Public Health, Environmental Law & Policy: Toxins, Science & Disclosure 911-S1

This course will focus on the legal and regulatory systems that govern consumer protection and everyday toxic exposure. We will discuss issues of current concern including BPA in food, phthalates in toys, hormones in milk, GMO food, hydraulic fracking, mandated calorie disclosure in restaurants, pesticides in food and water, and the challenge of regulating hormone disrupting chemicals. We will consider the extent to which we are creating a regulatory system to track and evaluate public health in relation to toxic exposure and different regulatory techniques for dealing with uncertain risk and opposing market forces.