In Search of the Ghost of Tom Joad – A study of the “local food” movement and its relation to the legal frameworks of the current food system

The industrial food production system have given rise to tens of thousands of local, national and international social movements concerned with food and agriculture, reacting to the perceived social and environmental failures of the industrial food system. One of the directions inside these movements is the internationally based “local food” movement. The ”local food” movement promotes small-scale agricultural practices and a closer connection between farmer and eater, such as in the form of farmers´ markets and Community Supported Agriculture. In this thesis, it is argued that small-scale production is disfavoured as compared to large industrial production in Swedish food safety law and agricultural law and policy. Sweden has historically had an agricultural policy directed at creating larger farm units. Through the implementation of the support system to farmers of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU, large scale production units are still promoted, even though it is not a stated policy of the EU to prioritise large farming units before small-scale farming units. Money transfers from the taxpayers of the EU memberstates to owners or cultivators of large land holdings, representing 0,1% of the EU population, stands for almost 17 % of the total budget of the EU for 2013. Small-scale producers are either excluded from or not prioritised in the European and Swedish supports system consisting of direct payments to farmers. Also the market support measures of the CAP generally favours large producers. The reasons for this seem to be a combination of old policies and enduring economical interests. In the case of food safety law, small-scale producers might have a hard time coping with the vast amount of regulations, initially created as a response to the social and geographical distance created between producer and consumer as a consequense of industrialisation and urbanisation and adapted to the conditions of industrial food production. The regulations were created because of public health concerns, but also as a result of different economical interests pushing for the regulations, but this does not alter the fact that they may protect consumer health. However, an alternative approach would be for excemptions from the rules to be granted if small-scale producers can ensure consumer safety in other ways

Hästverksamhet: gränsdragningen mellan hobby- och näringsverksamhet

The paper examines how cases concerning the border between hobby activities and professional business are treated in case law. The study is based on the question of how and where the line between hobby activities and professional business is practically drawn. Whether a horse activity is seen as hobby activity or professional business is often dependant on if there is a purpose of making profit or not. Going through case law, the kind of circumstances that result in either one of the outcomes concerning the purpose of making profit are examined. The question if a horse activity is classified as a hobby activity or a professional business has implications for taxation. While professional business is taxed as income from business, a hobby activity is taxed as income from employment. Being taxed for the horse activity as income from business is generally seen as more favourable than being taxed for it as income from employment. A person can also be taxed for a horse activity as income from business in the case that the activity is considered to be a natural extension of a business property. Also this case is discussed in the thesis. Finally, the rationality and consistency of the reasoning in the case law that has been presented is discussed