About
Michael T. Roberts is the founding Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law and holds the title of Professor from Practice. He concurrently pursues a DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy) at Jesus College, University of Oxford, focusing on the legal and policy development of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations from the 1930s to 1940s. His research examines FAO's role in shaping international food law, global norms, and institutions, with particular attention to intersections with organizations like the League of Nations, GATT, and WHO.
Background: Roberts has pioneered food law as an academic discipline, teaching the first U.S. food law course in 2004 and authoring seminal works including Food Law in the United States (2016) and co-editing Food Law Cases and Materials (2019). He is editing Research Handbook on International Food Law (2021) and planning Elgar Companion to the Law and Practice of FAO (2022). At UCLA, he directs scholarship, teaches food law courses, and organizes the food studies certificate program.
His research interests center on FAO's historical evolution, international food governance, and contemporary challenges like climate change and food equity. He previously served as a visiting scholar at FAO (2008–09) and taught international food law at Cambridge University.
