Volume 43, Issue 2

Throughout American history, farmers have played a vital role in American society and the construction of its economy. This fundamental fact remains true today. In 2013, the meat and poultry packing industry in the United States employed more than 482,100 workers (with combined salaries of more than $19 billion) and produced approximately 93.5 billion pounds…

Mark Twain is believed to have remarked, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” If you look for historical evidence that Twain actually coined this maxim, you won’t find it. But like the remark itself, the law often is more reflective of the echo that resonates down through time than the original utterance. This…

This article explores two divergent trends in the American food system: (1) consumer demand for “real” food that is sustainably produced and (2) the economic and political forces that continue to encourage consolidation and industrialization in agricultural production. It first considers consumer preferences for their food system, noting the evolution of the food movement from…

Consumer demand for grass-fed beef is on the rise, and some of the drivers of the grass-fed beef trend are consumer perceptions that, first, the practices of the grass-fed industry mean that the meat poses fewer health and safety risks than conventionally raised grain- fed beef, and second, the handling of the animals is more…

Under the guise of a health and safety rationale, a recent trend has seen individual states regulating aspects of agricultural production in a way that applies equally to products produced in state and out of state. These regulations, such as labelling laws and animal welfare restrictions, apply to products sold in the state enacting the…