About

The agri-food and environmental law (AgLAW) research team engages in exploring innovative legal and policy tools for improving environmental, social and economic sustainability of global food systems. Our research considers interconnections, synergies and trade-offs between different patterns that directly or indirectly affect food systems in an extremely integrated and complex scenario.

Our current research interests revolve around different key areas dealing with international, regional (mainly EU) and national regulatory frameworks that govern agriculture and food systems.

• We investigate the role of law in mitigation and agricultural adaptation to climate change and the extent to which social equity issues, environmental sustainability and the empowerment of farmers are taken into consideration in the multilevel policy of agriculture. A specific focus is dedicated to the Ecosystem-based approach in agriculture and its role in protecting, managing, and restoring habitats.
• Our research deals with agricultural digitalization and Earth Observation. Developing an enabling legal environment in this field result in higher and sustainable agricultural productivity while offering greater food and nutrition security and social inclusiveness.
• Our engagement in food systems thinking leads us to closely monitoring the “One Health” policy approach that aims to anticipate, prevent, detect and control diseases that spread between animals and humans, tackle antimicrobial resistance, ensure food safety and food security, and prevent environment-related human and animal health threats.
• By advancing alternative visions and systematic approaches on how to build fairer and more sustainable food systems, we deal with  the food commons calls for a “renewed form of food sovereignty”  in order to promote a collective governance of food-producing natural resources, a bottom-up inclusion of communities in the management of local food systems, and the evaluation of food as a multi-dimensional good instead of a mere commodity.
• International trade regulation is a core element in our research that we address with a view to ensuring the full realization of food security, the realization of the right to food at a global level.andthe transition towards more sustainable food systems.

If you want to follow the AgLaw's activities and be updated on publications and events, follow our social media channels: @AgLawResearchGroup on LinkedIn and Facebook and @AgLawSantAnna on Twitter