Animal Law Podcast #53: A Meaty Constitutional Discussion

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Professor Sherry Colb of Cornell Law School along with one of her students, Jareb Gleckel. We’ll be speaking about a recent article they have co-written, “Labeling Alternative Meat: Constitutional Choices That Can Dictate the Future of Food,” __ Animal L. R. __ (forthcoming, 2020), that is about the constitutionality of legislation that seeks to limit, and in some cases criminalize, the types of labels that can be used for plant-based foods. We start by discussing a new decision on a motion for a preliminary injunction in Turtle Island Foods v Richardson, otherwise known as the  Missouri Tofurky case (which I discussed with Amanda Howell on Episode 43) and move on to discuss the constitutional issues that are at issue in that and similar cases, some of the wide-ranging implications of these cases, and some potentially powerful alternative arguments. It’s a fascinating and lengthy discussion that you’re sure to find informative regarding a crucial issue for the future of food, and the future of animals.

Sherry F. Colb is the C.S. Wong Professor of Law at Cornell University. She was valedictorian of Columbia
College and received her law degree magna cum laude from Harvard. She then went on to clerk for Judge Wilfred Feinberg (on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and then Justice Harry A. Blackmun (on the U.S. Supreme Court). In addition to teaching courses in constitutional criminal procedure, evidence, and animal rights, she has published articles in a variety of law reviews, including Stanford, Columbia, N.Y.U., and G.W., and written two books about animal rights, Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights (co-authored with Michael C. Dorf) and Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans. She composes a bi-weekly column on Justia’s Verdict as well as regular posts on the blog, Dorf on Law.

Jareb Gleckel is a third-year law student at Cornell and lives in Ithaca with his dog, Gatsby. Before starting law school, he co-founded and ran Hamptons Chess, which became known for its local outreach in Suffolk County, New York. Jareb also writes literary fiction, and Trident Media Group will represent his first two novels. After graduating, he will clerk for Judge Richard Wesley (on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and Judge Paul Oetken (in the Southern District of New York).

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