Through an extended study of agricultural land use and policy, Natural Capital, Agriculture and the Law presents a comprehensive legal analysis of proposals for protecting natural capital stocks and the sustainable use of ecosystem services, critiquing the legal challenges in designing and operationalising a workable natural capital approach. Evaluating legal considerations at international, national and local levels, chapters canvas the challenges behind creating an optimal policy mix when shifting towards a natural capital approach, including entrenched private property rights and privacy and intellectual property concerns. Exploring the instruments necessary to support improved valuation and accounting for nature in the development of a natural capital framework, including digital technologies, regulation and market-based instruments, the book then considers the legal, technical and social barriers that impede their use. With an international outlook on environmental laws, trade rules and values, it concludes by arguing that operationalising natural capital governance requires designing and implementing legal and regulatory frameworks to support the identification, valuation, protection and restoration of natural capital. Global in scope, the book will prove invaluable for scholars of environmental and agricultural law, environmental economics and policy design. Identifying practical options for legal, regulatory and governance design, it will also be useful for governmental policymakers and environmental consultants.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business, and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This Advanced Introduction provides a succinct overview of the principles and rules that guide international food law. Neal D. Fortin explores how the globalisation of food supply chains has impacted international food law, making it a pressing concern for contemporary lawmakers. Exploring the maintenance of standards, rules and laws, alongside issues in relation to economics, trade agreements, and free-trade, this comprehensive book provides insight into the future of international food law. Key Features: Offers a historical overview of international food law, covering the key basic concepts Provides insights into key international trade agreements, agencies, and food safety controls Provides guidance on techniques for comparing and understanding the food law of different regions Incisive and accessible, this Advanced Introduction offers invaluable discussion of the major issues in the field for international law scholars, particularly those focusing on food law. It will also be a beneficial read for government officials involved in international trade and lawyers who deal with international food law looking for a better understanding of the history and key components of the topic.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business, and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This Advanced Introduction provides a succinct overview of the principles and rules that guide international food law. Neal D. Fortin explores how the globalisation of food supply chains has impacted international food law, making it a pressing concern for contemporary lawmakers. Exploring the maintenance of standards, rules and laws, alongside issues in relation to economics, trade agreements, and free-trade, this comprehensive book provides insight into the future of international food law. Key Features: Offers a historical overview of international food law, covering the key basic concepts Provides insights into key international trade agreements, agencies, and food safety controls Provides guidance on techniques for comparing and understanding the food law of different regions Incisive and accessible, this Advanced Introduction offers invaluable discussion of the major issues in the field for international law scholars, particularly those focusing on food law. It will also be a beneficial read for government officials involved in international trade and lawyers who deal with international food law looking for a better understanding of the history and key components of the topic.

GMOS and Political Stance: Global GMO Regulation, Certification, Labeling, and Consumer Preferences provides a foundational-to-current challenges resource for those involved in developing and applying regulations to these important resources. Beginning with basics of GMOs, the book first familiarizes the reader with the history, economic status, associated risks, global politics, and socio-economics of GMOs. From exploring the necessity of GMO regulations with the existing GMO technology as well as new gene editing technologies to discussion by GMO regulations experts from different continents and countries, readers will find the information necessary to understand the laws, rules, regulations and policies at domestic and international scale. A last chapter delivers an update and future look on gene-edited food and feed and discusses the possibilities on the future risk assessment, legislation and regulation of gene-edited products. GMOS and Political Stance provides a unique and applicable synchronization of all regulatory information on GMOs to facilitate effective and efficient regulatory development and adherence.

Policy Issues in Genetically Modified Crops: A Global Perspective contains both theoretical and empirical evidence of a broad range of aspects of GM crop policies throughout the world. Emphasizing world agriculture production and ethics of GM crops, the book balances insights into the various discussions around the use of GM crops including soil health, effects on animals, environmental sustainability impact, and ethical issues. The book presents aspects of GM crop policies and prevailing controversies throughout the world, in 5 sections containing 23 chapters. Beginning with the discussion of the policies related to GM crops, the book dives deep into issues related to food insecurity, agricultural sustainability, food safety, and environmental risks. Section 5 also captures the recent advances in agricultural biotechnology encompassing research trends, the nano-biotech approach to plant genetic engineering, and other transformation techniques in crop development. The contributors of the book represent different backgrounds, providing a holistic overview of diverse approaches and perspectives. Policy Issues in Genetically Modified Crops: A Global Perspective is a valuable resource for researchers in agricultural policy and economics, agricultural biotechnology, soil science, genetic engineering, ethics, environmental management, sustainable development, and NGOs.

Bio-Economy and Agri-Production: Concepts and Evidence bridges the knowledge gap between sustainability and bio-economy aspects of agri-production. It complements traditional perspectives of agri-production with advanced engineering, information and communication technologies recently applied in agri-business. Including knowledgebased agriculture and reflecting sustainability and circular economy principles, the book presents a holistic view of sustainable bio-economy, contributing to the development of integrated agricultural systems. As technology advances, agricultural production management practices are now being called upon to address the need for sustainability in the bio-economy. Bio-Economy and Agri-Production: Concepts and Evidence presents information to broaden the awareness and promotion of practices and technology to reduce the use of inputs, protect health and environment and improve resource-use efficiency. Topics that are addressed include circular economy in agri-business, lifecycle thinking, lean management, agri-chains, green production, and waste management. Bio-Economy and Agri-Production: Concepts and Evidence is a valuable reference for professionals, consultants, and policy making stakeholders in biosystems engineering and agricultural industries

Manju Pathak is presently a Professor of Biotechnology at Amity University, Noida. Earlier to this, she was a Professor of Biotechnology at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University, Vellore, Tamilnadu.

Agricultural Law in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cases and Comments introduces the subject of agricultural law and economics to researchers, practitioners, and students in common law countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and presents information from the legal system in Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The law and economics approach entails the use of quantitative methods in research. This is consistent with the expectations in an applied economics field such as agricultural economics. Covering the general traditional law topics in contracts, torts, and property, the book goes further to introduce cutting-edge and region-relevant topics, including contracts with illiterate parties, contract farming, climate change, and transboundary water issues. The book is supported by an extensive list of reference materials, as well as study and enrichment exercises, to deepen readers' understanding of the principles discussed in the book. It is a learning tool, first and foremost, and can be used as a stand-alone resource to teach the subject matter of agricultural law and economics to professionals new to the subject area as well as to students in law school, agricultural economics, economics, and inter-disciplinary classes.

Bringing together scholars from across the globe, this timely book astutely untangles the climate-food web and critically explores the nexus between climate change, agriculture and law, upon which food security and climate resilient development depends. Focusing through the lens of various domestic and international legal systems, this book addresses conceptual notions such as 'systems thinking' and climate change governance, as well as practical matters such as payments for ecosystem services and government subsidies for biofuels. Concerning itself with the vulnerability and resilience of both people and agro-ecosystems, it shows how climate action can yield high returns for agriculture as the primary source of economic activity for poor populations. Far reaching, this book also explores under-researched areas, including the linkages between invasive species law, climate change and agricultural law and the underlying dynamics of agroecosystem vulnerability. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses in existing agricultural laws and policies, it assesses new and innovative tools for addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation in the agricultural sector, before laying out a future research agenda. Scholars in the fields of climate change law, land use and agricultural law will find this key publication essential reading, as will practitioners desiring a deeper understanding of the agriculture and climate change nexus. Contributors include: R.W. Adler, M.J. Angelo, R.M. Bratspies, A. Cosby, L.H. Gunderson, C. Haberli, K.H. Hirokawa, A. Kennedy, R. Kibugi, E. Le Gal, P. Martin, M. Nowlin, A. Odoemene, J.P. Pietrafesa , P.A. Pietrafesa, J.B. Ruhl, S. Sauer, E. Spiegel, J. Verschuuren

Modern food governance is increasingly hybrid, involving not only government, but also industry and civil society actors. This book deftly analyzes the unfolding interplay between public and private actors in global and local food governance. Split into three parts, chapters focus on the legitimacy and integrity of private food governance, the hybridization of EU Food Law and hybridization in transnational food governance. Within these key areas, food scholars from diverse disciplinary fields present a fascinating array of original empirical case studies, showing hybrid governance arrangements in China, Europe and North America. Through these practical examples, they consider in detail how the responsibilities and risks inherent in these arrangements are allocated, how their legitimacy is ensured and the effect that they have on industry and government practice. Timely and discerning, this book will appeal to legal students and scholars focusing on regulation and governance and, in particular, those considering its relation to food. It will also provide guidance to policymakers on how to shape and direct the trends, types and outcomes of hybrid food governance. Contributors include: D. Casey, E. Fagotto, M. Faure, A. Fearne, M. Garcia, T. Havinga, M. Hussein, A. Kalfagianni, K. Kindji, K. Kirezieva, K. Kottenstede, P. Luning, T.D. Lytton, L.K. McAllister, T.A. Roche, E. Thomann, B.M.J. van der Meulen, P. Verbruggen

Almost all conversions of former Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaften (LPG - agricultural production cooperatives) in the years of 1990/91 were deficient. The volume documents the facts and presents the legal situation and the deviating practice. The legal-political background is considered as well as the strategy of politics and administration.

This book focuses on the social and environmental issues being addressed by agricultural law within the current globalised system. What is agricultural law? Agricultural regulations concern and affect essential human needs and values that must be dealt with by pursuing a comprehensive and coordinated global approach. By tracking the developments in this context, this book explores the new challenges that agricultural law needs to address in order to frame emerging dilemmas. International governance of natural resources and their role in addressing food insecurity is the object of the first Part of the volume, which deals with sustainable agriculture and agro-ecosystem services in connection with the food security issue. The second Part focuses on the regulation of food as the main product of agricultural activity, and explores the answers that the law can provide in order to accommodate consumers' interests and concerns (inter alia, novel foods, animal welfare, direct sales and e-commerce). The third Part examines the social, environmental and legal consequences of a renewed interest in agricultural investments. Further, it analyses the evolution and the interplay between different legal systems with regard to land tenure, environmental concerns and investments in agriculture.

Today's international trade regime explicitly rejects cultural perceptions of what is safe to eat, overturning millennia of tradition. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) enshrines "science" as the arbiter in resolving disputes involving this vital human need. This mandate, however, is under attack from many quarters. Critics cite environmental and ethical concerns, unpredictably changing technology, taste, food preferences, local culture, adequacy of governmental implementation of WTO standards, and the reliability of scientific opinion. A basic conflict has crystallized: food as culture versus food as commerce. The WTO/SPS approach is increasingly challenged for its balance in favour of economic considerations, and for its visible undermining of unique cultural identities. This book explores the relationship between the SPS Agreement, food traditions, science, and technology. It deliberately confronts those trade experts who refuse to allow other social sciences to influence their economics-based trade theory. The author investigates the local perception of food and food safety from the anthropological and historical points of view, the evolution of food production technologies, and the medicinal, proscriptive (taboo) and security aspects of food that continue to prevail in nearly all cultures today. She succeeds in demonstrating that, no matter how strong the faith in science and economics, it is unwise to flagrantly dismiss the deeply rooted beliefs of billions of people, a huge majority of the world's population. The beef hormones case; the remaining sovereignty related to food safety measures; the increasing significance of "appropriate levels of protection" and "the precautionary principle"; the redefinition of "food hazard" to include production processes as well as food itself; genetically modified seeds and food products; the concept of "risk" in the science-based context of the Codex Alimentarius - these are among the issues and topics covered in depth. The author concludes that, although quick "legal" resolutions of trade disputes about what people should or should not eat might provide a "win" for open trade, support for the entire structure and rationale of the WTO is undermined unless (at the least) some flexibility of interpretation is introduced into the WTO Dispute Resolution System in order to recognize the weight and validity of public opinion.

Flag of convenience fishing seriously undermines efforts to protect the marine environment. To counter this threat, "Market Denial and International Fisheries Regulation" rests on the logic of the most basic tenet of economics: if no market exists for a product then producers will cease to produce. Denying market access to the flag of convenience fishing fleet should significantly reduce instances of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In areas beyond national jurisdiction not only is market denial the most effective means of undermining the IUU fleet, it is, for most practical purposes, the only way to do so. To what extent, however, do the laws of the sea and international trade allow groups of States to close their markets to non-compliant fishing vessels?

This book provides in-depth insights into the regulatory frameworks of five countries and the EU concerning the regulation of genome edited plants. The country reports form the basis for a comparative analysis of the various national regulations governing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in general and genome edited plants in particular, as well as the underlying regulatory approaches.The reports, which focus on the regulatory status quo of genome edited plants in Argentina, Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan and the USA, were written by distinguished experts following a uniform structure. On this basis, the legal frameworks are compared in order to foster a rational assessment of which approaches could be drawn upon to adjust, or to completely realign, the current EU regime for GMOs. In addition, a separate chapter identifies potential best practices for the regulation of plants derived from genome editing.

Food and nutrition security - identified via availability, access, utilization, and stability - and transitions to sustainable food systems are major discourses in the agro-food arena, as many countries today experience different forms of malnutrition simultaneously, such as child undernutrition, anemia among women, and adult obesity. Meanwhile, the triple burden of malnutrition (undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiency) is still widespread. Food Security and Nutrition explores integrated, context-specific approaches to food security challenges, emphasizing nutrition security as an integral component and addressing the implications of food content to food and nutrition security policies. Providing insight into these challenges through agricultural, policy, nutritional, geographic and sustainability lenses, Food Security and Nutrition is a valuable reference for food scientists and nutrition researchers working in food supply, food security, and nutrition security, and policy makers, investors, and other decision-makers seeking to address food insecurity around the world.

To all appearances, Europe is at present undergoing a crisis of consumer confidence with respect to the food industry. Recent food scares, the genetically-modified food controversy, a growing public awareness of the environmental footprint of intensive faming methods, and a perceived threat to the deeply-held European cultural values surrounding diet and cuisine all have combined to expose the vulnerability of consumers in the very ordinary activity of purchasing food. Although the creation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in February 2002 can be viewed as an EU response to this crisis, it in fact represents an inevitable milestone in a body of food-specific European legislation and case law that has been growing for many years. The EFSA does, however, clearly establish food law as an autonomous branch of EU law. This is the first book to survey and analyze this body of law in depth, drawing together the relevant laws and cases and taking stock of the trends and likely future developments in this dynamic and emotive area of law and policy.

This book is the first wide-ranging guide to the key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity and food security. Proceeding from an introduction and overview of the issues, comprehensive chapters cover negotiations and instruments in the World Trade Organization, Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants and various other international bodies. The final part discusses the responses of civil society groups to the changing global rules, how these changes affect the direction of research and development, the nature of global negotiation processes and various alternative futures. Published with IDRC and QIAP.

This book represents a first attempt to investigate the relations between Law and Agroecology. There is a need to adopt a transdisciplinary approach to multifunctional agriculture in order to integrate the agroecological paradigm in legal regulation. This does not require a super-law that hierarchically purports to incorporate and supplant the existing legal fields; rather, it calls for the creation of a trans-law that progressively works to coordinate interlegalities between different legal fields, respecting their autonomy but emphasizing their common historical roots in rus in the process. Rus, the rural phenomenon as a whole, reflects the plurality and interdependence of different complex systems based jointly on the land as a central point of reference. "Rural" is more than "agricultural": if agriculture is understood traditionally as an activity aimed at exploiting the land for the production of material goods for use, consumption and private exchange, rurality marks the reintegration of agriculture into a broader sphere, one that is not only economic, but also social and cultural; not only material, but also ideal, relational, historical, and symbolic; and not only private, but also public. In approaching rus, the natural and social sciences first became specialized, multiplied, and compartmentalized in a plurality of first-order disciplines; later, they began a process of integration into Agroecology as a second-order, multi-perspective and shared research platform. Today, Agroecology is a transdiscipline that integrates other fields of knowledge into the concept of agroecosystems viewed as socio-ecological systems. However, the law seems to still be stuck in the first stage. Following a reductionist approach, law has deconstructed and shattered the universe of rus into countless, disjointed legal elementary particles, multiplying the planes of analysis and, in particular, keeping Agricultural Law and Environmental Law two separate fields.

This comprehensive yet accessible book offers an in-depth overview of the law relating to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It explores both the initial objectives set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, and also those policies that have emerged as a result of the growth of competencies within the EU. Examining the four regulations that currently govern the CAP in the areas of direct payments, rural development, finance, and the common organisation of the markets, the author considers their interpretation in the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU and the General Court. Throughout this insightful book, the European Commission's proposals for CAP reform are discussed and an astute assessment of their National Strategic Plans concludes that Member States would benefit from greater discretion in fine-tuning the principles of the policy established at European level to the particular characteristics of their national agricultural sector. Students and scholars of European law and agricultural law more specifically will find this book a structured and nuanced guide to existing and future policy at both EU and WTO levels. Policy makers and practitioners will also find its up to date treatment of the law a valuable reference.

With the conclusion of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture in 1994, agriculture has for the first time been integrated into world trade rules and disciplines. WTO Members have made a commitment to continue the reform process initiated during the Uruguay Round by starting new WTO negotiations on agriculture by the year 2000. This book combines academic analysis with practical expertise to discuss, in an accessible and systematic way, some of the principal aspects of these agricultural negotiations, and aims to make recommendations for viable and successful negotiating positions in the new WTO talks on agricultural trade. Several expert articles outline the historical and political background of previous negotiations and policy developments in agricultural trade. Others provide an overview of the key issues for the new round of negotiations.

This volume covers an impressively wide ground of issues related to (and originating from) the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, from both a domestic and an international perspective. Legal, economic and political matters are treated by top-class scholars. Each individual chapter is worth reading, and collectively they constitute a treasure chest of highly valuable insights into the operation and deficits of the CAP.' - Stefan Tangermann, former OECD Director for Trade and AgricultureFollowing the conclusion of the latest round of reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2013, the Research Handbook on EU Agriculture Law provides an up-to-date discussion of these reforms and the changing landscape in which the CAP now operates. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, and with international contributors from across Europe and the United States, the Handbook commences with analyses of the legal instruments which implement the reformed CAP, before moving on to consider questions of land use, the role of agriculture within the wider food chain and the international dimension. In these contexts, particular issues identified include: the environmental impact of past, present and future farming practices; the ability of the food chain to accommodate consumer preferences and scientific innovation; and the hurdles to be cleared before international consensus can be reached on a whole range of agricultural imperatives. As well as providing a state-of-the-art point of reference for academics, this comprehensive book will be of great interest to students, scholars and policymakers dealing with these new challenges faced by agriculture in the EU. Contributors: J. Anton, D. Baldock, D. Blandford, L. Bodiguel, M.N. Cardwell, M.G. Desta, A. Di Lauro, M. Dobbs, C. Haberli, D. Harvey, K. Hassapoyannes, W. Howarth, B. Jack, T. Josling, I. Kireeva, C. MacMaolain, A. Matthews, J.A. McMahon, B. O Connor, R. O'Gorman, C. Potter, C. Rodgers, F. Smith, S. Switzer, J. Vandenberghe