This month Diana is in discussion with UCLA Law student Melissa Deng and Robyn Huey Lao, an allergy mom advocate and pediatric nurse practitioner, about Robyn’s journey to shepherd California Senate Bill 68, the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences, to passage. She explains how she was inspired by her nine-year-old daughter, Addie, and how their love of food inspired this bill. The three talk about building coalitions, the process of introducing bills to the legislature, and the importance of legal research. Melissa also explains her work at UCLA on restaurant training for food allergens.

You can find Robyn’s website, Addie Tells All, here.

You can follow her on Instagram at @AddieTellsAll

You can find the law review article, Fearless Dining: Mandating Universal Allergen Disclosures on Restaurant Menus, that started Robyn thinking here.

You can find Melissa Deng on LinkedIn here.

Diana Winters is the Deputy Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law.

In this episode, Diana and Michael are joined by Professor Lingxi Chenyang to discuss her article, “Food Antidemocracy,” forthcoming in the Southern California Law Review. In this article, Professor Chenyang looks at the Farm Bill’s hidden history, delving into the antidemocratic techniques that were used to initially pass this law and tracing some of the major problems in our modern food system to this history. “Food Antidemocracy” is a fascinating look at the underpinning of the American food system.

Professor Chenyang is an Associate Professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.

Michael T. Roberts is the Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law.

Diana Winters is the Deputy Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law.

You can find “Food Antidemocracy” here.

You can see Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” photograph here.

In this month’s episode, Michael and Diana talk with Amanda Mrad and Juliet Cushing, two UCLA students who are involved with the World Food Forum and who participated in its annual flagship event at FAO headquarters in Rome this October.

Juliet Cushing is a clinical researcher with the UCLA Department of General Internal Medicine, working on diabetes prevention and chronic disease management. Juliet graduated from UCLA with a degree in Human Biology and Society, and a minor in Food Studies.

Amanda Mrad is a double Bruin, holding a degree in physiology and food studies and currently pursuing an MLS degree, specializing in food law. She is also currently interning at the FAO headquarters, where she works within the Office of Youth and Women, home to the World Food Forum.

Diana Winters is the Deputy Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law.

Michael T. Roberts is the Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law.

Some relevant links are here:

World Food Forum (WFF)

Join a WFF National Youth Chapter

UCLA Teaching Kitchen

UCLA MLS Program

As always, you can send questions or comments to Diana Winters at winters@law.ucla.edu.