Food Law Center

Activities

• Educating students and the public by developing courses, seminars, symposia, and other programming
• Engaging a variety of stakeholders to promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas about food and society
• Creating and promoting employment opportunities in food industries and public advocacy organizations
• Offering experiential learning opportunities for students

Past events

• Trends in FDA Enforcement: What We’re Seeing Today, June 2018
• Working as a lawyer at the FDA and a Food Company with Greg Thompson, Chief Food Law Counsel, General Mills, April 2018
• Menu Labeling and Other Food Labeling Laws, Dec. 2017
• Food Sustainability
• Protein Wars: Defining, naming, and labeling alternative proteins, October 2020

Food law courses

• Food Law taught by, David Graham (fall 2020)
• Food for Thought taught by, Melissa Weiner, Steve Toeniskoetter, Shirley Boyd, and Nancy Husnik  (spring 2021)
• Food Fight: The Art and Science of Foodborne Illness Litigation taught by, Ryan Osterholm and Brendan Flaherty (summer 2021)

Recommended courses

• Constitutional Law
• Administrative Law
• Environmental Law

Food law resources

• Food Law Student Network
• Harvard Food Law & Policy Career Guide
  100-page guide last updated in November 2017
• Minnesota State Bar Association Food, Drug & Device Section
• 5 New Practice Areas Your Firm Should Start, Law360.com
• FDA Law Blog
• The Ag & Food Law Blog
• Schroeder Ag Law Blog
• A Seat at the Table
• The Food Law Firm

Food Law Center Advisory Board

Kayla Beyer, JD – Element Food Solutions, Director of Business Development

Doug Blanke, JD – Public Health Law Center, Executive Director,

Shirley R. Boyd, JD – Cargill, Incorporated, VP and Associate General Counsel (retired)

Sarah Brew, JD – Faegre Drinker LLP, Partner

Susan Blum, JD – Cargill, Incorporated, Food Law Lawyer

David Graham, JD – Dykema Gossett, PLLC, Partner

Nancy Husnik, JD – Target Corporation, Director, Regulatory Counsel (retired)

Indra Mehrotra, MS, RD – Cargill, Incorporated, Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs (retired)

Ryan Osterholm, JD – OFT Law, Partner

Steve Toeniskoetter, JD – Hormel Foods Corporation, Senior Attorney

Joseph Scimeca, PhD – International Dairy Foods Association, SVP, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs

Jeff Varcoe, PhD – Schwan’s Company, Vice President, Food Safety and Quality

Melissa S. Weiner, JD – Pearson Simon & Warshaw, LLP, Partner

Faculty and Staff

Thaddeus Mason Pope
Professor of Law

Barbara Colombo ’89
Director, Health Law Institute and Health Care Compliance Program
Professor of Law

Megan Bohlman
Program Administrator, Health Law Institute