Yale Law School launches food law and policy course

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — With a growing interest surrounding the laws and regulations that govern the foods and beverages we grow, raise, share, sell, cook, eat and drink, an entire new area of law continues to emerge and take hold in academia across the country. In response to this evolving subject matter, Yale Law School is rolling out its first-ever course on U.S. Food Law and Policy.

The idea for the course sparked when Jennifer McTiernan ’15, founder of the non-profit CitySeed, came to Yale Law School with a passion for food law and a desire to engage in a course on the topic. She had attended a conference at Yale Law School in 2010 titled Developing Food Policy, where Dean Robert Post ’77 addressed the audience and noted the critical importance of this area of law.

“For the movement, it was this huge moment to have the Dean of Yale Law School recognize that food law is a big issue,” recalled McTiernan, who initially met with Professor Amy Kapczynski ’03 to begin the framework for bringing a course like this to Yale.

Then last fall, McTiernan joined forces with Graham Downey ’16 and Lee Miller ’16, who bonded in their mutual interest and prior experience in food law and policy.

The three started a reading group on food law, sponsored by Professor Kapczynski, which generated substantial student interest with more than 40 students participating.

At the same time, Downey and Miller, who were both involved with food law clinical work through the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP), approached YCELP Associate Director Josh Galperin, asking him for ideas about how to get a course on these topics brought to YLS.

With faculty support from both the clinical and academic side, and armed with evidence about the importance and popularity of engaging students on the rapidly evolving topic of food law, the students met with Deputy Dean Al Klevorick, and less than one year later, the course launched this Spring semester.