FROM SILICON VALLEY TO THE KITCHEN TABLE: INNOVATIVE ONLINE AGRICULTURE & FOOD START-UPS AND THE LAW

Note Written By: Matthew A. Forcum

Recent growth in agriculture and food-centered internet startup businesses will raise new legal issues as industries are disrupted in sectors largely governed by law and regulation inherited from generations past. This Note examines the context of these emerging online businesses and their significance in respect to the food system and the laws that govern it. Part II will provide a background perspective and review of certain factors influencing the recent growth within the sector. Part III of this Note will survey several examples of internet start-up activity occurring throughout the realms of food and agriculture. Part IV will then evaluate the existing legal and regulatory framework within which the new businesses operate. Finally, this Note will argue that new laws, regulations, and policies responding to these changes in food and agriculture should strike a balance between the accommodation of new innovation and maintaining consumer safety.

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