George Kimbrell

Are we undervaluing the role of the courts in enacting social change? What does it mean to codify a harm into the law? With two conflicting visions about the planet and our food systems at the nexus, how can food law pivot us towards a brighter future? All that and more in today’s episode with CFS’ very own Legal Director George Kimbrell. In this episode, George and Ashley dive deep into public interest litigation, exploring how and why the “Davids” of the world can defeat the “Goliaths”. George shares his personal journey to law, his greatest legal battles, how he handles his darkest moments, the importance of work-life balance, and the bits and pieces of wisdom he’s gained along the way. George Kimbrell is CFS’s Legal Director, overseeing all of the Center’s legal work. Along with his Director duties, George is counsel in many CFS cases. His legal, legislative, and policy work runs the gamut of many CFS program areas, including pesticides, genetically engineered organisms, animal factory pollution, food labeling, foodborne illness, organic standards, and aquaculture. Among other landmark cases, George was counsel in the first U.S. Supreme Court case on the regulation of genetically engineered crops. He received his law degree magna cum laude from Lewis and Clark Law School, where he now teaches food and agriculture law as an adjunct professor. He has authored numerous law review articles and other publications, and often speaks on all areas of food and agriculture law and industrial agriculture’s impacts on the environment and public health. Before joining CFS in 2005, George completed a clerkship with the Honorable Ronald M. Gould, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Resources: CFS website Supreme Court Roe v Wade leaked opinion Mass vs. EPA case 2007 Brown v. Board of Education Monsanto Co. et al v. Geertson Seed Farms et al. National Environmental Policy Act and Environmental Impact Statements Youth v Gov Documentary US Right to Know GE Labeling Bioengineered Disclosure Case Plugs: https://thebrooksinstitute.org/animal-law-fundamentals https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/reports/6470/will-regulators-catch-the-drift-nffc-v-epa-and-breathing-new-life-into-pesticide-regulation George's Twitter: @george_kimbrell