Bruce Friedrich

Steve Kaufman, M.D., and I have a chapter in this book, which focuses on the need for governments to fund plant-based and cultivated meat R&D.

Producing food industrially like we do today causes tremendous global economic losses in terms of malnutrition, diseases, and environmental degradation. But because the food industry does not bear those costs and the price tag for these losses does not show up at the grocery store, it is too often ignored by economists and… Show more

Steve Kaufman, M.D., and I have a chapter in this book, which focuses on the need for governments to fund plant-based and cultivated meat R&D.

Producing food industrially like we do today causes tremendous global economic losses in terms of malnutrition, diseases, and environmental degradation. But because the food industry does not bear those costs and the price tag for these losses does not show up at the grocery store, it is too often ignored by economists and policymakers.

The Economics of Sustainable Food details the true cost of food for people and the planet. It illustrates how to transform our broken system, alleviating its severe financial and human burden. The key is smart macroeconomic policy that moves us toward methods that protect the environment like regenerative land and sea farming, low-impact urban farming, and alternative protein farming, and toward healthy diets. The book’s multidisciplinary team of authors lay out detailed fiscal and trade policies, as well as structural reforms, to achieve those goals.

In the years ahead, few issues will be more important for individual prosperity and the global economy than the way we produce our food and what food we eat. This roadmap for reform is an invaluable resource to help global policymakers improve countless lives. Show less

Moo’s Law is the latest title from successful investor Jim Mellon to help readers understand the investment landscape in cultivated meat.

Jim has a vision that within the next couple of decades world agriculture will be radically transformed by the advent of cultivated meat technology. This book grounds the reader in why such an advancement is absolutely necessary and informs them of the investments they could make to become part of the New Agricultural Revolution themselves. The… Show more

Moo’s Law is the latest title from successful investor Jim Mellon to help readers understand the investment landscape in cultivated meat.

Jim has a vision that within the next couple of decades world agriculture will be radically transformed by the advent of cultivated meat technology. This book grounds the reader in why such an advancement is absolutely necessary and informs them of the investments they could make to become part of the New Agricultural Revolution themselves. The harrowing effects on our environment, animal cruelty in food and fashion, and the struggling ability to feed the world’s ever growing population means gives us no choice but to grow meat in labs or derive our proteins from plant-based sources. Once price parity with conventional meats is reached, there will be no turning back — this is Moo’s Law™. Show less

Chapter 7: The future of animals, the future of food

This volume examines conceptual and cultural opportunities, entanglements, and pitfalls in moving global meat, egg, and dairy consumption toward plant-based and cellular agriculture. Beyond surface tensions of “meatless meat” and “animal-free flesh,” deeper conflicts proliferate around naturalized accounts of human identity and meat consumption, as well as the linkage of protein with colonial power and gender oppression. What visions… Show more

Chapter 7: The future of animals, the future of food

This volume examines conceptual and cultural opportunities, entanglements, and pitfalls in moving global meat, egg, and dairy consumption toward plant-based and cellular agriculture. Beyond surface tensions of “meatless meat” and “animal-free flesh,” deeper conflicts proliferate around naturalized accounts of human identity and meat consumption, as well as the linkage of protein with colonial power and gender oppression. What visions and technologies can disrupt modern agriculture? What economic and marketing channels are required to scale these products? What beings and ecosystems remain implicated in a livestock-free food system? Show less

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 17 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 222 (and linked from the title). Abstract: The Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 (HMSA) includes an exemption for ritual slaughter, which is defined by the Act as “a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument.” In their execution of the law, the United States Department of Agriculture has created a… Show more

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 17 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 222 (and linked from the title). Abstract: The Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 (HMSA) includes an exemption for ritual slaughter, which is defined by the Act as “a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument.” In their execution of the law, the United States Department of Agriculture has created a “ritual bubble,” during which it says that its own inspectors have no authority at all to ensure that animals are humanely treated. USDA’s refusal to regulate ritual slaughter in that bubble cannot be reconciled with the humane intention of the federal slaughter law, and it also cannot be reconciled with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. In part one of this paper, I explain the statutory and regulatory scheme that applies to ritual slaughter, examine the science behind the ritual exemption to the humane slaughter requirement, and consider a real-life controversy over cruelty at a U.S. kosher slaughterhouse revealed by an undercover investigation. In part two, I argue that the ritual slaughter exemption as interpreted by USDA violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. In part three, I suggest that the best way forward on ritual slaughter is for USDA to promulgate regulations to require that it is conducted as humanely as possible. This solution would preserve the ritual slaughter exemption, thus not inhibiting religious freedom, while removing most of the Establishment Clause problems that are presented by USDA’s current interpretation of the law. Show less

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 104 Geo. L.J. 197 (and linked from the title). Abstract: The Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act (HMSA) declares that it is “the policy of the United States that the slaughtering of livestock and the handling of livestock in connection with slaughter shall be carried out only by humane methods.” Unfortunately, the HMSA is pervasively under-enforced, because the agency charged with administering it does an almost unfathomably inadequate job of doing so… Show more

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 104 Geo. L.J. 197 (and linked from the title). Abstract: The Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act (HMSA) declares that it is “the policy of the United States that the slaughtering of livestock and the handling of livestock in connection with slaughter shall be carried out only by humane methods.” Unfortunately, the HMSA is pervasively under-enforced, because the agency charged with administering it does an almost unfathomably inadequate job of doing so. This article: 1) briefly explains the factual and legal background of humane slaughter in the United States; 2) reviews government reports and undercover investigations that prove that USDA is not enforcing the law; 3) considers common theories that are deployed as explanations for an agency that is failing in its statutory mandate, and suggests a new one; and 4) explores some possible ways forward on the issue of humane slaughter. Show less

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 23 N.Y.U. Envtl. L.J. 245 (and linked from the title), this article argues that poultry should be given protection by the USDA under the Humane Slaughter Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 21 Animal L. 65 (and linked from the title), this article argues that a belief in animal liberation constitutes religion under constitutional jurisprudence interpreting the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Full article is attached.

Available on Westlaw or Lexis at 20 Animal L. 79 (and linked from the title), this Article argues that consumers should be able to pursue state law claims based on fraudulent animal welfare labels on packages of meat, despite the preemption clause contained in the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

I contributed a short (5 pages) reflection, "She Knows Better," on whether meat consumption can ever be humane to this powerful book by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Published in the Animal Law Review and linked from the title. Abstract: The chicken industry is harming animals, befouling our environment, exploiting farmers and workers, and harming human health. In this article, we discuss the harms and some of the solutions. In Part I, we discuss animal welfare, both on the farm and at slaughter. In Part II, we discuss the environment, both local and global. In Part III, we discuss human rights, with a focus on chicken growers, slaughterhouse workers, and… Show more

Published in the Animal Law Review and linked from the title. Abstract: The chicken industry is harming animals, befouling our environment, exploiting farmers and workers, and harming human health. In this article, we discuss the harms and some of the solutions. In Part I, we discuss animal welfare, both on the farm and at slaughter. In Part II, we discuss the environment, both local and global. In Part III, we discuss human rights, with a focus on chicken growers, slaughterhouse workers, and the global poor. In Part IV, we discuss the effect of chicken consumption on human health. In each of our first four sections, we offer a few examples of actions that creative lawyers are taking in an effort to mitigate some of the discussed harm. Finally, in Part V, we discuss our belief that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is ‘captured’ by the industries it is supposed to regulate, leading to under-regulation. We conclude that while the tireless efforts of lawyers, activists, and organizations to ameliorate industry and agency failures are critical, the best that can be done through litigation and other forms of policy action is to mitigate the harm caused by the poultry industry. Show less

I contributed a chapter on advocacy, titled "Effective Advocacy: Stealing from the Corporate Playbook," to this book of animal rights essays, which was edited by Peter Singer.