Canadian Lawyer

32 A P R I L 2 0 1 9 w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m "The pot has been simmering for a while in terms of there being the potential for more litigation in Canada related to food law." Catherine Bate, Miller Thomson In the two decades since the CFIA was created, the agriculture and food industry has become a vital source of economic growth, contributing $111.9 billion, or 6.7 per cent, of Canada's gross domestic product in 2016. Food and ingredients are now sourced worldwide, making our food supply chain increasingly interconnected. At the same time, interest in food in general has skyrocketed, ignited by the popularity of all-day food TV programming and propelled through social media. There has never been as much interest in how food is produced, processed and distributed, especially as issues such as foodborne illness, food fraud and misleading labelling claims continue to make headlines. As a result, regulations and policy surrounding agribusiness and food have grown ever more complex, as regulators work to ensure oversight keeps pace with rapidly changing food science and technology. "The reality is that, if you're in the food business, you're swimming in a sea of regulations," says Doering. "That's also why I think it's a growing area of law." What is food law? Because Canada's food and beverage industry is so diverse, with so many different legal requirements, lawyers generally enter the field from a variety of professional backgrounds. "The thing with food law is that it really does touch on so many different areas that sometimes it is hard to find the common thread," says Sarah Berger Richardson, a PhD candidate currently teaching at Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law. "Obviously, it's all about food, but you can come at it from so many different levels of government and areas of expertise. There's the producer angle, the consumer angle, the environment and the animal welfare angle — there's a lot happening and it makes it really challenging." "I am a food lawyer, but I wouldn't say that's the only thing I do," says Laura Weinrib, a partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto. "I actually call myself a regulatory and advertising lawyer, and I specialize in regulated products and bringing those products to market, as well as regulatory and compliance issues." At the same time, says Weinrib, "if you ask someone what food law is you might get a blank stare back. If you describe what you do, I think people do understand it at a high level. Food law is really the legislation, legal issues and policies that regulate production, trade and handling of food. And it involves a very broad spectrum of actors. You've got the obvious big food manufacturers who sell pre-packaged food products at grocery stores, but then you've got a whole level of farmers, crop producers, processors and distributors, retailers and companies that make animal nutrition products, biotech orgs, feed companies, dairy farmers — there's a lot there." Miller Thomson LLP has approximately 55 lawyers with a variety of legal backgrounds working in its vast agribusiness and food law industry group. "Being from Saskatchewan, agricultural and food law have always been an integral part of our economy," says Eric Johnson, a partner in the firm's Regina

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