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55 Sw. L. Rev. 100 (2026)
Consuming Technology and Producing Injustice: Exploring New Challenges and Directions for Modern Food Law and Policy

handle is hein.journals/swulr55 and id is 109 raw text is: CONSUMING TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCING INJUSTICE: EXPLORING NEW CHALLENGES AND DIRECTIONS FOR MODERN FOOD LAW AND POLICY Angela Lee* I. INTRODUCTION The quality and quantity of food available are crucial for maintaining human health and enabling human flourishing at all scales. At the international level, several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are connected to food, including SDG 2, Zero Hunger, and SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being.1 Indeed, food is one of the basic physiological needs for survival, comprising the foundational level of Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs.2 It is imperative that people have access to safe, healthy, and adequate food if they are to effectively attend to needs higher up. Yet, food can also cause harm. Not all sources of sustenance are made equal. Beyond the most obvious culprits, like junk food, fast food, and other comestibles high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats, new categories of foods, such as those that are ultra-processed,3 have created growing apprehension * Assistant Professor, University of Alberta, Faculty of Law. 1. The 17 Goals, U.N. DEP'T ECON. & SOc. AFFS., https://sdgs.un.org/goals [https:/perma.cc/BU6A-HQED] (last visited Nov. 7, 2025). 2. Abraham H. Maslow, A Theory ofHumanMotivation, 50 PSYCH. REV. 370,372-74 (1943). 3. Ultra-processed food consumption has been connected with a variety of health risks, including increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. See, e.g., Yin Zhang & Edward L. Giovannucci, Ultra-Processed Foods and Health: A Comprehensive Review, 63 CRITICAL REVS. FOOD Sc. & NUTRITION 10836 (2023); G. Pagliai et al., Consumption of Ultra- Processed Foods and Health Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, 125 BRIT. J. NUTRITION 308 (2021); Xiaojia Chen et al., Consumption of Ultra-ProcessedFoods and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review ofEpidemiologicalStudies, 19 NUTRITION J. 1 (2020); CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN, ULTRA-PROCESSED PEOPLE: WHY WE CAN'T STOP EATING FOOD THAT ISN'T FOOD (2023). For more on the policy dimensions of ultra-processed foods, see, e.g., Michael J. Gibney, Ultra-ProcessedFoods: Definitions andPolicy Issues, 3 CURRENT DEVS. NUTRITION 1 (2018). 100