Opportunities in Food & Agriculture

The Graduate Program in Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law offers the nation's only advanced LL.M. degree in agricultural law. With courses in food law, environmental law, and all other aspects of agricultural law, we take pride in offering a curriculum that covers the full spectrum of law and policy. We study the law from the perspective of the farmer, the consumer, and whoever may be involved in between.

We have already admitted a number of candidates for Fall 2009. We still have places available and will be able to offer merit-based graduate assistantships to a limited number of those admitted. These assistantships provide a tuition waiver plus a small stipend.

Our nine month course of study attracts attorneys from throughout the United States and from abroad. While many of our students are recent law school graduates, others enter the program as experienced practitioners. Our alumni are among the leaders in the agricultural law and food law communities, many working in policy positions as well as in practice.

Interested students are encouraged to apply to the Program as soon as possible. Visit our website for more information and to obtain an application form. You are welcome to send me an e-mail at sas.susan@gmail.com with questions. And, you can call the LL.M. Program Office at 479-575-3706.

From Humans to Livestock, Red River Flooding Impacts All

I usually write about the intersection between energy law and agricultural law, but this post has nothing to do with energy. As a professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law, I have been experiencing my first real flood threat in Grand Forks. Grand Forks had a catastrophic flood in 1997, and as a result, now has a dike system in place to help protect against future disasters.

Fargo and areas all the way up near Grand Forks that are not protected by the dikes, on the other hand, remain extremely vulnerable, and the efforts of the people in the region have been nothing short of amazing. And it is not just people who remain vulnerable.


Heavy overland flooding has caused significant problems for livestock, as well:

Brian Zimprich, extension agent for North Dakota’s Ransom County, said the county has suffered heavy overland flooding. That’s bad news for county residents, but even worse news for beef cattle producers, who are in the middle of calving.

“We have 50 head of cattle that have been lost due to flood, and there are various unofficial reports of livestock loss, rumored to have died due to flood or bad weather,” Zimprich said.

Seventy-five to 100 calves have been lost, many to pneumonia, he said.

“Some of them were newborns and some probably a week or 2 weeks old that have come down with pneumonia or illnesses due to the extreme temperature changes and the wet conditions,” he said. “It’s just not the best situation for calving right now.”

While the state has made clear that “[l]ivestock rescue and carcass recovery efforts are secondary to the protection of human life,” significant efforts are underway.



It will be at least a week before anyone can truly breathe easy, and even if major crisis is averted, significant losses have been suffered on farms and in the cities. Hopefully, the dikes will hold and the heroic efforts of people all over North Dakota and Minnesota, those suffering flooding on the other side of the Red River, will have minimized (though certainly not eliminated) the losses. No matter what, I have witnessed an incredible display of community spirit and dedication, and I'm proud to live to in North Dakota.

Groundbreaking

Although I love the "Rabbit's Vegetable Garden" photo in my previous post on this issue, this one is pretty cool, too. I have to admit that I do not look this good when I garden. That said, Mrs. Obama is good with a shovel. And, she was great with the kids.

The concept of gardening with school children and of adding food and gardening in to the school curriculum is one that is showing up all over the country with very positive results. Consider that while the Edible Schoolyard was mentioned in the Alice Waters post, on the opposite coast, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture is sponsoring the School Gardens Program directed by Beth Crocker, an alumnus of our LL.M. in Agricultural Law program.

Connecting children to good food, and developing an understanding of and appreciation for the natural processes involved raising our food is a hopeful sign for our future food system.

White House Garden Confirmed

Along with a number of other media sources anxious to report the big news, Marion Burros of the New York Times reported that “Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of the South Lawn on Friday to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II.”

The garden will grow vegetables to be used by the White House chefs in the preparation of food for the President, his family and guests, but Mrs. Obama also plans to use the garden to as an educational experience for children on the benefits of fresh food and good nutrition.

“My hope,” the first lady said in an interview in her East Wing office, “is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

It is reported that twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot. Having done quite a bit of gardening myself, and having also worked with children as Montessori teacher in my pre-law life, I find that prospect refreshing, but also rather amusing. I hope they have a back up tiller on stand-by.

In any case, given the convergence of the obesity epidemic and the recession, the White House garden comes at a near perfect time. Not only does gardening provide an opportunity to improve our diets by adding fresh produce, it also provides an excellent source of exercise. And, a recent AP story, Dollars From Dirt, evidences the financial advantages to "growing your own."

The National Gardening Association estimates that a well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per year. A study by Burpee Seeds claims that $50 spent on gardening supplies can multiply into $1,250 worth of produce annually.

Good gardening to the Obamas, and congratulations to all who advanced the return of the Victory Garden!

Changing the Way We Eat: Alice Waters Interview

Leslie Stahl began her Sixty Minutes interview with Alice Waters last night by acknowledging that Waters "has done more to change how we Americans eat, cook and think about food than anyone since Julia Child."

Through the course of the interview, Waters discusses the importance of access to fresh food and her work with the slow food movement. They visit with the children in her Edible Schoolyard Program, and Waters again makes a pitch for a White House vegetable garden.

Alice Waters is one of America's most famous Chefs and an influential advocate for local and organic foods. Waters is the co-owner of Chez Panisse, the original "California Cuisine" restaurant in Berkeley, California and informal Café Fanny in West Berkeley. She advocates gardening and cooking opportunities at schools across the country as a natural way to get children interested in good food. It is a delightful interview that just may convince you to either get started on that backyard garden or at least make a trip to the local farmers' market.


Watch CBS Videos Online

"Reversing a Troubling Trend in Food Safety"

Food safety was the topic of today's Presidential message. In it, President Obama declared -

We are a nation built on the strength of individual initiative. But there are certain things that we can't do on our own. There are certain things that only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don't cause us harm.

The President announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as the Principal Deputy Commissioner. In addition, he announced the creation of a new Food Safety Working chaired by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. This group will work with other agencies and senior officials "to advise the President on improving coordination throughout the government, examining and upgrading food safety laws, and enforcing laws that will keep the American people safe."

The President's recognition of food safety as "one of the most fundamental responsibilities government has" is refreshing and inspiring. We can do much better, and to recognize that government has to take the lead is critical. It is my hope, however, that government leadership is not limited to increased regulation and inspection. As with any problem, it is most efficient and most effective to look to the source. What aspects of our food and agricultural policies have helped to create the problems that we now need to regulate to correct? What inherent weaknesses are there in our food system? It will be critical that the President has people appointed to the Food Safety Working Group that can ask these difficult questions and guide the FDA, the USDA, and the President toward sustainable solutions.

Recent News from Nebraska Dept. of Ag.

Ethanol: The Cycle Continues?

The New York Times reported on Friday that ethanol producers are lobbying the federal government to increase the 10% cap on ethanol in most gasoline blends to as much as 15%.

Ethanol producers also argue that without higher blend levels, there will be no room for the development of advanced biofuels, like ethanol made from wood chips or biological waste. Congress has set a target of using 21 billion gallons of that type of ethanol and other biofuels by the year 2022.

As I have discussed previously, the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that is the source of the 2022 target is flawed and provides incentives primarily (if not exclusively) for the worst kind of ethanol – that which is derived from food-related sources like corn. The claim that a higher ethanol blend today would in any way influence development of ethanol from wood chips or biological waste, much less next-generation sources like cellulosic or algae-derived ethanol, is dubious at best.

An increase in the current permissible ethanol ratio in gasoline blends would simply increase the amount of corn-based ethanol produced. Some ethanol plants are closing (again) across the country and other ethanol producers are at or near bankruptcy. An increase in the amount of ethanol that can be used in gasoline blends may help some of these companies, but in no way will it have a significant impact on next-generation ethanol research.

An increase in the amount of ethanol that can be permitted in current gasoline blends would be a repeat of the mistake made with the initial RFS – it would create further incentives for corn-based ethanol, which adversely affects food markets directly and indirectly. If ethanol is going to be a viable and valuable alternative to fossil fuels, technological advancements are necessary. Any incentives to promote ethanol production should thus be targeted at advanced biofuels, not ethanol that comes from current production processes. Otherwise, the tactics don't match the strategy.

Recent News from Nebraska Dept. of Ag.

The Journal of Food Law & Policy

One of my favorite duties at the University of Arkansas School of Law is serving as advisor to our Journal of Food Law & Policy. 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. Available on both Westlaw and Hein On Line, the Journal features articles on a wide range of current issues of food law and policy and includes regular food law updates from the United States, the European Union, and Canada. The Journal is published twice a year and is edited by some of the top law students at the University of Arkansas School of Law.

This year's Journal editor, Emily Reynolds asked me to post a notice inviting both subscriptions and submissions. The yearly subscription rate is $34. Subscription payments can be mailed to:

Journal of Food Law and Policy
University of Arkansas School of Law
107 Waterman Hall
Fayetteville, AR 72701

Article submissions can be e-mailed to foodlaw@uark.edu.
For more information, contact the Journal via e-mail at foodlaw@uark.edu or by phone at (479) 575-2754.

"If You Don't Have a Backyard, Dig Up the Front One!"

Kitchen Gardeners International is hosting a petition drive to encourage President Obama to develop an organic vegetable garden on the White House lawn.

The idea, of course, is not new. John and Abagail Adams planted a garden at the White House in 1800. The most famous White House garden was initiated by Eleanor Roosevelt to spur on a nationwide gardening movement to support the war effort and produce more food. It is estimated that "victory gardens" all over the country at one time produced about 40% of the nation's supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. The caption of this post comes from one of the campaign slogans of the effort.

For an interesting story of how some in the media helped to promote the victory garden campaign, visit Sacramento History Online. McClatchy Newspapers sponsored "a program of enlisting citizens to tear out their front and backyards and plant gardens." Bob Handsacker, a photographer for the Sacramento Bee, one of the McClatchy newspapers, produced a 16mm color motion picture film, Gardening for Victory that is a delightful step back in time. You can watch excerpts on the Sacramento History Online website, but don't try to adjust your volume - they are silent film clips.

Today's petition drive is part of the Eat the View campaign. Their goal is to encourage the planting of "healthy food gardens in high-profile, high-impact places" and as a result, to "inspire millions of Americans and people around the world to grow some healthy, tasty, and environmentally-responsible food of their own."

Sign the petition at Kitchen Gardener's Facebook page.