Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy

On October 23, 2013, the Los Angeles City Council officially recognized "Food Day," an annual day to bring awareness to our food system and the policies that dictate it. In that spirit, this inaugural Los Angeles Food Policy Tracker documents food policies undertaken in Los Angeles since October 24th of 2012, when the City of Los Angeles made a significant food policy commitment in the form of adopting the Good Food Purchasing Pledge.

The Resnick Program for Food Law and Policy and the Los Angeles Food Policy Council actively follow Los Angeles food policy actions. In this 2016 Los Angeles Food Policy Tracker, substantial policy actions undertaken at both the City and County level are identified. Specifically, the tracker documents policies that were adopted, administratively closed, or are currently pending during the time period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. The tracker is divided into three sections: City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Unified School District.

In recent years, the food landscape in the United States has witnessed a rapid growth of food related start-ups, direct marketing to consumers, and new food inventions. While many of the businesses that have been developed in this new food space have been successful in terms of expanding market share and securing funding and customer support, it is evident that at least some of them are running up against a regulatory and legal structure that was not designed to accommodate them.

The food sector is witnessing a substantial shift in consumer interest in plant-based diets. Millennials, in particular, are keen to expand the quality and quantity of plant-based foods they consume. More generally, Americans are increasingly aware of the social, environmental, and financial costs of diets heavy in animal protein and are beginning to seek out foods that are healthier, more sustainable, and animal-friendly as well.

The publication of this White Paper coincides with an uptick in media attention globally on this type of fraud - dilution, substitution, omission, or concealment, all for the purpose of economic gain. The White Paper notes that this fraud (EMA) often leads to food safety incidents and cheats consumers.

UCLA Law Review, 65 UCLA L. Rev. Disc. 28 (2017)

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).

The Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and the Los Angeles Food Policy Council actively follow Los Angeles food policy actions. In this Los Angeles Food Policy Tracker 2018, substantial policy actions undertaken at both the City and County level are identified. Specifically, the tracker documents policies that were adopted, administratively closed, or are currently pending during the time period from January 1, 2017 to July 1, 2018. The tracker is divided into three sections: City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Unified School District.