Accepting Applications to the LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law

We are now accepting applications for the LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law for the class beginning in Fall 2010.

While agricultural law issues have always been important, recent concerns about food safety and food labeling have highlighted the connections between agricultural and food law. Food law and policy is an emerging area of interest and practice. And, more traditional components of the agricultural law curriculum continue to generate great interest and sometimes controversy. Environmental and sustainability concerns, biotechnology and intellectual property rights, international trade, complex commercial law arrangements, and other compelling issues continue to raise complex legal issues.

The LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law offers the nation's only advanced LL.M. degree in either agricultural law or food law. We take pride in offering a curriculum covering the full spectrum of law and policy from the perspective of the farmer, the processor, the retailer, and the consumer.

Our nine month course of study attracts attorneys from throughout the United States and from abroad. While many of our LL.M. candidates 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.

Interested in more information? Visit our website, e-mail us for information at llm@uark.edu or call 479-575-3706. Additional information can be found on our aglawllm blog. And, you can follow us on the aglawllm Twitter account.

Please help us spread the word.

On the Farm With CSI Miami

Prime time television drama takes on agricultural law. Here's the teaser for this week's episode of CSI Miami, Bad Seed:

When several seemingly unrelated deaths turn out to be part of a sudden outbreak of E. Coli, Alexx returns to help the team as they race to find the source of it to stop the death toll from rising.

Yes, last night, Horatio and his band of crime fighters took on food safety issues, and the result could have been an issue-spotting exam for Ag Law 101. The one hour drama centered on the death of two young lovers. What began as a homicide investigation ended up with the bereaved family preparing for a civil lawsuit.

Traceability problems were a major issue. The E. Coli was linked to a spinach salad (wonder where that idea came from?) and was eventually traced back to run off from a feedlot up the hill. It is clear that Horatio works much faster than the CDC, who was missing in action in this episode.

But what was even more amazing was the host of other ag law issues that were tossed in, leading Christopher and I to wonder who consulted on the episode. Vegie Libel laws came up several times; the organic standards; pollen drift and genetic contamination; farmer liability for having unauthorized GMO crops on their land; undocumented farm workers; farm consolidation; crop contamination via irrigation water; and the difficulty of local health departments confronted with food poisoning. Not the usual fare for prime time drama.

There were, of course, some legal missteps and some over simplifications. And, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association was offended, even though spinach (and ultimately corn - but I don't want to give away the end) were the deadly products. They already posted their rejoinder. I personally found it to be great fun to have people talking about farming and food issues. And, its main point - that food safety is a critical issue - is one that needs to be made.

Check out the MarlerBlog for Bill Marler's comments on the episode. The producers called him a couple weeks ago for some background information.

You can view the whole episode the CSI Miami website.

I should mention that I may be one of only a handful of folks that were focused on the agricultural law issues. Everyone else is talking about Calleigh and Eric. Did they break up??

Minority Farmers

I recently participated in the Farmers Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) Board meeting. I was elected to serve on the FLAG Board last year.

For those new to FLAG, its work is described as follows:

Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) is a nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services to family farmers and their rural communities in order to help keep family farmers on the land.

The meeting was held in Albany, Georgia, and while it involved a review of the wide range of family farm support projects undertaken by FLAG this year, its focus on providing support to minority farmers was highlighted.

FLAG's newest board members reflect that support:

• Phil Baird, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota) and the Vice President of Academic, Career & Technical Education at the United Tribes Technical College.

• May Lee, a Minnesota Hmong farmer who immigrated from Laos (via a Thai refugee camp) and now has a certified organic farming operation through the Minnesota Food Association's New Immigrants in Agriculture Project.

• Jerry Pennick, Director of the Land Assistance Fund of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, whose mission is to retain African American owned land and engage cooperatives for land-based economic development.

• Linda Yardley, an Outreach Liaison with the National FSA American Indian Credit Outreach Initiative.

Former board member, Shirley Sherrod and retiring board member Betty Bailey, former executive director of RAFI were honored at a special dinner. Shirley has long been a champion of black farmers through her work with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative. She left the board because of her new position as Georgia's head of the USDA Rural Development office. Shirley's husband, civil rights leader Charles Sherrod joined us and provided a moving story of the history of the civil rights struggle in Albany. Pictured to the left are Charles and Shirley with FLAG Executive Director, Susan Stokes.

According to the USDA analysis of the 2007 Census released early in 2009, there is "growing diversity" in American agriculture. The actual numbers, however, reveal a long way to go.

Only 2.5% of principal farm operators are Hispanic; 1.6% of are American Indian; 1.4% are Black; and .5% are Asian. That puts white principal operators at 94% of American farmers. The USDA offers a map with a state-by-state breakdown of the racial make up of farmers.

Discrimination is an issue that continues to haunt the USDA. After years with a non-existent or grossly deficient mechanism for even investigating discrimination complaints, the USDA is now trying to clean up the mess. The Pigford discrimination case on behalf of African American farmers settled in 1999, yet implementation of the settlement is only now winding down. So far, the USDA has paid out over $1 billion to African American farmers who chose to settle their claims through the streamlined, "Track A" process agreed upon in the consent decree. Congress passed so-called "Pigford II" provisions as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, allowing additional plaintiffs who missed critical Pigford deadlines to also sue.

Last week, NPR did a story on the Garcia case on behalf of Hispanic farmers, Hispanic Farmers Fight to Sue USDA.

Also in progress, but not mentioned in the NPR story is the Keepseagle case filed on behalf of American Indian farmers.

Early in his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary Vilsack sent a memo to all USDA employees that included the following:

As you know, civil rights is one of my top priorities. In the Departmental complaint system alone, more than 14,000 complaints have been filed since the year 2000. Approximately 3,000 of these complaints remain to be processed, and questions continue to be raised about USDA’s handling of complaints. I have said many times that I intend to take definitive action to improve USDA’s record on civil rights and to move USDA into a new era as a model employer and premier service provider. … To be successful, all USDA employees must be committed to making USDA a model in the Federal Government for respecting the civil rights of its employees and constituents. As Secretary, I will accept nothing less.

Appreciation is expressed to Rita Capes from FLAG for the photographs displayed here.

The Wall Street Journal "Puts up" Produce

As someone who grew up learning the art and science of home canning from my mother, I was both delighted and a little amused to read today's Wall Street Journal's article, Putting up Produce: Yes You Can. It comes complete with a slide show on canning pickles. Canning was once considered to be the hallmark of an unsophisticated rural society; consumers rushed to purchase commercially processed foods; and many wondered whether grandma's secrets of canning would be lost forever. Now, the benefits and the enjoyment of home processed produce has resurged and of all things, is captured in the Wall Street Journal.

Food Safety Discussion on Larry King Live

Last night's Larry King Live show discussed food safety issues, in particular food safety and meat. Bill Marler, noted food safety advocate and personal injury lawyer and Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat Institute were among the guests.

Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of addressing the Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium sponsored by The Ohio State University and the Ohio State Bar Association. My invitation came from Peggy Kirk Hall, a colleague from the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA). Peggy is the Director of the Agricultural and Rural Law Program at The Ohio State University Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. Her leadership and organizational skills were clearly evident in the quality of the symposium, and I thank her for the opportunity to participate.

The conference was held at the new Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4H Center, a beautifully designed LEED certified building on The Ohio State Campus. The pictures shown highlight just a few of the "green" features of this impressive conference center. 1) Some of the building's structure, including studs and girders, was made from recycled steel. Its highly reflective roofs helps to ease summer cooling costs. 2) Ninety-percent of the center’s space has natural light, reducing the energy needed for artificial light.

Prior to the conference, I had an opportunity to meet with a wonderful group of Ohio students. We discussed "agricultural law" as it is sometimes misunderstood in non-agricultural communities. And, we discussed ways of recasting the description of our work in a more inclusive manner to better portray its diversity and complexity. This discussion and the students' perspectives reaffirmed the wisdom of our decision at the University of Arkansas School of Law to expand the name of our program to The LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law.

We also discussed ways that universities can better teach the challenging and relevant subjects included within agricultural and food law. The students had excellent ideas regarding the need for more interdisciplinary approaches and distance collaborations. They provided innovative suggestions for bridging the gap between rural and non-rural residents. My thanks to long-time agricultural law attorney and AALA leader, Paul Wright for his support through the Paul L. Wright Chair Fund in Agricultural Law for the scholarships provided to the students, enabling them to attend the conference. The students' discussion of the need for additional coursework in agricultural and food law inspired me to press on with my agricultural and food law book.

At the conference, I was delighted at the enthusiasm that the participants had for learning more about food law. There were so many excellent questions raised regarding food safety issues, I had to rush through some of the other parts of my PowerPoint presentation. It is always a pleasure to address an engaged audience!

Other morning conference presentations provided information on climate change legislation presented by Kevin Braig, Dinsmore & Shohl and an update from the Ohio State Department of Agriculture presented by William Hopper, Chief Counsel of the department. The latter included an update on the state regulation of milk labeling and rBST, an issue now before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Afternoon presentations included the Honorable Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court who provided a review of recent Ohio decisions affecting agriculture. And, a review of developments and panel discussion was presented by Justice Pfeifer, Federal District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost, and Logan County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark S. O'Connor. The conference concluded with a survey of recent state proposals and enactments on farm animal care and an overview of the Ohio debate on this hotly contested issue by Peggy Hall.

Many Thanks to the AALA

The annual AALA conference was, as usual, quite enjoyable. This year two students from the University of Nebraska College of Law attended with me. Jeff Murman (second from right) and Tim Hruza (far right), both 1Ls, attended with me. The photo also includes students from the Penn State Dickenson School of Law and, of course, Secretary Vilsack.

Both of my students were very impressed. According to Tim,

"The conference was a great experience. I attended presentations which focused on such topics as protecting the family farm, promoting local purchases of food, and understanding the implications of both federal anti-trust laws, and the Farm Bill.

I had the fortune of meeting a number of attorneys currently practicing in different areas of agricultural law, and meeting students at other universities across the nation who have interests and backgrounds similar to my own. I am confident that the information presented and the relationships formed will benefit me in my future career in law."

According to Jeff,

"The AALA Conference was an outstanding opportunity to quickly expand my limited knowledge of agricultural law. The conference was a great chance to network with other students with similar interests, as well as professionals and professors from other areas of the country. It is clear that agricultural law will be of utmost importance as the earth's population swells and available farmlands shrink. I look forward to attending next years confernce in Omaha, NE."

Many thanks to the AALA for making this a low cost experience. And many thanks to the Leone and Neal Harlan Agricultural Law Excellence Fund for paying for the students travel.

Egan on Food Connections

The thing I enjoy about Mr. Egan is his ability to avoid overstatement. He makes 3 points that struck me as very interesting:

1) people desire a connection to their food (especially in light of food borne illness): "Every now and then, we have to see our food, if only to preserve the illusion that this good earth can keep us well.";

2) good food (case in point, apples) is often the product of ecological manipulation, despite the labels "sustainable and local":

In the romance of an October day, all of it seems like Eden in an age of warehouse burger peril. All of it seems like it fits — sustainable and local, to use those drab words that people insist on attaching to good food from somebody you know.

But this image is somewhat illusory. The Yakima Valley is a miracle of manipulation. It would grow little but sage and scrub brush without its network of irrigation ditches and pipes, draining water off the Cascades.

3) the role of industrialized production in food-borne illness is somewhat unclear and should be considered in context:

How much of the danger from leafy vegetables can be blamed on the industrial model that produces cheap calories I don’t know. But as consumers follow Michael Pollan’s advice to get to know our food producers, we will learn to see the processed burger and the industrial vegetables for what they are — cheap global commodities that carry some risk.

If that is what they are, whether they should be part of our food supply is not a simple question, at least to me. Egan artfully links the imperfect supply with the imperfect remedy many of us employ:

The best antidote for such a thing is to see, touch and experience food as it comes off the fields. As imperfect as this harvest picture is, it satisfies a need that has never bred out of us as people.

Considering Hamburger: NYTimes Report on Food Safety

The New York Times published an article on Sunday that told the tragic tale of a young woman from Minnesota who contracted a severe form of food-borne illness caused by E. coli traced to a hamburger her mother grilled for her. Stephanie Smith, now just 22 barely survived, and she was left paralyzed as a result of severe nerve damage. The article, Woman's Shattered Life Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection, is a frightening look at food borne illness and a similarly frightening look at potential problems associated with that quintessential American food, the hamburger.

. . . confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria.

Testing for E-coli is recommended by USDA, but is not required. While Cargill manufactured and sold the patties, given the variety of origins and the lack of testing, it is virtually impossible to trace back to the original source of the contamination.

This problem is described in the associated graphic, Anatomy of a Burger, an effective portrayal of the the source of the substances that went into the frozen patties that Stephanie's mother purchased. Addressing the issue of proper cooking, the Times conducted a test on kitchen procedures and produced a video, Hamburger Confidential that suggests the ease of contamination to surfaces and objects in the kitchen, even when the burger is properly cooked.

A video presentation provides an interview with Stephanie, her attorney Bill Marler, and a look at our meat inspection process. Marler provides information about another victim of the Minnesota outbreak on his blog in the post, Stephanie Smith is Just One of the Victims. The post provides a detailed and heartbreaking chronology of the medical problems and permanent disability suffered by another Minnesotan, eleven year old Ruth Hemmingson.

On Monday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement in response to the New York Times article.

The story we learned about over the weekend is unacceptable and tragic. We all know we can and should do more to protect the safety of the American people and the story in this weekend's paper will continue to spur our efforts to reduce the incidence of E. coli O157:H7.

While the statement reviews some of the new initiatives begun under the Obama adminstration, Secretary Vilsack promised additional action.

USDA is also looking at ways to enhance traceback methods and will initiate a rulemaking in the near future to require all grinders, including establishments and retail stores, to keep accurate records of the sources of each lot of ground beef.

No priority is greater to me than food safety and I am firmly committed to taking the steps necessary to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness and protect the American people from preventable illnesses. We will continue to make improvements to reduce the presence of E. coli 0157:H7.

Clearly, it is in the interests of the public, the political interests of the administration, and the economic interests of the livestock and meat industries to address food safety problems quickly and effectively.

Beyond this, I am left wondering about the big picture of contamination and wondering about the virility of the new bacteria that seems to be developing. While testing, sterilization, and sanitization seem essential to address the symptoms of our problems, are there more fundamental questions to also address?

UPDATE: Cargill's response to the NY Times article and its explanation of its testing system for food safey can be found on the MarlerBlog post, Cargill Responds.