Conference 2021 Panel Recap - "Gowling WLG Emerging Voices in Food Law and Policy"
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The speakers on this panel – Andrew Stobo Sniderman, Tasha Stansbury, Celia Mary White, and Julia Witmer – presented their papers on major issues surrounding food law and policy. The panel was moderated by Stepan Wood (UBC) and judged by Bita Amani (Queen’s University), Patricia Farnese (University of Saskatchewan), John Leckie (Gowling WLG), Jacob Shelley (Western University), and Mark Youden (Gowling WLG).
Andrew Stobo Sniderman presented his paper “Clearly a subjective determination”: Interpretations of Undue Suffering at the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal (2000-2019). Andrew’s presentation focused on Canada’s federal Health of Animals Regulations, which aims to provide a measure of protection to farm animals, notably during their transit to slaughterhouses. His paper inquired into how the concept of “undue suffering” was interpreted by the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal (CART) and Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) between 2000 and 2019. During this period, a total of 157 CART decisions applied the “undue suffering” standard with respect to provisions of the federal Health of Animals Regulations, guided in part by three leading FCA decisions. Andrew’s longitudinal study of these cases allows people to see how the standard of “undue suffering” has been interpreted and evolved over time. A core implication is that some degree of suffering was deemed reasonable, though the contours of this permissible suffering remained ambiguous. Andrew argued that twenty years of CART cases demonstrate ample shortcomings of outcomes-based regulations, which are premised on a standard as vague as “undue suffering.”
Tasha Stanbury presented her paper “A Roof Over Our Stomachs: The Right to Housing in Canada and its Implications for Food Rights”. Tasha argued that the rights to food and housing are both embedded in several international human rights treaties. Until recently, Canada had not explicitly incorporated these rights into its own legislation, despite being a signatory to both treaties. Years of advocacy by multiple actors and organizations for both the rights to food and housing were largely ignored by the Canadian government. In 2019, however, Canada passed the National Housing Strategy Act, legislating a right to housing in Canada. Tasha’s study explored the question of whether, and how food rights advocates can look to the process of getting the right to housing on the books as a model to pursue in seeking legislation of the right to food in Canada. Her study observed how the right to housing was achieved, its consequent impacts on housing policy, and relevant comparisons to food rights advocacy. Tasha’s study also explored potential hurdles to be overcome in this legislation, due to the division of responsibilities between federal and provincial governments.
Julia Witmer presented her paper “How Law Shapes Food Sovereignty in Urban Canada”. Julia’s paper outlined the legal architecture of food sovereignty (FS) activities in urban Canada and begins to bridge the gap between FS and legal structures. FS was framed in the context of the Right to the City (RTC). Three fields of law which regulate FS were identified: constitutional law, municipal and planning law, and health law. Julia reviewed various case studies within the context of these three fields of law to locate and analyze legal instruments that shape, restrict and support FS activities. Julia’s paper demonstrates that all three legal fields act to both support and restrict FS depending on the activity, specific legal instrument, and context. Constitutional law is restrictive because it does not recognize local governments as true governments, it limits the role of provincial governments in agriculture regulation and treats food as a commodity. Constitutional law also supports FS because of the discretionary power provided to the Federal Government. Municipal and planning laws are mostly supportive because they enable local governments to act in the public interest through zoning and planning, creative actions, and governance structures. However, they restrict FS through broad delegated powers for local governments that lack a hierarchy of purposes. Health law restricts when it prioritizes food safety over other pillars of FS, but supports as it creates a creative avenue to govern food and apply the pillars of FS. Julia’s paper offers one perspective on the role that constitutional, municipal and property and health law have on the regulation of FS activities in urban Canada and adds to the existing literature regarding RTC, FS, and policy and legal regimes.
Celia Mary White presented her paper “Mexican Salsa and Mexican Farm Workers: How International Agricultural Development Marginalized Farm Labour”. Celia’s paper argues that the ethos of international development has worked to marginalize people who grow our food despite narratives of food security and progress. Celia argues that international food systems have become even more complex through systems of globalization, industrialization and technologization, and have been significantly influenced by, and entrenched in concepts of international development. One small meal can have countless intersections with international laws, domestic laws, environments and people. A simple salsa recipe, for example, containing merely tomatoes, lime juice, garlic, onions, and cilantro, contains in its history a complex story of power, privilege, poverty, and possibility. Celia argues that innumerable stories are hidden within the seemingly innocuous act of eating salsa.
Celia’s paper contributes to the discussions on how models of international development impact human rights through an anthropological lens that traces salsa ingredients back to their source. Although often praised as beneficial, and even necessary, her paper argues that the current model of international agricultural development is counter-productive for concepts implicit in the ethos of development, including human rights, health, and resiliency. By tracing ingredients back to their source: limes from Vera Cruz, tomatoes from California; Onions from Ontario; and Garlic and Cilantro from British Columbia, Celia’s paper discusses models of international developments that have worked to dispossess communities from their land and continue to uphold structures of poverty for those who grow our food.
All four papers will be published as working papers with the Centre for Law and Environment at the Allard School of Law. Working papers provide exposure to research carried out by students and recent graduates.
After much deliberation, the Gowling WLG – Joel Taller Prize for Emerging Voices in Food Policy was awarded to Julia Witmer. Congratulations Julia!