Food System Transparency: Law, Science and Policy of Food and Agriculture

244 Pages·2021·13.141 MB·English

by  Gabriela Steier (editor), Adam Friedlander (editor)

Food System
Transparency
Advances in Agroecology
Series Editors
Stephen R. Gliessman, University of California, Santa Cruz, California
Helda Morales, Agroecology Group, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur,
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
Environmental Resilience and Food Law
Agrobiodiversity and Agroecology,
edited by Gabriela Steier, Alberto Giulio Cianci
Political Agroecology
Advancing the Transition to Sustainable Food Systems,
authored by Manuel González de Molina, Paulo F. Petersen, Francisco Garrido
Peña, Francisco R. Caporal
Urban Agroecology
Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions,
edited by Monika Egerer, Hamutahl Cohen
Subtle Agroecologies
Farming with the Hidden Half of Nature,
edited by Julia Wright, Nicholas Parrott
Food System Transparency
Law, Science and Policy of Food and Agriculture,
edited by Gabriela Steier, Adam Friedlander
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.crcpress.
com/Advances-in-Agroecology/book-series/CRCADVAGROECO
Food System
Transparency
Law, Science and Policy of
Food and Agriculture
Edited by
Gabriela Steier and Adam Friedlander
Front cover photograph by Adam Friedlander
Back cover photograph by Paul De Filippi
CRC Press
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First edition published 2021
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Dedication
My parents
My grandparents
My sons
My husband
— Gabriela Steier
Mom, Dad, Benjamin, Jasmine,
my late grandparents,
and
all of my mentors, friends, and family.
— Adam Friedlander

Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................ix
Introduction .......................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments .........................................................................................xiii
Editors ................................................................................................................xv
Contributors ...................................................................................................xvii
Part I: The big picture
Chapter 1 Food fraud and food defense: Food adulteration law
and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) ...................3
Darin Detwiler
Chapter 2 Codex Alimentarius and transparency of the global
food safety system ....................................................................35
Alexey Petrenko and Victor Tutelyan
Chapter 3 Agroecology in food system transparency: Labels
and certifications .......................................................................63
Jennifer Williams Zwagerman
Chapter 4 Agriculture, freedom of speech, and
the birth of ag‑gag ....................................................................79
Autumn Johnson
Part II: Food safety and health
Chapter 5 Foodborne disease outbreak investigation:
Surveillance and responses in the United States,
Canada, the European Union, and globally ........................93
Justin Falardeau, Karen Fong, and Siyun Wang
vii
viii Contents
Chapter 6 Impact of the SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID‑19) pandemic on
the United States food system ..............................................117
Adam Friedlander, Lily Yang, Nicole Arnold,
and Stephanie Brown
Chapter 7 Fruits from agroforestry as sustainable meat and
vegetable replacements: The case of the Artocarpus ......143
Paul De Filippi
Part III: The global view
Chapter 8 Transparency in European Union food law .......................159
Sam Jennings
Chapter 9 Transparency from information‑based regulation:
The case of China and the Asian area ................................181
Juanjuan Sun
Chapter 10 Food labeling in Africa ..........................................................199
Wele Elangwe, Rosemary Agbor, and Fabrice Mbala
Index ................................................................................................................217
Preface
In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true
than ever that knowledge is power; for only by true
understanding and steadfast judgment are we able
to master the challenge of history.
John F. Kennedy, 1962
This volume has been written and finalized during the first six months of
the COVID-19 pandemic. The editors are considered Millennials and have
lived through these turbulent times with open eyes, minds, and hearts.
As such, the goals for this book are founded most deeply in the effort to
ascertain the power of information within the food system.
There are few powers greater than information and knowing better
means one can do better. Specifically, if one understands where the infor-
mation about one’s food lies or how it can be obtained, such knowledge
results in unbelievable potential to prevent outbreaks, improve food qual-
ity and even safety, and to prevent food insecurity. Only if the food system
is transparent, can actors and stakeholders, regulators, and consumers
tug at the right end of this vast network of convoluted and intertwined
information. Hopefully, information about our food system will reach
consumers – and resonate with their conscience and intellects. It is with
this in mind, that this volume has been compiled and edited.
Gabriela Steier
Boston, Massachusetts
An international network of scientific and legal scholars deliver timely
masterpieces to enhance the public’s understanding of food system trans-
parency. But what is transparency and how does the food system succeed
alongside societal forces? While the definition of transparency may evoke
varying opinions and emotions, there are undeniable and urgent oppor-
tunities to help make the food system work for all. Throughout our life-
time, we must keep eternal optimism that our collective and goodwilled
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