The Relationship Between Agricultural Law and Environmental Law in the United States of America

Abstract

Agricultural law and environmental law in the United States are individually vast areas of legislation, regulation, and jurisprudence involving a wide array of objects, actors, rights, and duties. There is also significant overlap between the two areas due to agriculture’s dependence on the natural environment for production of food, feed, fiber, and fuel. In relation to the concept of agroecology, this chapter explores the legal and regulatory framework to identify how it influences agricultural practice in relation to environmental protection and the design and management of agroecosystems within the US. Laws and regulations implemented by different actors at both the federal and state/local levels are explored according to various agroecosystem components and environmental media (e.g., land, water, air). In general, the US framework for agricultural law and environmental law was found to not promote a holistic agroecology approach. Instead, the system aims to ensure a basic level of environmental protection in the design and management of agroecosystems through a fractionated approach, including multiple different regulatory schemes administered by agencies at varying levels that apply differently to various types and sizes of actors.