ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the legal and policy issues surrounding both food and agriculture. Juxtaposing the "food movement" and the prevalent industry practices provides for a window into many of the present conflicts. Gender is an analytical tool that is left out of agricultural and food scholarship and policy. However, women are actively engaged in the agrifood system, including as laborers, and experiences within the agrifood system can be highly gendered. The industrialization of agriculture are large-scale production of specialized products; technology; vertical integration in which various stages of production are controlled by one company; and factory farming. Two federal departments are primarily responsible for ensuring the safety of the food supply, including the safe use of antibiotics in food animals—Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Organic labeling is regulated by the USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS).