Background: United States Government

Introduction

This book covers a wide range oftopics related to how the law impacts food in the United States. The law is created by the government and thus it is important to understand the structure and function of government entities within the United States. This chapter discusses the structure and function of the federal, state, and local governments, while the remainder of the book delves further into the government’s role as a regulator, educator, purchaser, and purveyor of food. Chapter 2 explains how the U.S. Constitution is the backbone of all other law in the country. Because this book is about food law, it is important to point out that the terms “policy” and “law” are not interchangeable. Rather, policy is the intent behind a law, a concept that guides government action. A government’s desire to pass a certain law is based on a policy objective—what the government wants to achieve by passing the law. However, many use the word policy to include law. The CDC defines policy as “a law, regulation, procedure, administrative action, incentive, or voluntary practice of governments and other institutions.”

The U.S. Constitution established three branches of the federal government: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch shapes policy in its own way. The Constitution also established state governments. The term “federalism” describes the division of authority and the relationship between the federal and state governments. All 50 states have their own state constitutions and state governments that generally mirror the federal system with the same three branches. Each branch of government and state governments are discussed in this chapter.