Meet Our Speakers - Sarah Berger Richardson
Name: Sarah Berger Richardson
Title: Assistant Professor, uOttawa Faculty of Law – Civil Law Section
Education: BA (McGill University), BCL/LLB (McGill University), LLM (Tel Aviv University), DCL (McGill University)
Q: Tell us a bit about your work: what do you do and how does it relate to or involve the governance of food or food systems?
I teach and research in the area of food and agricultural law. My interest is in the regulation of the agri-food sector and how food production can be more sustainable and just, and the ways in which regulations can help or hinder that. A lot of my research focuses on animal agriculture, thinking about things like meat processing, on-farm slaughter, meat inspection requirements, supply management, food safety generally, anything related to animal-based products. The thing that motivates me is to problematize or ask questions about why we regulate the way we do and to think of ways we can reconceptualize production in a way that is ethical, thinking about the connections between the environment, the animals, the producers, the workers, and consumers. Basically, how can we think more critically about laws and regulations that haven’t always received a ton of interest in the legal community?
I’m interested in animal agriculture because of the opportunity it provides to explore rules and regulations that we often ignore but that are omni-present in the way that food is produced. I want to do so in a way that is conducive to dialogue between people who have different perspectives about what our food system should look like. How can discussions about animal welfare take place with people who believe in the importance of animal agriculture? How can research invite more dialogue in these spaces?
Q: What is your favourite part about your work?
The thing that I like the most about doing research in food law is that I can be creative and think about things at a conceptual level, but then also apply my research in ways that hopefully will have a practical outcome. Questions like how to feed a planet or develop the agriculture sector in Canada in a way that is just and resilient in the context of a changing climate aren’t abstract or esoteric. These are urgent policy questions that demand answers. What I enjoy about academia is that it provides a space to take a step back and think critically and be imaginative, while also getting into concrete discussions about the application of regulations to the agri-food sector. Navigating between both of those areas of thinking is fun.
My interest in food law is more than academic, it’s personal. It is something that I think about and care about in my day-to-day life. The ability to connect my personal beliefs and my practices with my research makes it much more enjoyable. I am fortunate to pursue projects that I would be wanting to do on my own. The personal connection to food is also something that seems to resonate with friends and family that aren’t in law. It is rewarding to be able to share my work with people outside of my university bubble and to know that they understand its importance. When I’m teaching there isn’t a week that goes by that there isn’t something in the news that is related to the course. Everyone eats and has to make choices at the supermarket, so it really resonates and it’s fun to have conversations. People just get why it’s important.
Q: What is an ongoing and/or emerging food law and policy issue that you have come across through your work that you feel is important and/or urgent and why? What is at stake?
Right now, I am working on a project on the regulation of slaughter line speeds. I have a paper coming out in the fall in the Alberta Law Review on this. I am trying to unpack the intersections between food safety, animal welfare and worker safety, and to see how improvements in one area can have spillover effects on the others.
Line speeds are part of a bigger phenomenon of concentration and consolidation in the meat processing sector that has significant impacts both up and down stream. What are the risks associated with a system where one slaughterhouse can process 40% of the Canadian beef supply? Beyond line speeds, what kind of pressure does this place on producers who have fewer choices when it comes time to slaughter their herds? How much further must animals be transported if local slaughterhouses are shuttered? What does it say about the nature of the work if no one wants to do it? Moving forward, I want to explore how anti-competition law can be leveraged to respond to these challenges. Conversations about anti-trust in the US are starting to emerge, but less so in Canada. The time is ripe for Canadian food lawyers join in.
Q: Can you give us a hint of something you will talk about at the conference?
I’ll be moderating the panel on COVID and the impact on the food system.
Q: What advice would you give to someone interested in practicing in the area of food law and policy?
Personally, and speaking from experience, I’d say to follow your heart. The discipline is still growing and there are so many opportunities to express your own personality and interests through your work. There is room for everyone to carve out their own space.
On the one hand, it can be intimidating to try to carve out a space where the path isn’t well trodden, so that’s scary because you’re going out on your own and trying something new. On the other hand, it’s rewarding to care about the work that you’re doing and do what you love. It shows when people are passionate about what they’re doing. If you’re doing what you care about, you’ll find a space for yourself where there is less competition. There’s more work clearing the path, but it’s yours when you do the work. There are so many opportunities for people to create that space and to be leaders in the field.