ENV 961 (Tentative) () (Tentative) / 2025-2026

Environmental Law and Politics: Research and Advanced Topics Seminar

This research seminar will explore the structure and effectiveness of a diverse suite of environmental laws and policies that influence global patterns of food production and consumption.  We will focus on environmental and human health effects. Types of law to be considered include: water quality, air quality, energy efficiency, CO2E emissions, fisheries, land use change, chemical and microbial contamination, genetic technologies, additive restrictions, waste management, health protection, worker safety standards. Where possible comparisons will be made between US and EU laws and policies. 

Other laws that affect global food production include those that protect rights of secrecy, physical and intellectual property, speech, confidential business information, international trade, worker protection, equal opportunity, and freedom from discrimination. Still other laws govern food subsidies, taxation, tariffs, fraud, freedom of speech, liability, defamation, preemption, administrative procedures, and compensation.  The central tensions in this legal web is defined by the desire to simultaneously protect private trading rights, promote economic growth, and to prevent damages to the environment, health, and climate stability.