Article
Angela Lee
As digital platforms have become more popular, including those relating to food ordering and delivery, the range of both their positive and negative impacts have become more apparent. In response, governments in various jurisdictions have made efforts at regulating such platforms, as part of their mandate of balancing complex and often competing goals in the public interest. Unfortunately, attempts at governing digital platforms to date have largely proven ineffective at checking the power of the large corporations that are behind their growth and expansion. I argue that a critical assessment of these new forms of online food marketplace further supports the need for robust regulatory oversight of digital platforms, including through enforcing existing standards established in food laws.
Article
Food Identity
Mathilde Cohen
Food identities are typically ascribed either based on medical or social definitions or chosen by individuals. But they can also be expressive dimensions of other identity traits such as race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, age, body size, disability, and socio-economic status, among others. What role does the law play in supporting or undermining certain food identities? This Article makes two central contributions. First, it highlights that though U.S. law recognizes food identity as an interest to be protected in certain contexts, it does so in an unsystematized way, contributing to systemic deprivation and discrimination in relation to foodways. The current legal regime often places the needs of the agri-food industry over those of eaters, especially those who are otherwise marginalized. Second, it reflects on how this inchoate law of food identity could be evaluated and reformed. There are plausible claims that some food identities may be entitled constitutional protections under equality law, freedom of religion, and fundamental rights, but they are unlikely to succeed in the current environment.
Article
Udder Confusion: An Almond Milk Case Study to Examine the Complex Interplay of Consumer Choices, Social Media, and Regulation
Madeline McCulloch
The preference for plant-based diet options has steadily increased for the American public. This is all particularly true for alternative milks. By the end of 2020, plant-based milk alternatives (“PBMA”) accounted for approximately fifteen percent of the total milk market and thirty-five percent of the overall plant-based market, making alternative milks, particularly almond, one of the most popular ways for people to dabble in a plant-based diet.