Global Food Governance

With increasingly globalised markets, changing consumer preferences and the steady development of technologies influencing food trade flows, safety and quality concerns have triggered the development of new forms of global (food) governance. Since its creation in 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has succeeded in providing a multilateral legal framework for the development of regulatory practices through its multiple agreements. Similarly, the continuing importance of regional and bilateral trade agreements, such as in the European Union and in Switzerland, has enhanced WTOs accomplishments through a comprehensive and dynamic set of international rules and standards for trade. However, the changing trends in the production and distribution of food products have questioned the effectiveness of the regulatory status quo. This book addresses the legal aspects of the current global architecture for food governance, particularly with regard to the role of international standards. In doing so, this work attempts at mapping the implications of domestic food measures in international trade law.

Mariela Maidana-Eletti is a Swiss trained lawyer, currently holding a visiting appointment as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of International Economic Law, Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC in the USA. She holds a PhD in Legal Sciences from the University of Lucerne in Switzerland, an LL.M in International Business Law from the Free University Amsterdam in The Netherlands and a Master in Law from the UNED Madrid in Spain. She is admitted to the Spanish bar and has practiced international and domestic commercial law in Switzerland. Her research interests focus on international economic law at the intersection of food and public health regulation.

Contents: Global Food Markets and Standards – Global Food Governance – The Importance of Food Standards in International Trade Law – Food Standard-Setting Organisations – Food Quality Standards as Technical Barriers to Trade – Food Labelling Standards and Trademark Law – Food Safety Standards as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures – The Coordination of European Food Standards – The Equivalence of Swiss Food Standards – Implications of Food Safety and Quality Standards in International Trade Law.