Pittman to present 'Recent and Emerging Issues in Ag and Food Law: Overview for Arkansas Ag & Food Industries' on Sept. 17 at the Food Science Department.

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Harrison Pittman

Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center, will present 'Recent & Emerging Issues in Ag & Food Law: Overview for Arkansas Ag & Food Industries' at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, in Room D-2 of the Food Science Building. The Food Science Building is located 2 miles north of the mail campus at 2650 N. Young Ave.

Arkansas is a national leader in the agricultural economy, ranking in the top 25 in the production of at least 15 commodities. Additionally, Arkansas is home to the largest food retailer and some of the largest food processors in the nation. Therefore, changes in laws and policies impacting agriculture are very significant to agricultural industry in Arkansas as well as the overall state economy. This presentation will discuss several recent and emerging issues at the state, federal, and international levels that impact Arkansas agriculture.

Pittman serves as director of the National Agricultural Law Center, headquartered at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The National Agricultural Law Center is the only institution of its kind in the nation, and serves as the nation's leading source of objective agricultural and food law research and information. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, after attending Mississippi State University and graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He then earned an LL.M. in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law's Graduate Program in Agricultural Law.He has been with the Center in various capacities since 2001. He has taught at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law as part of the Ben J. Altheimer Distinguished Professorship for Agricultural Law, and has also served as a visiting professor at the Drake University Law School. In addition, he has taught Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Introduction to Agricultural Law in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, & Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.  In that role, he was awarded the 2011-2012 Agricultural Business Club Teaching Award.  He is an active member of the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA), and in 2010 became the inaugural recipient of the AALA's Excellence in Agricultural Law award in 2010.