UC Research Finds Anticompetitive Practice Creates Food Deserts

Media Contact: Malaika Murphy-Sierra, Communications Program Manager, Berkeley Food Institute

Email: malaika@berkeley.edu

Berkeley, CA – Governor Newsom signed AB 1857 into law on September 30, which prohibits and nullifies supermarket chain restrictive covenants, a practice that contributes to food deserts where communities lack access to affordable, fresh food. Research by antitrust legal scholar Christopher Leslie at UC Irvine Law School has examined the negative impacts of restrictive covenants on community food access. 

“The signing of AB 1857 into law highlights growing recognition of the relationship between competition policy and food access,” said Christopher Leslie, UC Irvine Law Professor. “When grocery store chains use restrictive covenants to prevent future grocery stores from being built, that can hurt community access to food. By banning this practice by big food retailers, California is prioritizing fair and competitive markets, which is better for consumers.”  

The Berkeley Food Institute helps connect food systems research to policymakers. Jeanne Merrill, Executive Director, said, “AB 1857 takes a bite out of a hidden barrier to food access. Whether a neighborhood has a grocery store shouldn’t be decided by a clause in a property deed. This is what it looks like when research informs good policy. With this new law, California is putting families and food access first.”

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The Berkeley Food Institute is an interdisciplinary research, education, and policy institute that works to advance just and sustainable food and farm systems. We are a center of the University of California, Berkeley. https://food.berkeley.edu/

For more information on this topic, view this webinar recording or this BFI blog piece.