Can Justice Sotomayor Stand Up to Big Ag?

Forefront in the news these last few days has been President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. From what I can tell, she seems like a fair, honest judge who avoids flash and goes for comprehensive, rational arguments. But what I really want to know is what she is going to do for Sustainable Food and the nation’s small, independent farmers. Obama has made some dually positive and negative picks for the USDA, so how will it go for the Supreme Court?  Evidence gleaned from her personal history as well as professional rulings look positive.

Judge Sotomayor was born and raised in the South Bronx. Her parents were both immigrants from Puerto Rico and her father worked as a tool-and-die worker while her mother worked as a nurse. Her father passed away when she was nine years old, and her mother became the primary caretaker to both her and her brother. Judge Sotomayor credits her mother as her life’s inspiration.

Coming from a poor and racially segregated area, Judge Sotomayor is undoubtedly aware of the difficult conditions that many people face in acquiring healthy, nutritious foods. New York City, where she was born and raised, has recently created new programs to help erase “food deserts.” This is certainly a cause she can champion if lawsuits concerning food and urban areas come to the Supreme Court.

As a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor has made several rulings concerning food and the environment. In February, as stated on Obama Foodarama by Eddie Gehman Kohan, she voted to uphold New York City’s policy requiring restaurants to post calories on their menus. This decision may indicate that she favors full disclosure to consumers and is aware of the effects diet has on health. As someone who has long lived with diabetes, Judge Sotomayor must watch her own diet closely, and likely well understands the role of prevention, education, diet and exercise in maintaining good health.

On the environmental front, Judge Sotoymayor’s most notable ruling was in the case of the EPA v. Riverkeeper, Inc. In this 2007 decision, she held that the EPA could not use cost-benefit analysis in determining the best technology to minimize impact on aquatic life under the Clean Water Act. That ruling was reversed by the current Supreme Court this past month, in a 6 to 3 ruling authored by Justice Scalia.  However, when and if litigation over the effects of factory farm manure lagoons or other environmental damage caused by industrial agriculture comes before the Supreme Court, we can hope that Justice Sotomayor will follow her own precedent in balancing environmental protection against monetary interests.

President Obama has made some positive changes in the USDA of late, eliminating some of the rampant cronyism that has existed for years between Big Ag and the federal agency charged with regulating it. This cronyism also exists in the Supreme Court. In fact, Justice Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto lawyer. Hopefully Obama’s first appointee will be someone who can understand the needs of the nation’s small farmers, and the needs of all consumers for clean, healthy food.  Justice Sotomayor, assuming she is confirmed, may be just the right person to weigh and balance these critical interests.