James Wyche is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. After growing up in Texas, I can confidently say that I know heat. Long weekends dedicated to baseball tournaments under the high summer sun routinely exhausted my energy. Before leaving to play, my mom always would remind me “to REMEMBER to stay hydrated!” After a long day, whether successful or not, I could always count on the air conditioning in my dad’s car to provide relief from the oppressive swelter. However, for workers in Florida, the promise of staying hydrated, or taking a ..read more

Jayce Jimenez is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. What comes to mind when you think of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)? As the name suggests, the IRA was aimed at curbing rapid inflation that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the IRA is additionally and, perhaps, better known for its substantial investment towards addressing the climate crisis.  If you follow the news, you probably remember hearing phrases along the lines of “historic climate deal” or “most important climate action in U.S. history” use ..read more

Mike Orlando is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. On February 14, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, head of the USDA, testified in front of the House Agriculture Committee (the “Ag Committee”). He urged the Ag Committee to act quickly to pass the next farm bill, noting that delays will lead to continued uncertainty for farmers and producers. During the hearing, Vilsack fielded questions from members of Congress regarding the future of multiple USDA programs, discussed in greater detail below. Debate swirls around the USDA’s con ..read more

James Wyche is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. America’s Digital Evolution America’s development from an agrarian country to one of increasing technological sophistication has engendered fundamental economic and social changes. Since the dawn of the age of the internet near the end of the 20th century, society’s reliance on vast networks of computers has only increased. Given how the internet has the potential to connect distant parts of the globe, promote efficient exchanges of information, and support unprecedented economic pro ..read more

Orly Levy is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Food Insecurity in Higher Education The next farm bill provides a legislative opportunity to tackle food insecurity amongst college students through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While the exact numbers are unclear, many low-income college students don’t have enough to eat. Despite this, it is incredibly difficult for college students to meet SNAP eligibility requirements, and many who are eligible don’t participate. In 2018, roughly 31% of college students who ..read more

Jayce Jimenez is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Let me paint a picture for you. You’re talking with your “friend” Kevin about the dire need for collective climate action, a subject with which you’re familiar, when he abruptly shifts the conversation to the topic of carbon credits (which he probably just learned about from a New York Times article he read last night). You can see from the glint in his eye that he knows you don’t know what he’s talking about, and you desperately attempt to add to the conversation with wise comment ..read more

Nathan Roseberg visiting scholar, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, and Bryce Wilson Stucki, an independent researcher, just released a new report: More Than CAFOS and Corn: A Statistical Analysis of Agriculture in Six Midwestern States. This report will be a critical resource for advocates and policymakers seeking to better understand the mid-west’s agricultural landscape in greater detail and develop policies that will shape the region’s agricultural economy for future generations. From the Executive Summary: This report provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of farm pro ..read more

This is a repost of a previous blog post from February 2023, written by Liz Turner, a previous law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. America’s farmworkers are a uniquely vulnerable group of workers. Farm labor is exempted from many federal protections, including the right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), many workplace safety regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH), and overtime wage standards and often the minimum wage provisions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Perhaps most sur ..read more

Hudson Bennett is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Screening and Panel Host: Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, Moderated by Andrew Kahrl Panelists: Eternal Polk, P.J. Haynie, and Johane Domersant “Once land is gone, you can’t get it back.”—P.J. Haynie, farmer featured in the film and the panel. The film is a documentary addressing the astounding reduction in land owned by Black farmers in the United States. It’s a powerful depiction of the historical and continuing circumstances that Black landowners have faced in the ..read more

Sarah King is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. This summer, the Supreme Court decided a case concerning the reach of the Clean Water Act, which generally prohibits the discharge of pollutants into “navigable waters,” drawing a range of reactions from environmental and agricultural groups. This case began in 2004, when Michael and Chantell Sackett bought a small lot of land in Idaho and decided to build a small home on the property. To do so, “they began backfilling their property with dirt and rocks.” Shortly thereafter, the EPA s ..read more