Current Initiatives
Legal strategy historically has played an instrumental role in protecting public health. From seat belt legislation to removing lead from paint to prohibiting smoking in public places, our justice system has led to monumental change in the name of safety and wellness. The Rudd Center is committed to bringing a strong presence in legal expertise to bear in addressing the issues concerning obesity and how to develop meaningful legal solutions to the public health crisis at hand.
- Farm Bill
- Food Addiction and the Law
- Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value
- Food Marketing
- Menu Labeling
- Obesity and the Law
- Weight Bias
1. Farm Bill
The Farm Bill is pertinent to the law and obesity because the subsidization of the commodity crops (corn, wheat, cotton and soybeans) results in an overproduction of these crops. Corn and soy are particularly relevant because one consequence of the subsidization is that the price of corn and soy is artificially low, driving down the price of the many foods and beverages manufactured with them and the livestock raised on them. Corn, in the form of high fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar in much of the food produced in the United States and represents the sole sweetener for all soft drinks and many other sweetened beverages. Thus, highly processed and calorie dense foods are inexpensive in the United States. Health foods like fresh fruits and vegetables are not subsidized and therefore remain more expensive than their unhealthy competition. All interested groups should galvanize support for a health-minded Farm Bill in 2012.
2. Food Addiction and the Law
The Rudd Center is determining the legal and policy implications of the possible addictive properties of certain foods or beverages.
3. Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value
The Rudd Center agrees with the Institute of Medicine that a revised definition of Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value is warranted.
4. Food Marketing
- Marketing to Children
- FTC Workshop on Marketing, Self-Regulation, & Childhood Obesity (July 2007)
- Misleading Marketing
5. Menu Labeling
Jennifer L. Pomeranz and Kelly D. Brownell of the Rudd Center and Robert Post of Yale Law School submitted an amicus brief in the case of New York State Restaurant Association v. New York City et al. (July 2007). The amicus brief was in support of the New York City defendants on the First Amendment challenge by the NYSRA.
6. Obesity and the Law
Bellagio Conference on Obesity, Nutrition and the Law (June 2007).
The Rudd Center hosted a Conference on Obesity, Nutrition and the Law in June 2007 in Bellagio Italy. Participants were law professors from universities across the United States and public health experts from the United States, Brazil, Peru, Thailand, South Africa, Finland and the United Kingdom. The public health experts worked in non-profit organizations, city and federal governments, non-government organizations, universities and private corporations.
7. Weight Bias
Support Massachusetts bill H. 1844.
The Rudd Center supports Massachusetts bill H. 1844 making it illegal to discriminate based on height and weight, introduced by Representative Byron Rushing.