Do You Know What's On Your Plate?: The Importance of Regulating the Processes of Food Production

Authors

Martha Dragich, University of Missouri - ColumbiaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

This article argues that the current regulatory approach-focusing on the supposed equivalence of new foods to traditional ones-is unduly narrow, particularly given the characteristics of the modem food system. To achieve the broad objectives of the FDCA in the context of the industrialized, highly processed, and global food supply of the twenty-first century requires adopting a broader understanding of consumer protection needs with respect to food. The FDCA itself is written in very broad terms and provides much of the authority needed today. The FDA's enforcement capacity, however, already is severely strained.52 Moreover, the scientific basis for some process- oriented regulations3 may be in dispute. Thus, the FDA and the USDA-like other food regulatory agencies around the world-must determine which kinds of process attributes merit regulation and what regulatory mechanisms are most appropriate.

Recommended Citation

Martha Dragich, Do You Know What's on Your Plate? : The Importance of Regulating the Processes of Food Production, 28 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 385 (2013)