Michael T. Roberts

Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy,
Professor from Practice

  • B.S. University of Utah, 1986
  • J.D. University of Utah, 1989
  • LL.M. University of Arkansas, 2000

Michael T. Roberts is the founding Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. A recognized thought leader in the field, Roberts has played a pivotal role in influencing the development of food law and policy in the United States and internationally. In 2004, he taught the first food law and policy course in the United States and spearheaded the creation of the Journal of Food Law and Policy—the first academic journal dedicated exclusively to the subject. 

Since joining UCLA in 2013, Roberts has authored and edited foundational books, including Food Law in the United States (Cambridge University Press, 2016), the first comprehensive treatise on U.S. food law. He is also the co-editor of Food Law: Cases and Materials (Wolters Kluwer, 2019) and serves as editor and contributing author of Research Handbook on International Food Law (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024). His scholarship also includes numerous chapters, articles, and papers on a broad range of food law topics.

Roberts is actively involved in the global development of food law and policy. He has lectured widely in countries such as Italy, China, Korea, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Romania, Turkey, and Russia. He serves as an outside advisor to the Journal of Food Law and Policy and actively supports and promotes food law scholarship, including through the Resnick Center’s podcast, Repast. He has led the Resnick Center in forming partnerships with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and several leading universities, including Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa and Renmin University School of Law in Beijing.

Roberts’s current research explores the relationship between global food governance and law. He is pursuing a DPhil in modern history at the University of Oxford, examining the origins and evolution of the FAO’s constitutional framework—how it shaped postwar food governance and reflected competing visions of international cooperation, equity, and institutional authority. He is also advising the FAO on a historical exhibition of its Constitution, which the Director-General inaugurated during the 2024 World Food Forum.

Roberts collaborates on a broad array of international initiatives concerning food supply chain integrity, regulatory innovation, and food security. He co-authored a legal brief with the FAO Legal Department focused on strategies to combat food fraud and is developing contractual models to integrate integrity and social values into global supply chains. He consults with the Gates Foundation regarding the integrity of vitamins in Africa’s food fortification programs. Additionally, he served as the lead consultant to Latham & Watkins in designing a food regulatory system for NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia, emphasizing innovation and sustainability. 

At UCLA, Roberts leads efforts to integrate legal education with broader social concerns related to food systems. He oversaw the launch of a student-led initiative that promotes social justice and equity in both domestic and global food systems. He teaches a seminar on Introduction to Food Law and Policy and guides students in independent research courses, which provide opportunities for researching and writing about significant food law and policy issues. He coordinates additional food law courses at UCLA Law while also contributing to the development of a graduate food studies certificate and co-teaching its core course, Introduction to Food Studies.

Roberts entered the field of food law in 2000 after taking a sabbatical from his firm to pursue an LL.M. program in agricultural law at the University of Arkansas, which is home to the only such program in the U.S. He later joined the Arkansas faculty as a Research Professor and Director of the National Agricultural Law Center. His experience also includes serving as of counsel at Venable LLP in Washington, D.C., and as a visiting scholar and consultant to the FAO in Rome.

Bibliography

  • Books
    • Research Handbook on International Food Law (edited by Michael Roberts). Edward Elgar Publishing (2023). Full Text Book Info.
    • International and national regulatory strategies to counter food fraud (with M.T., Viinikainen, T., Bullon). Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (2022). Book Info.
    • Food Law: Cases and Materials (with Jacob E. Gersen and Margot J. Pollans). Wolters Kluwer (2019). Book Info
    • Food Law in the United States. Cambridge University Press (2016). Book Info
  • Articles And Chapters
    • , in US Food Law: Responding to Changing Social Conditions in International Food Law & Policy, (Wolters Kluwer 2024).
    • , in Forward in Food, Philosophy, and Intellectual Property: Fifty Case Studies, (Taylor & Francis Group, 2024).
    • Introduction: Making a Case for International Food Law in Research Handbook on International Food Law, (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023). Full Text
    • Forward, Food Law: A Practical Guide, Tommy Tobin, Editor, (American Bar Association, 2022). Book Info.
    • Understanding Modern History of International Food Law is Key to Building a More Resilient and Improved Global Food System, 17 Journal of Food Law & Policy 56 (2021). Full Text
    • A "Food Systems Thinking” Roadmap for Policymakers and Retailers to Save the Eco-System by Saving the Endangered Honey Producer from the Devastating Consequences of Honey Fraud, Social Science Research Network (2019). SSRN | Full Text
    • US Food Law: Responding to Changing Social Conditions, in European and Global Food Law, (Wolters Kluwer, 2017).
    • The Pursuit of Food Authenticity: Recommended Legal and Policy Strategies to Eradicated Economically Motivated Adulteration (Food Fraud) (with Whitney Turk), Social Science Research Network (2016). SSRN | Full Text
    • 2016 China Food Law Update (with Ching-Fu Lin), 12 Journal of Food Law & Policy 238 (2016). Full Text
    • Genetically Modified Food Labeling in China: In Pursuit of a Rational Path (with Xiao Zhu and Kajie Wu), 71 Food and Drug Law Journal 30 (2016).
    • Foreword, in International Food Law & Policy, (edited by Gabriela Steier and Kiran Patel, Springer, 2016).
    • Setting the Table for Urban Agriculture (with Margot Pollans), in Urban Agriculture: Policy, Law, Strategy, and Implementation, (American Bar Association, 2015). Full Text
    • The Beginnings of the Journal of Food Law & Policy, 11 Journal of Food Law & Policy 1 (2015).
    • If Sugar Is Addictive...What Does It Mean for the Law? (with Ashley Gearhardt and Marice Ashe), 41 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 46 (2013).
    • Comparison of EU and U.S. Law on Sustainable Food Processing (with Emilie H. Leibovitch), in Alternatives to Conventional Food Processing, (edited by Andrew Proctor, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2011).
    • A Perspective on Emerging Law: Consumer Trust and Social Responsibility in China’s Food Sector: the “Bleaching” Case Study, 66 Food and Drug Law Journal 405 (2011).
    • Cheaters Shouldn’t Prosper: The Need for FDA to Protect Public Health by Taking Action Against Global Economic Adulteration of Pomegranate Juice, 6 Journal of Food Law & Policy 189 (Fall 2010).
    • Technical Regulations and Trade: Current Issues, Trends and Long-Term Prospects and the Compatibility of Private Standards With Multilateral Trade Rules: Legal Issues at State, in The Evolving Structure of World Agricultural Trade: Implications for Trade Policy and Trade Agreements, (UN, FAO, 2009).
    • U.S. Wine Regulation: Responding to Pressures and Trends in a Global Food System, Rivista Di Diritto Agrario (“Agricultural Law Review”) (2008).
    • International Legal Issues Concerning Animal Cloning and Nanotechnology: More of the Same or Are “The Times They Are A-Changin"?, National Agricultural Law Center (2008).
    • Role of Regulation in Minimizing Terrorist Threats Against the Food Supply: Information, Incentives, and Penalties, 8 Minnesota Journal of Law, Science, and Technology 199 (2007).
    • Introduction to Food Law in the People’s Republic of China, National Agricultural Law Center (2007).
    • Unintended Risks to Developing Countries From Privatization of Global Agriculture and Food Sustainability Standards, World Food Law Institute Selected Symposium & Round Table Papers (2007).
    • Food Law Update, 2 Journal of Food Law & Policy (Spring 2006); 1 Journal of Food Law & Policy 517 (Fall 2005); 1 Journal of Food Law & Policy 187 (Spring 2005).
    • Food and Drug Protective Measures, Chapter 16, in Homeland Security Deskbook, (LexisNexis, 2004).
    • Mandatory Food Recall: A Sensible and Minimalist Approach to Improving Food Safety, 59 Food and Drug Law Journal 563 (2004).
    • Anatomy of the Government’s Role in the Recall of Unsafe Food Products, National Agricultural Law Center Research Articles (April 2004).
    • J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.: It’s Meaning and Significance for the Agricultural Community 28 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 91 (Fall 2003).
    • Derecho Agrario, 18 Agro Enfoque 74 (March 2003). (Spanish translated text in Peruvian publication; article addresses agricultural biotechnology law issues in Developing Countries)
    • The Unique Role of State Trading Enterprises in World Agricultural Trade: Sifting Through the Rhetoric, 6 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 287 (Fall 2001).
  • Other
    • Science Report Scandal Could Lead to Lawsuits That Hold Sugary Beverage Industry Accountable, NY Daily News (Nov. 1, 2016). Full Text
    • Role of Regulation in Minimizing Terrorist Threats Against the Food Supply, American Bar Association Homeland Security and National Defense Newsletter (Fall 2007).
    • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A Legal Guide to Avoiding the Perils of Publishing Agriculture Sustainability Standards in the Agri-Food Sector, White Paper (Feb. 2007). Also published in Food and Drink Magazine and Food Traceability Report.
    • How to Prevent More Tainted Spinach, Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 4, 2006).
    • Animal Identification: Confidentiality of Information, Livestock Marketing and Information Center (Oct. 2004).
    • Animal Identification: Liability Exposure and Risk Management, Livestock Marketing and Information Center (Oct. 2004).
    • Food Traceability & Assurance in the Global Food System, Farm Foundation’s Traceability and Assurance Panel Report (July 2004).

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