in the United States, Michael T. Roberts addresses these issues in a comprehensive, systematic manner that lays out the national legal framework for the regulation of food and the legal tools that fill gaps in this framework, including litigation, state law, and private standards. Covering a broad expanse of topics including commerce, food safety, marketing, nutrition, and emerging food-systems issues such as local food, sustainability, security, urban agriculture, and equity, this book is an essential reference for lawyers, students, non-law professionals, and consumer advocates who must understand food law to advance their respective interests.
Guide to US Food Laws and Regulations by Patricia A. Curtis (Editor)
Call Number: KF 3870 .C85 2013
ISBN: 9781118227787
Publication Date: 2013-10-07
This compact resource outlines major U.S. food laws, factors that led to their passage, and explains the role of key agencies like the FDA and FSIS in regulation and enforcement. Students are directed to internet sites as well as to indexes and resources available from the Federal government.

National Agricultural Law Center, Congressional Research Service Reports
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan department within the Library of Congress, creates reports to inform Congress about various issues. The reports provide legal and nonlegal analysis of a wide array of issues, and can provide a good overview of a topic. The National Agricultural Law Center has collected many of these reports and indexed them under common topics. The National Agricultural Law Center also writes its own publications available here.

Food & Drug Administration, Fourth Edition, James T. O’Reilly, Available on Westlaw (be sure you are looking at the secondary sources and not the primary materials from the FDA which uses the same name)
This treatise covers the background of the FDA, FDA procedure, substantive areas such as food safety, food additives, products liability, and more. The text is easy to read and full of citations to primary authority. This would be a good place to start when researching anything related to the FDA.

Center for Food Safety
This site contains information on GE crops, food labeling, food safety, and litigation in those areas.
Note: this website contains useful information, but certainly has an agenda. With that in mind, information from this site should be evaluated closely.