As a regular consumer of food, you would be reasonable to assume that food laws and agencies work to combat things like food waste, foodborne illness, inhumane livestock conditions, and disappearing fish stocks. However, some regulations do just the opposite. In Biting the Hands that Feed Usfood lawyer and scholar Baylen Linnekin explores these problems and offers smart, simple solutions for more sustainable food policies. The book gives a crash course in the counterintuitive food laws and regulations that exist in our nation today. Examples include laws that restrict the sale of "ugly" vegetables, leading to massive food waste, and local laws that prevent people from growing food in their own backyard. This is an accessible, fascinating, and at times humorous read that’s been prized by the likes of John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and co-CEO and Nina Teicholz, author New York Times bestseller The Big Fat Surprise.

Check out an excerpt of the book below.