Sustainable Economies Law Center

Written by Ellie​ ​Lauderback
Fall 2017

I​ ​began​ ​my​ ​internship​ ​with​ ​the​ ​Sustainable​ ​Economies​ ​Law​ ​Center (SELC)​ ​simply​ ​wanting​ ​to​ ​learn​ ​more about​ ​food​ ​policy,​ ​without​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​project​ ​in​ ​mind.​ ​SELC​ ​is​ ​a​ ​small​ ​group​ ​of​ ​lawyers​ ​and​ ​activists​ ​who work​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​more​ ​equitable​ ​and​ ​just​ ​economy​ ​through​ ​the​ ​lenses​ ​of​ ​food,​ ​housing,​ ​energy,​ ​and​ ​labor,​ ​via policy​ ​advocacy,​ ​legal​ ​advice,​ ​research​ ​and​ ​education.​ ​What​ ​started​ ​out​ ​as​ ​me​ ​assisting​ ​my​ ​supervisor, Christina​ ​Oatfield,​ ​with​ ​an​ ​array​ ​of​ ​diverse,​ ​small​ ​tasks,​ ​later​ ​became​ ​a​ ​wholehearted​ ​investigation​ ​into homemade​ ​food​ ​policy​ ​in​ ​California​ ​and​ ​its​ ​future​ ​in​ ​the​ ​state.​ ​This​ ​project​ ​has​ ​not​ ​only​ ​allowed​ ​me​ ​to​ ​learn about​ ​the​ ​policy​ ​itself​ ​but​ ​has​ ​also​ ​forced​ ​me​ ​to​ ​consider​ ​the​ ​widespread​ ​consequences​ ​of​ ​the​ ​growing​ ​tech industry​ ​and​ ​gig​ ​economy,​ ​both​ ​in​ ​terms​ ​of​ ​homemade​ ​food​ ​and​ ​other​ ​economies.

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