Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Environmental Affairs, National Milk Producers Federation
Clay Detlefsen is Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs and Staff Counsel for NMPF. He is responsible for issues related to food safety and defense, dairy food labeling and environmental issues. He is engaged in numerous homeland security activities and is co-chair to the Food and Agricultural Sector Coordinating Council (FASCC). Clay has a bachelor of science in microbiology, an MBA in finance and a law degree. He has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 1997.
Co-Owner and Operator, Misty Meadow Farms
Jennifer Malott is co-owner and operator of Misty Meadow Farms in Ringgold, Maryland.
S. Hallock du Pont Professor, Director of the Center for Experimental & Applied Economics, University of Delaware
Kent Messer is the S. Hallock du Pont Professor of Applied Economics and the director of the Center for Experimental & Applied Economics at the University of Delaware. He also co-directs the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR), a USDA Center of Excellence.
Messer’s research interests include the behavioral response to food risks and the interface between agriculture and the environment. He has over 85 published works, served as editor of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Review and is an associate editor for the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Messer has been an investigator of interdisciplinary proposals worth over $70 million from numerous sources including NSF, EPA, NOAA and USDA. His most recent book is The Science of Strategic Conservation: Protecting More with Less published by Cambridge University Press.
Communications Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund
Elizabeth has been dedicated to animal issues for most of her life. Throughout her time at Virginia Tech she was active in animal rights groups, and upon graduation she started her career at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as a Media Spokesperson and Animals in Entertainment Campaign Coordinator. She went on to run the communications department for a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting cats, before working for a full service marketing firm, managing state and federal government campaigns. In 2011, Elizabeth returned to the animal protection field as a strategy consultant, and in 2016 joined the staff of the Animal Legal Defense Fund—a previous client. Having followed the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s work for many years, Elizabeth is proud to work for an organization that creates real change for animals.
Outside of the office, Elizabeth is the founder of For All Animals, a nonprofit organization with the mission to inspire positive change on behalf of animals, especially those who would be otherwise overlooked and marginalized. She also loves to craft and explore nature with her photographer husband Jason. They live in Baltimore with Joey, a Pomeranian who survived a decade at a puppy mill, Wally and Pippa, their rescue poodles, and their felines Lulu and Miffy.
Founder & CEO, Miyoko's Creamery
Miyoko Schinner is an American chef, cookbook author, animal sanctuary founder and owner of dairy-free cheese brand Miyoko's Creamery. She is a leading advocate for the right of vegan food products to use traditional meat and dairy terms on their labels.
Food & Free Speech: Debating the Role of Labeling Regulation
Clay Detlefsen, Jennifer Malott, Kent Messer, Elizabeth Putsche, Miyoko Schinner
Though the average grocery shopper would never know it, the proliferation of vegan and non-dairy...