RALEIGH – Campbell Law School Assistant Professor Nicole Ligon has had an article published in the Penn State Law Review.
The article, titled “In Support of Free Speech on Food Production,” was published on Feb. 12 and focuses on “food disparagement laws” and state laws aimed at stifling undercover investigations into agricultural practices on farms and plants.
Following is the article’s abstract:
“In May 2024, Florida and Alabama became the first states to ban the production and sale of lab-grown meat. Driven by a desire to protect the traditional agriculture industry, these new laws impose severe penalties on anyone found to have even stored lab-grown meat products in their home. The legislation follows in the footsteps of other laws aimed at offering the traditional agriculture industry additional protections. Florida, Alabama, and 11 other states already have ‘food disparagement laws’ that make it easier to punish critics of traditional agriculture companies. Additionally, six states, including Alabama, currently have laws aimed at stifling undercover investigations into agricultural practices on farms and plants.
“When bans on lab-grown meat co-exist with other laws designed to protect the traditional agricultural industry from criticism and accountability, the public loses the ability and willingness to freely engage in discourse aimed at discerning whether the bans are beneficial. Under current legal frameworks, the potential benefits of lab-grown meat, which may include lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing food contamination from pathogens like E. coli, cannot be properly weighed against the potential downsides, such as profit losses for traditional agribusinesses and new health risks.
“This article examines how the traditional agriculture industry has used legal tools to silence discussion on matters that could lead to significant innovation and improvement in human health and safety. Through the lens of these new bans on lab-grown meat, this Article considers the ways in which the public loses out on being able to make well-informed decisions about their food consumption due to restrictions on speech within the agricultural context. As a society, it is imperative that we scrutinize these regulations, advocating for policies that both ensure food safety and protect access to information regarding agricultural practices. The future of food production may or may not include lab-grown meat, but the decision of whether to change our diets should rest with a well-informed public.”
In a note, Ligon thanks Duke University School of Law Professor Jeff Powell, Campbell Law Professor Bobbi Jo Boyd and First Amendment expert Joel Kurtzberg, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, for their continued guidance and mentorship. She also thanks Campbell Law student Laurel Szalkowski ‘25 for her editing assistance.
Originally founded in 1897 as the Forum, the Penn State Law Review (PSLR) is the fifth oldest, student-run law review in continuous print in the United States. PSLR is ranked among the top 6.5 percent of all legal journals throughout the country and competes with other top publications for submissions. Its articles and student-written comments are regularly cited in court opinions, legal journals, treatises, and casebooks. It is a journal that publishes three times a year and presents analysis and commentary on numerous relevant topics.
Ligon teaches courses related to Media Law and the First Amendment as well as Professional Responsibility and Trial Advocacy. Prior to joining Campbell Law, Ligon served as a Clinical Professor of Law at the Duke University School of Law and as the supervising attorney of Duke’s First Amendment Clinic. She also practiced litigation with Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York.
Ligon frequently contributes expert analysis and commentary to news stories involving First Amendment concerns. Her scholarship has appeared in journals such as the University of Illinois Law Review, Harvard Law & Policy Review, Southern Methodist University Law Review, University of Richmond Law Review and New York University Law Review Online.
Ligon earned her J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where she served as a Notes Editor for the Duke Law Journal. She earned her B.A. from Emory University.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts nearly 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law celebrated 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 15 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.