Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m A P R I L 2 0 1 9 35 is telling of the fact that students are definitely keen to learn more about the emerging area of food law in Canada." Student food law societies have also begun appearing on campuses, often engaging in some of the social advocacy issues surrounding food and agriculture, including animal rights, food safety, environmental sustainability, food waste and labour. And while regulatory guidance remains the basis of food law, academics and practitioners are exploring wider systemic questions such as food security, food sovereignty, land use, agricultural practices, emerging science and other issues with much broader ethical implications. McLeod-Kilmurray says student interest in food law is as diverse as the field is wide. "Some of the students were already interested in food law, but this year we have a chef, people who are interested in health law and in environmental law." Although she acknowledges that food law is a multi-disciplinary practice, McLeod-Kilmurray says a dedicated food law course gives students a better perspective of the realities of the food and agribusiness industry. "I think it's important to teach these courses that thread all those different areas together, because if you teach it in trade law as a commodity, you may not consider all the environmental or social or health impacts, whereas if you teach it in health law, you might not get all the economic aspects. So, I think it's a really good case study of how real life works — you don't just do one thing, all these different threads are interconnected. They're not all silos like our old courses were 40 years ago in law school." "I think we're recognizing more and more that a lot of problems in the 21st century are interdisciplinary — nothing fits the nice, neat little categories we use to ascribe to these things, and so it's really challenging, but it's also very much a reflection of reality that you can't separate trade from health, from environment, from socio-economic poverty challenges — they're all connected," says Berger Richardson, who focuses on issues surrounding food safety and the regulation of slaughter and meat processing. "But I do feel a lot of enthusiasm and excitement about food law compared to 10 years ago." Berger Richardson also notes that much of the academic work being done around our food system is working to build "a common language" around food conversations, given the wide variety of industry stakeholders. Food for thought "People have different theories about why food law and policy hasn't taken off as a field or practice of law until recently," says Nadia Lambek, an SJD candidate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, "but, just in terms of how people learn about the laws governing our food system in law school, [it] has been quite fragmented. I think that people haven't begun to think across the system or to connect what we might think of as disparate areas of practice or study under the same kind of rubric or to think about them as addressing similar problems. Yet they are connected." Lambek is also chairwoman of the nascent Canadian Association for Food Law and Policy, and she hopes that the association's fourth annual Food Law and Policy Conference will help practitioners build connections that will strengthen as the food law community grows. The conference takes place Nov. 7 to 9 at the University of Toronto, and it is open to lawyers, students and academics interested in all areas of food law. If there is a common thread binding practitioners of food law together, it may be a genuine love for the industry. "The thing I enjoy most about working in this area are the clients," says Johnson. "They tend to be very down-to-earth and appreciative of the legal advice we can offer. Food law is such a diverse area of practice, which is evolving rapidly, which makes for a very exciting area in which to practise." "It always keeps you on your toes and there's always something new to consider. You never really feel like you're stagnating," says Lee. "There's a lot of interesting developments going on; for example, the national food policy, Canada's new food guide, labelling modernization. So, it's a really exciting time to be doing this work because you really do feel like you can make a difference." Bate agrees. "At the fundamental level, it's something that everyone understands. It can be very complicated, very nuanced, very sophisticated, but there's something about getting food to the table that everyone can relate to." "All the regulatory changes create a lot of uncertainty for companies, both as the government is introducing new legislation and then while waiting to see how it's actually implemented and what it will mean in a practical sense." Katrina Coughlin, Gowling WLG

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