1) Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety and veteran warrior fighting Monsanto and GMOs.

2) Steve Gardner, director of litigation for Center for Science in the Public Interest, one of the few lawyers willing to sue the likes of McDonald’s over marketing to children.

3) Mark Gottlieb, executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, which was working on legal solutions to the obesity epidemic before it became popular. (h/t also to senior staff attorney Cara Wilking)

4) Doug Blanke, founder and executive director of the Public Health Law Center, which provides legal analysis and technical assistance on a variety of issues, including healthy eating.

5) Samantha Graff, research director at ChangeLab Solutions (formerly Public Health Law and Policy), which provides legal analysis and technical assistance on a variety of issues, including childhood obesity.

6) Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president for Animal Protection Litigation & Investigations at the Humane Society of the United States, which has long fought to improve the lives of farm animals.

7) Bill Marler, pioneer in food safety litigation through his law firm, Marler Clark, a tireless advocate for outbreak victims, and publisher of the indispensable Food Safety News.

8) Ellen Fried, adjunct professor of food policy at New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and assistant attorney general for New York State.

9) Jennifer Pomeranz, director of legal initiatives for the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, which does important research and advocacy.

10) Angela Campbell, professor of law at Georgetown University and long-time advocate fighting to stop predatory marketing to children.

11) (OK, so I am cheating) Amanda Hitt, director the Food Integrity Campaign, a project of the Government Accountability Project, which protects whistleblowers.

Of course this list is not exhaustive and my apologies to those I’ve left out. The good news is the number of lawyers fighting against the food industry is growing. We sure need them, especially as the battles with Big Food get uglier, so let’s remember to acknowledge them for their hard work. Thank you.

So instead of continuing to let these sorts of inquiries collect virtual dust in my inbox, I am resorting to an admittedly less-than-ideal but better-than-nothing solution of writing this generic answer. Here are a few pointers, molecules of wisdom, etc, all of which should be taken with more than one salty grain.

My path will not be your path.
It doesn’t really matter how I got into this work but suffice to say it was far from traditional. I made it up as I went along, before there was such a thing called the food movement, inspired mostly by Marion Nestle. I spent years earning hardly any money, because the field of food politics will still so nascent. The good news is, you probably won’t have to resign yourself to a life of poverty as there are so many more projects to get involved with now than when I started in the late 1990s.

You don’t need a law degree to do policy (but it helps).
Here is a secret law schools don’t want you to know: You learn very little there that is relevant in the real world. Thus, you have to learn all the useful stuff later, especially related to food. You will be lucky to get one course on food in law school, and that one will be only on the Food and Drug Administration. There are exceptions at schools that specialize, such as the University of Arkansas. Also, more joint public health/law programs are forming and this can be a great way to combine these two interests.

So what is law school good for? Learning the language of law, like understanding the difference between a statute and a regulation, and being able to intelligently read a court decision. Having a law degree has certainly opened doors for me and given me a certain level of respect as an expert. But is that worth three years of your life and coming out thousands of dollars in debt? Only you can decide that. I certainly know plenty of smart people in food policy who are not lawyers. And they may even be better for it.

Out of law school? Choose policy or litigation.
If you’re fresh out of law school, or looking to enter the food arena as a recovering lawyer, it helps to decide if your path is policy or litigation and plan your early jobs accordingly. Do you know you want to sue the food industry or do impact litigation (like suing government agencies)? Then get some basic litigation skills under your belt even if it means slaving away at a law firm for a few years.

If you’re more cut out for policy work, then look for entry jobs either in government or with advocacy groups. It doesn’t matter if these jobs have nothing to do with food (they probably won’t), the point is to develop applicable skills. Most groups are looking for lawyers with specific skills and experience applicable to food and agriculture, such as local land use, drafting legislation, or lobbying. Meantime, try to volunteer or otherwise stay involved in food issues until the right opportunity comes along.

Public health law is a growing field.
While it’s obviously a tough job market right now, the good news is that certain arenas related to food policy are growing and public health law is one of them. For example, the Network for Public Health Law just announced several new positions funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has taken a strong interest in this field. See also the Public Health Law Center and Public Health Law and Policy, two groups that go great work on food policy, among other issues.

Network, but be specific and respectful.
I know, networking advice is obvious, but it’s true more now than ever. But by networking I don’t mean just sending out email messages asking for job search help. Be selective and make meaningful contact. As I said, I can’t answer every email I get asking for career advice. But I may be able to answer a very specific question tied to a very specific interest. Like, who is working on marketing to children? Or, which law firms are engaged in litigation? If someone has referred you, say so, as that can help. Also, be respectful of people’s time and don’t send overly long emails. In fact, I’d rather if you asked for ten minutes on the phone than expect a long email reply. (But everyone is different this way.)

There is no one correct career path.
I find I have to repeat this one a lot. I cannot tell you which degree to get or what your first job should be. You have to experiment and follow your heart. You also have to trust that there is no such thing as a wrong choice, as nothing is forever. I’ve made plenty of twists and turns along the way. When I went to college I thought I’d become a geneticist. Turned out I hated counting fruit flies. The point is, your career will find its own way and it will turn out fine. It’s an exciting time to be in this field. Good luck!

If folks have other words of wisdom, please add your comments.