Food and Agriculture Lab and Workshop: Law. Policy. Principle. Practice.

• Semester: Spring 2024
• Course ID: 196V
• Credit Hours: 1
• Unique: 28589

Description

Evaluation involves a brief paper plus mandatory attendance for the four classes, with optional attendance for the field trips.

This new one-credit offering will explore topics related to the accelerating food and water challenges facing our country, our community, and people all over the globe. These topics are likely to include: climate effects on arable land and irrigation water; rising soil salinity; nutrified water flows; food waste; food labeling; extensive and intensive industrial agriculture, including for animal production; locovorism; food cultures; “novel” proteins; and future foods. Our topics are sure to include the quickening moral demands for justice for animals; a human “right to food”; and a more equitable, healthy, and secure food system for all. With these emergent drivers spinning the wheel of fortune, American food law and policy are being called on to respond. These responses in the teeth (so to speak) of consumer preferences, scientific developments, political pressures, and market movements will provide key reference points for the course. 

We will draw on work being done in food law clinics and food research institutes housed in law schools around the country. Expert guests, some from these settings, will help to shape the workshop experience.

The course design—a “lab” of experiences, ideas, and ideals--is intended to provide an inter-disciplinary offering to law students and those from a variety of other fields.

There is likely to be an optional field trip (or two) and an optional final dinner, off-site, to be prepared by the instructor, possible guests, and members of the class. These extra meetings won’t count (at all) toward a student’s grade in the course. 

Course requirements:

1--The class will meet in four Friday sessions of three hours each. Full attendance is mandatory.

2—For Law students, the course is offered pass/fail.

3—Students from non-Law departments and programs may take the course pass/fail or for one graded credit (available only in cross-listed sections that do not allow pass/fail). The latter option will require the satisfactory completion (no bots allowed) of a research and writing assignment that may be administered on a one-time in-class basis, attendance required, at a time separate from the four class sessions.