Farming or Food Production

Summary:

This article maps the current legal and logistical circumstances of animals in transportation, with a focus on commercial airlines and meat industry trucking practices, and proposes novel ways of utilizing the existing common law of contract adjudication to win stronger protections for such animals, even absent the fulfilled dream of statutory reform. In particular, it argues that courts should utilize two well-established doctrines of contractual interpretation--unconscionability and unenforceability as against public policy--to arrive at more humane results for animals.

Summary:

The meat, egg, and dairy industries in the United States slaughter over ten billion land animals each year. The majority of these animals are raised on capital intensive factory farms. Large farming operations use factory farms to cut production costs and thereby increase their profit margins. Although this industrialization of the animal agriculture business reduces monetary costs, it causes immense suffering to the farm animals and raises significant costs to society, including a reduction in the number and profitability of family farms, an increase in the health risks related to meat consumption, a proliferation of damage to the environment, and a rise in threats to farm workers' health. Current federal and state legislation fails to protect farm animals from the cruel, inhumane conditions common on factory farms. This paper discusses changes that could be made to the tax code to provide incentives to farms to treat farm animals more humanely.

Summary:

Part I of this Note analyzes the U.S.'s trade obligations under the GATT. Part II discusses the potential ability of various GATT provisions to support a trade measure banning battery cage eggs. Part III discusses the U.S.'s potential ability to create such an animal welfare provision. while upholding its obligations in the Agreements annexed to the GATT. The Note concludes that an appropriately tailored animal welfare measure banning battery cages for hens should be able to survive under the GATT and its annexed agreements.

Summary:

Parts I and II track the history and development of the NAIS. Part III introduces the opposition of small and organic farmers to the NAIS, and Part IV explores that opposition. Part V explores legal challenges to the NAIS, and Part VI explores the policy challenges. Part VII examines the USDA's response to small and organic farmers' concerns with the NAIS. Finally, Part VIII suggests possible solutions to small and organic farmers' issues raised by the NAIS.

Summary:

This Article explores competitive injury as a basis for challenging the USDA's failure to enforce the HMSA and AWA. Part I.A provides background on claims that the Acts are both underenforced. Part I.B then introduces the problem of standing in the context of animal welfare lawsuits. Part II.A analyzes Article III standing requirements as applied to a competitively injured plaintiff. Part II.B then analyzes what the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires for an injured competitor to bring suit against the USDA for failure to enforce the HMSA and AWA. This Article concludes by suggesting that the HMSA provides the best vehicle for a competitive injury suit against the USDA because Congress has made abundantly clear its desire to see the HMSA fully enforced.

Summary:

Abstract: The labeling of shell eggs fails to reveal the inhumane conditions under which most laying hens are raised in the United States. Most of the eggs sold in major supermarkets come from factory farms. This article examines how the failure to regulate misleading animal welfare claims on egg labels creates a risk that consumers are buying products that they otherwise would not buy. This article explains why, from a moral and a legal standpoint, consumers should avoid purchasing most eggs.

Summary:

This Note analyzes the likelihood that vegetarian beliefs will satisfy the requirements necessary to secure a religious exemption under the backdrop of New York's mandatory vaccination law, Public Health Law section 2164, and the accompanying case law. The author then presents a hypothetical challenge to 2164 by vegetarian parents, outlining arguments that might be brought by both sides. In the end, the author determines that the most practical approach for the courts to follow would be to adopt a broad definition of religion encompassing vegetarian beliefs, while stressing the sincerity of belief inquiry to weed out individuals not truly deserving of exemption.

Summary:

In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a First Amendment religious free exercise challenge brought by a Florida Santerían church in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah. However, Lukumi may be the most misunderstood legal precedent in recent history. The decision is often cited for the proposition that religious practitioners have a constitutional right to engage in animal sacrifice. This is far from the truth. Lukumi was decided in a unique context, and its holding was not based on the merits of animal sacrifice. This article will demonstrate that Lukumi does not force government to acquiesce to animal sacrifice, or the “litter” it creates.

Summary:

This article describes the minimal state and federal laws relating to animals raised for food production, and outlines a path for reform.

Summary:

This article proposes federal legislation that would provide minimum standards for the daily living conditions of animals raised for food production.