A Call to Action: The New Academy of Food Law & Policy

The food system is affected by unique and complex laws. These laws call for a new generation of legal practitioners and scholars. This essay announces the creation of the Academy of Food Law and Policy. The Academy creates a network of law professors researching, teaching, and mentoring in food law and policy

Climate Change, Food Security, and the Myth of Unlimited Abundance

The Biden-Harris White House can be commended for convening the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health highlighting the critical connections betwee

Who Gets the Check: Determining When Federal Farm Program Payments Are Property of the Bankruptcy Estate

I. Introduction . . . . . 469 II. Characteristics of Federal Farm Programs . . . . . 471 A. Basic Attributes of Federal Farm Programs . . . . . 471 B. Distinguishing Characteristics of Different Types of Farm Programs . . . . . 474 III. Defining Property of the Estate . . . . . 477 IV. Legal or Equitable Interests as of Commencement of the Case . . . . . 479 A. Contractual Obligation . . . . . 480 B. Pre-Petition Statute as Creating Legal or Equitable Interest . . . . . 487 C. Post-Petition Statute: Circuit Courts Draw the Line . . . . . 490 V. Proceeds, Product . . . or Profits of or from Property of the Estate . . . . . 496 VI. Comments and Conclusions . . . . . 50

Who Gets the Check: Determining When Federal Farm Program Payments Are Property of the Bankruptcy Estate

I. Introduction . . . . . 469 II. Characteristics of Federal Farm Programs . . . . . 471 A. Basic Attributes of Federal Farm Programs . . . . . 471 B. Distinguishing Characteristics of Different Types of Farm Programs . . . . . 474 III. Defining Property of the Estate . . . . . 477 IV. Legal or Equitable Interests as of Commencement of the Case . . . . . 479 A. Contractual Obligation . . . . . 480 B. Pre-Petition Statute as Creating Legal or Equitable Interest . . . . . 487 C. Post-Petition Statute: Circuit Courts Draw the Line . . . . . 490 V. Proceeds, Product . . . or Profits of or from Property of the Estate . . . . . 496 VI. Comments and Conclusions . . . . . 50

Climate Change, Food Security, and the Myth of Unlimited Abundance

The Biden-Harris White House can be commended for convening the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health highlighting the critical connections betwee

Molecular mechanism of mast cell–mediated innate defense against endothelin and snake venom sarafotoxin

Mast cells are protective against snake venom sarafotoxins that belong to the endothelin (ET) peptide family. The molecular mechanism underlying this recently recognized innate defense pathway is unknown, but secretory granule proteases have been invoked. To specifically disrupt a single protease function without affecting expression of other proteases, we have generated a mouse mutant selectively lacking mast cell carboxypeptidase A (Mc-cpa) activity. Using this mutant, we have now identified Mc-cpa as the essential protective mast cell enzyme. Mass spectrometry of peptide substrates after cleavage by normal or mutant mast cells showed that removal of a single amino acid, the C-terminal tryptophan, from ET and sarafotoxin by Mc-cpa is the principle molecular mechanism underlying this very rapid mast cell response. Mast cell proteases can also cleave ET and sarafotoxin internally, but such “nicking” is not protective because intramolecular disulfide bridges maintain peptide function. We conclude that mast cells attack ET and sarafotoxin exactly at the structure required for toxicity, and hence sarafotoxins could not “evade” Mc-cpa's substrate specificity without loss of toxicity