259706 Evolving Use of Law by Industries within the Food System

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Lainie Rutkow, JD, PhD, MPH , Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Jennifer L. Pomeranz, JD, MPH , Yale University, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, New Haven, CT
Sarah Rodman, MPH , Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Law serves as a powerful tool to protect and promote population health. As new challenges arise, law can play a key role in response and mitigation. The industries that comprise the food system have raised numerous challenges to public health through their behaviors, practices, and products (e.g., the rise of obesity and chronic diseases associated with unhealthy diets). The food system includes industries that develop and market obesogenic products as well as other industries associated with food production, such as factory farming operations and food transporters. Scholars have identified innovative uses of law to address challenges posed by these industries and to create a healthier and more sustainable food environment. It is equally important, however, to understand how food system industries have used law to advance their own interests, such as the generation of profits. We used legal research and analysis to explore three areas in which food system industries have used law to further their interests. We discuss their use of litigation, including attempts to insulate themselves from litigation. We consider the law's treatment of speech rights and how food system industries have capitalized on these rights. Finally, we assess actions that food system industries have taken to foster a lax regulatory environment that allows for greater self-regulation. By understanding strategies that food system industries have used to pursue their own interests within the legal system—and the possible detrimental effects for public health—public health professionals and others can better anticipate and counter future similar efforts.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe key components of the structure of industries within the food system, as established by law Identify instances in which industries within the food system have employed litigation to advance their own interests Explain how industries within the food system have acted to promote self-regulation versus legally-binding governmental regulation

Keywords: Public Health Policy, Food and Nutrition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I led the project that resulted in the research being presented. I conduct research about the regulation of the food industry.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4117.0: Food Industry and the Law