AG-GAG Free Nation

Shaakirrah R. Sanders, University of Idaho College of Law

Abstract

This Article identifies the threat that agriculture security legislation-or ag-gag laws-pose to unauthorized animal and agribusiness workers. This Article advocates full recognition of First Amendment speech rights to unauthorized workers, especially in the ag-ag context, to counter the threat of coercion. Part I of this Article profiles unauthorized workers in the U.S. animal and agriculture industry. Part II discusses nationwide First Amendment litigation on ag-gag laws and describes how the effects on unauthorized workers has been largely ignored in the ag-gag debate. Part III theorizes how the right that ag-gag laws seek to protect weighs against the First Amendment rights of unauthorized workers.