Agriculture & Food

Lawyer quits law to become restaurant server

As a 3L, Claire Gregory had visions of a happy future that included a career in the legal space. At age 28, while practicing entertainment law, she pivoted to another space where she’d previously worked in college that had brought her happiness: hospitality.

Jun 8, 2026 1:12 PM CDT

Family sues Campbell Soup over alleged ‘worm-like organisms’ inside SpaghettiOs

A Florida mother and her child allege that they became ill after eating SpaghettiOs containing “worm-like organisms," the basis of their negligence lawsuit filed against the Campbell Soup Co. in federal court Tuesday.

Jun 4, 2026 10:06 AM CDT

Farming and lawyering have many similarities, BigLaw partner says

When I find myself in a particularly contentious discovery dispute or a rancorous hearing, it’s often not the skills I learned in law school or honed as a federal prosecutor that I rely on first. Instead, I draw on something older and more deeply ingrained: the lessons I learned growing up on my family’s organic farm in California.

Jun 1, 2026 9:31 AM CDT

Employees sue USDA secretary over ‘increasingly proselytizing’ Christian emails

Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the union representing the agency’s workers are suing the secretary of the deparment over a series of emails promoting Christianity.

May 14, 2026 1:35 PM CDT

Barbecue term catches fire on social media; who will get smoked on trademark rights?

If you like barbecue and use social media, you may have heard of Walter Johnson, a senior citizen social media influencer who goes by “Mr. Tendernism.” It references a term that he uses to describe smoked meat so tender that it falls right off the bone. In November, a North Carolina civil litigator who didn’t know Johnson filed two trademark applications for “Tendernism” for restaurant services and clothing.

Mar 12, 2026 8:55 AM CDT

‘Boneless wings’ suit against Buffalo Wild Wings doesn’t fly in federal court

Restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings can continue to serve “boneless wings,” even though the sauced chicken nuggets are not deboned chicken wings as a class action lawsuit purports they should be, according to a federal judge.

Feb 18, 2026 10:55 AM CST

Processed foods caused diabetes, severe personal injuries, woman claims in $1B suit

Cheetos, Oreos, Doritos, Rice Crispies, Mac & Cheese. These are among the foods cited in a lawsuit filed by a Florida woman seeking $1 billion in damages as a result of health conditions that she said she suffered as a result of eating “ultra-processed foods,” Legal Newsline reports.

Feb 5, 2026 10:46 AM CST

McDonald’s grilled over contents of McRib sandwich in class action lawsuit

Fast food giant McDonald’s is accused in a class action lawsuit of misleading customers that its popular McRib sandwich is made from real rib meat.

Jan 7, 2026 1:53 PM CST

Companies use ‘deceitful tactics’ to market harmful ultra-processed products with ‘addictive nature,’ city’s suit alleges

A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the city of San Francisco alleges that several major food companies used “deceitful tactics it inherited from the Big Tobacco industry” to market harmful ultra-processed foods and to "aggressively sell those products to children.”

Dec 4, 2025 11:20 AM CST

Farm Aide: Janie Simms Hipp ‘was put on this earth’ to work in agricultural law

At the time of the farm financial crisis in the 1980s, Janie Simms Hipp was in private practice in Oklahoma City, representing banks and handling commercial litigation. As part of her job, she helped clients take people’s homes and businesses. Until, she says, she couldn’t do it anymore. “I just literally woke up one morning, and I walked into my partner’s office, and I said, ‘I quit,’” says Hipp, a 1984 graduate of the Oklahoma City University School of Law. “I cannot live with myself if I do this.”

Nov 24, 2025 9:08 AM CST

DOJ closed meat probe just before Trump’s investigation demand

The U.S. Justice Department closed a yearslong antitrust probe into the meatpacking industry during the COVID-19 pandemic just weeks before President Donald Trump demanded a fresh investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nov 14, 2025 10:01 AM CST

Delcianna Winders has woven a web of animal law clinics and programs

“Becoming a lawyer was a good pathway to channel my animal advocacy, and the law plays a really important role in the status of animals,” says ABA member Delcianna Winders. “It’s an important lever that I could have an impact on.”

Sep 2, 2025 11:55 AM CDT

Throwing food at people has led to serious criminal charges for some

While federal prosecutors failed to get a felony indictment against a man for throwing a sandwich at a law enforcement officer in Washington, D.C., people have faced serious consequences for hurling food.

Aug 29, 2025 11:00 AM CDT

11th Circuit upholds $144K sanction against food industry lawyer for repeating failed allegations in second suit

A federal appeals court has upheld a $144,000 attorney fees sanction imposed on New York food labeling lawyer Spencer Sheehan for filing a false advertising claim against Big Lots in a Florida federal court that repeated allegations in a failed lawsuit in another jurisdiction.

Aug 28, 2025 12:12 PM CDT

Lawyers copied parts of brief, decided to ‘double down on imprudence’ by repeating losing arguments, judge alleges

Lawyers representing a food company are facing possible sanctions for filing a motion to dismiss said to largely copy whole sections of a brief filed by another law firm with arguments that did not succeed.

Jun 24, 2025 12:31 PM CDT