Blog by: Caroline Butler
In this blog, 3L Staffer Caroline Butler discusses a $320 million, 2,000-acre proposal to expand Bluegrass Station to include a military airport was made public. Butler argues that this proposal and the problems surrounding it, such as eminent domain and public pushback.
Blog by: Madison Boggs
In her blog, 2L Staffer Madison Boggs discusses the passage of the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act in the House of Representatives. The Act seeks to amend existing federal regulations governing school lunches, allowing schools to offer a broader range of milk choices to students, including whole, reduced-fat, and fat-free varieties. Boggs emphasizes the significant contribution of discarded milk in school cafeterias to food waste and advocates for expanding beverage options, including plant-based milks, in schools to tackle this widespread issue.
Blog by: Matthew Pakkala
In this blog, 3L staffer Matthew Pakkala discusses the ongoing crisis facing the Florida manatees. He briefly introduces the main threat—algae blooms—and details the situation unfolding in the Indian River Lagoon. Pakkala advocates for the Florida manatee to be reclassified as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Blog By: Christian T. Deeter
In his blog, 3L Staffer Christian Deeter argues that the Fifth Circuit should hold the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) constitutional because it does not violate the non-delegation and anti-commandeering doctrines. The amended version of HISA adequately reformed the Authority, making it sufficiently subordinate to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Deeter supports his opinion with an analysis of the Fifth and Sixth Circuit’s recent rulings.
Blog By: Jose Herrera
In this blog, 3L Staffer Jose Herrera examines the extensive consequences of the booming avocado industry in Michoacán, Mexico. Herrera highlights environmental and social concerns that result from deforestation and corruption and advocates for regulatory reforms to address environmental degradation and safeguard community well-being.
The human population is expected to grow to 9.7 billion by 2050, and at that size, to meet demand, food production must increase by 70%. Many argue, without a sustainable meat alternative that meat consumption will outpace production, causing meat to become scarce instead of the commodity it is now.
Since President Donald Trump has been in office, one of his main objectives has been to reform the North American Free Trade Agreement. President Trump has labeled the agreement “the worst deal ever made in the history of the world.” Although there is no definite way of determining the future of NAFTA, there is fear that President
Utah’s Agricultural Operation Interference statute, or “ag-gag law” as it is often called, is intended to deter animal activists from being able to take videos of animal cruelty and abuse. Recently, a federal district judge in Utah struck down this law, agreeing with activist Plaintiffs that it violated their First Amendment right to free speech. This was the second time that a state’s Ag-Gag law has been held unconstitutional, thus creating a stronger precedent for other states to follow suit.
For those not well versed in science jargon, CRISPR-Cas is a genome-editing technology that allows the user to precisely cut out sections of DNA. Not surprisingly, scientific technology is moving faster than the gears of the political process can turn. The FDA and the USDA have realized that CRISPR is coming whether they are ready or not. But the agencies are going different directions on whether to regulate the organisms that undergo CRISPR alterations.
Farmers of the twenty-first century depend on agricultural equipment outfitted with computer systems and state-of-the-art software. The proliferation of high-tech farm equipment in recent years not only increased average yields in light of unreliable market prices, but it also distorted traditional notions of ownership.
The Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) has decided to install a 100-mile electrical transmission line starting in Reynolds, Indiana and ending in Topeka, Indiana. This $270 million dollar transmission line is supposed to help improve Indiana’s access to wind and solar renewable energy and maybe even lower the cost of energy and reduce greenhouse gases. However, this new powerline has been a matter of dispute with local Northern Indiana farmers who are complaining that the 100-mile powerline is interfering with their farms.
In 2016, Congress passed a law requiring labeling of bioengineered food products, more commonly known as Genetically Modified Organism or GMO food products. Many believe this mandatory labeling requirement is unconstitutional. The reason for this belief, surprisingly, derives from a 2015 Supreme Court case regarding road signage in Arizona.
On July 16, 2015, by a 28-2 vote, the United States Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Agriculture, Rural, Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill (S.1800) for fiscal year 2016. This bill, commonly referred to as the Federal Farm Bill, supports agriculture cooperative conservation and rural community programs implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through these programs, the USDA promotes and financially supports essential nutritional needs for the elderly and for children and their families, as well as food and drug safety.
