Animal Law Podcast #92: Must New Vegan Foods Be Tested on Animals?

On this episode, I will be talking to Taimie Bryant, a law professor at UCLA School of Law. She will explain some of the ins and outs of a law review article she recently published in the Marquette Law Review entitled “Novel Food Ingredients: Food Safety Law, Animal Testing, and Consumer Perspectives.” This article involves the question of what the FDA actually requires in order to authorize a new food product. Central to that question, as well as to a controversy about the development of Impossible Burgers, is whether animal testing is required in order to bring a new food to the market. And, even if it isn’t required, is it wise for companies to reduce their legal risks by performing such testing? This is an essential question, as we are seeing so many new vegan foods hit the market, and most of us are hoping for more. But will animals have to suffer and die for that to happen?

In addition to her other areas of expertise, Taimie Bryant has taught courses on animal law at UCLA Law School since 1994 and directs both the UCLA Animal Law and Policy Small Grants Program and the UCLA Dog Administrative Hearings Clinic. She has worked on legislation involving animal shelter law reform, declawing of cats, and currently, prohibiting glue traps. She has also written widely about topics related to animal law, including legal personhood, vegan enterprises, regulation of genetic manipulation of animals as artistic expression, and, most recently, the lack of legal requirements to test novel food ingredients on animals. 

View the full episode with resources here: https://ourhenhouse.org/ALP92/ The Animal Law Podcast is released by the nonprofit organization, Our Hen House. Share your thoughts with us on social media! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ourhenhouse).