2013 Forum on Food Labeling

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Our second annual conference explored the legal and policy aspects of food labeling and its effects on consumer knowledge, choice, and behavior. Our forum brought together a host of authorities on food law and policy to discuss a number of pressing questions, including: What should we know about what’s in our food and how it is grown? What considerations should inform these decisions? Are food labels a meaningful tool to encourage better nutrition choices?

Videos from the conference are available on our YouTube channel.

See our conference webpage for more information.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Location: Harvard Law School, Austin North and West
1563 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
 
  • 3:00-3:45 Arrival & Welcome
  • 3:45-6:00 Session 1
    • 3:45-4:15 History and Development of Food Labeling Law, Michael Roberts, Adjunct Professor, UCLA School of Law
    • 4:20-4:50 Food Labels: Time to Modernize, Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest
    • 5:00-6:00 Panel: From Nutrition Facts to Front-of-Pack: What is the Ideal Food Label?, featuring: Helen Falco, Director of Nutrition & Health Policy, Coca Cola; Rebecca Goldberg, Attorney, Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Chief Counsel; Jennifer Pomeranz, Director of Legal Initiatives, Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, Yale University 
  • 6:00-6:30 Light Refreshments
  • 6:30-7:30 Keynote: Modern Food Labels – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and Why We Need Them, Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., Director, Consumer Safety and Sustainability Group, Consumer Reports

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Location: Pfizer Lecture Hall, Mallinckrodt Building
12 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA
 
  • 9:00-9:45 Arrival, Welcome, Continental Breakfast
  • 9:45-12:00 Session 2
    • 9:45-10:15 The Voluntary Food Labeling Process from Conception to Approval: A Case Study, Jesse LaFlamme, CEO and President of Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs
    • 10:20-10:50 Litigation and Other Tools for Tackling Misleading Marketing Claims: Preventing Humanewashing, Carter Dillard, Director of Litigation, Animal Legal Defense Fund
    • 11:00-12:00 Panel: Organic, All-Natural, Heart Healthy: How to Regulate Marketing Claims on Food Packages to Better Serve and Protect Consumers, featuring: Michael Crupain, M.D., Consumer Reports; Andrew Gunther, Animal Welfare Approved; Christina Roberto, Harvard School of Public Health