Food Labels - What Are You Eating?
An interview with Lauren Handel
The first iteration of the Food and Drug Act came about after Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle exposed atrocious conditions in meatpacking plants. Today’s consumers are much more interested in not only what’s in their food and how it's made but the health consequences of what they eat. Lauren Handel breaks down food labeling laws and explains some of the recent litigation on misleading food labels.
About Lauren Handel
“Today, consumers are much more interested not only in what's in the product... but in the health consequences of what they eat. And the market is trying to address that in their labeling and marketing.”
Lauren Handel is an attorney for food, farming and alcoholic beverage businesses. Lauren’s practice includes regulatory compliance, commercial contracts, litigation and intellectual property. Lauren previously was a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP where her practice concentrated on product liability and environmental litigation, as well as workplace safety regulation. After nearly 10 years of counseling and defending Fortune 50 companies, Lauren decided to put her skills and experience to work for independent businesses that produce the things she is most passionate about − good food and drink. Lauren is the author of A Practitioner’s Guide to Defending “Natural” Food Labeling Litigation, published in the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture & Natural Resources Law, as well as a chapter on Urban Agricultural Nuisances and State Right to Farm Laws published by the American Bar Association in the book Urban Agriculture: Policy, Law, Strategy, and Implementation. She frequently lectures on food and agricultural law topics at seminars for the food industry and for attorneys.
