From the McDonald’s hot coffee case to the cattle ranchers’ beef with Oprah Winfrey, from the old English "Assize of Bread" to current nutrition labeling laws, what we eat and how we eat are shaped as much by legal regulations as by personal taste. Barry M. Levenson, the curator of the world-famous (really!) Mount Horeb Mustard Museum and a self-proclaimed "recovering lawyer," offers in Habeas Codfish an entertaining and expert overview of the frustrating, frightening, and funny intersections of food and the law.     Discover how Mr. Peanut shaped the law of trademark infringement for the entire food industry. Consider the plight of the restaurant owner besmirched by a journalist’s negative review. Find out how traditional Jewish laws of kashrut ran afoul of the First Amendment. Prison meals, butter vs. margarine, definitions of organic food, undercover ABC reporters at the Food Lion, the Massachusetts Supreme Court case that saved fish chowder, even recipes—it’s all in here, so tuck in! The author of this meaty collection of essays about legal cases involving food is not only an attorney but also Chief Mustard Officer of Wisconsin's Mount Horeb Mustard Museum. His book, then, represents the melding of two passions, law and food. It's carefully presented, entertaining, and downright fascinating. Who would have thought food could play such a central role in so many legal battles? Although the book details plenty of cases involving food that was too hot or infested with inappropriate lifeforms, it also touches on some more complex issues. What, for instance, is the legal definition of a meal? Or, when the inventor of a particular dish sells the recipe to someone else but then decides to market the dish, who has the legal right to use the dish's famous name? There's also the story of a woman who sued a restaurant because it did not sell a breakfast advertised as "available at participating stores." She sued for two-billion dollars. (Well, she was hungry!) A thoroughly enjoyable and endlessly eyeopening book. David Pitt Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Levenson has a demonstrated knack for writing in a conversational, witty tone that effectively keeps this reading light, even as he lays out complex issues ranging from copyright laws to libel."—Lisa Wolff, associate editor of Gourmet News "Much more fun than having dinner with your lawyer!"—David Rosengarten, host of the Food Network’s Taste program "Levenson has a demonstrated knack for writing in a conversational, witty tone that effectively keeps this reading light, even as he lays out complex issues ranging from copyright laws to libel."-Lisa Wolff, associate editor of Gourmet News Barry M. Levenson is the curator and CMO (Chief Mustard Officer) of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, where he has amassed the world’s largest collection of mustards. Before his life as the world’s foremost mustard authority, he was an assistant attorney general for the State of Wisconsin. He argued dozens of cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and is undoubtedly the only lawyer to have appeared before the United States Supreme Court with a jar of mustard in his pocket. HABEAS CODFISH Reflections on Food and the Law By Barry M. Levenson The University of Wisconsin Press Copyright © 2001 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-299-17510-8 Contents Illustrations..................................................................................ixPreface........................................................................................xi1 Assault with a Breadly Weapon................................................................32 Big Beef Supreme.............................................................................173 Nutrition Facts, Nutrition Fictions: Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulteration!.....................324 Food Fight: A Tale of Two Pizzas.............................................................565 Java Jurisprudence...........................................................................686 Bones of Contention..........................................................................897 The Legacy of Mr. Peanut.....................................................................1058 McBully......................................................................................1239 Ladle and Slander............................................................................14210 From Bad Apples to Mad Cows.................................................................15811 It's Not Nice to Defraud Mother Nature!.....................................................16812 Not So Strictly Kosher......................................................................18413 Cruel and Unusual Condiments: Food in Prison................................................19914 Just Desserts..............................................