Friday, Nov 14th
11am-12:15pm - Paper Presentation 1
Title: “The New Foodralism” - Laurie J. Beyranevand, BA/JD (Center for Agriculture and Food
Systems/Vermont Law School) – Kroon Hall Room 319
Abstract: Increasingly, states and localities are taking greater measures to support more
localized and sustainable food systems. Often, however, these measures are met with concern
that federal law prohibits the states from undertaking different or more protective regulation.
This paper will examine what the author deems “the new foodralism” or a redefining of the
relationships between the state and the federal government in food safety regulation. To do so,
the paper will first analyze the historical backdrop of food safety regulation in the United States
and the role contemplated for states and localities in this complex system. Second, this paper
will discuss the current federal regulatory system by looking at major federal statutes and
considering whether they preempt state law by analyzing the statutory text and relevant
caselaw. Next, this paper will discuss some recent regulatory innovations at the state and local
level in the context of the federal regulatory structure. Finally, this paper will consider how
states and localities can continue to innovate while not running afoul of federal law.
Speaker Bio: Laurie Beyranevand is the Associate Director of the Center for Agriculture and
Food Systems (CAFS) and an Associate Professor of Law. She teaches Food Regulation and
Policy, Public Law, Communications, Advocacy and Leadership, Interviewing, Counseling and
Negotiation, and Advanced Writing for Dispute Resolution. She has served as the faculty advisor
to the National Animal Law Moot Court Competition teams, and the ABA Negotiations and
Client Counseling Teams. Professor Beyranevand received a BA from Rutgers College in 1999
and a JD from Vermont Law School in 2003. She clerked in the Environmental Division of the
Vermont Attorney General’s Office and also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marie E.
Lihotz in New Jersey. Prior to joining the faculty at Vermont Law School, Professor
Beyranevand was a Staff Attorney at Vermont Legal Aid where she represented adults and
children in individual cases and class action litigation involving health law issues. In that
capacity, she appeared in state and federal court, as well as before administrative adjudicative
bodies, and served as an appointed member of the Human Rights Committee. Professor
Beyranevand has previously served as an Executive Committee Member of the Agricultural Law
Section of the American Association of Law Schools and is presently an appointed member of
the Academic Programs Committee of the Food and Drug Law Institute.
-------Title: “Greenhorns, Growers, and Grains: Innovative Food Systems in the Willamette Valley,
Oregon” - Greenhorns, Growers, and Grains: Innovative Food Systems in the Willamette Valley,
Oregon - Wendy Petersen Boring, Ph.D. (Willamette University) & Marshall Curry (Marion-Polk
Food Share) – Burke Auditorium
In this panel, faculty, community partners, and students from the regionally recognized Zena
Summer Institute in Sustainable Agriculture in Salem, OR will: 1) describe current trends in
Oregon’s regional food webs pushing conventional practices towards more ecologically
sustainable and socially just food systems, and 2) reflect on how food-systems teaching can
maximize student potential to become agents of community and structural change.
The Willamette Valley, Oregon, possesses a unique confluence of factors that make it an ideal
region for innovative food system practices aimed at increasing food justice and ecological
sustainability. A regionally rich history of agricultural production and education, high soil
fertility, a diversity of crops, regional values of environmental sustainability, and a strong sense
of place have led to a vibrant local food culture, widespread regional recognition of the value of
just and sustainable food systems, and a nationally recognized alternative agriculture
movement. At the same time, the region has the highest hunger rate in the state (and one of
the highest in the nation), hosts a significant migrant farm worker population, and is hampered
in its efforts to transition to more local food systems by cultural barriers and insufficient
infrastructure (storage, processing, distribution, and market outlets). The Zena Institute in
Sustainable Agriculture is a summer, residential program for undergraduates located at Zena
Farm and Forest, in the heart of the Willamette Valley rural, agricultural area that focuses on
these issues in the local food system. In the program, students take two courses,
I. Agroecology and II. Food Systems/Food Ethics, work on the farm, engage in field trips, live
communally, and source most of their food from the farm or local foodshed.
Through a series of case studies that the Zena Farm program utilizes as teaching tools, this
panel focuses on current challenges and innovations in local food production in the Willamette
Valley. The issues are relevant to rural, agricultural regions with high potential to transition to
local food that also have significant hunger/food security and labor issues. Because of the
strong local food culture of Oregon, the case studies provide potential innovation models for
other like regions.
Issues/Case Studies:
 Non-edible grasses to edible grains: Transitioning from nonedible crops (grass seed,
nursery stock) to organic, edible crop production (wheat, grains, legumes) for local
consumption: Green Willow Farms
 Building local processing capacities: Development of local processing and storage
facilities that allow growers to bring products to local market: Recent Oregon law, the
role of USDA grants; Minto Island Growers Farm
 Food-web to support low income consumers: Creation of regional food coalitions that
foster partnerships with local farmers and farmer’s markets to overcome economic and
cultural barriers for access for low income consumers and support goals for local, just
food: 10 Rivers Food Web
 Growing and distributing local protein: Partnerships between regional food banks,
farmers, and youth vocational training programs to produce protein-rich food options
utilizing regionally adaptive grains (quinoa): Marion-Polk Food Share
 Fair labor practices: Migrant farm worker organization’s university partnerships,
leadership training, and development of community education and peer-to-peer
teaching modules to raise awareness and support for local food justice: Capaces
Leadership Institute
The panel concludes by reflecting on how exposure to these case studies are combined with a
series of high impact pedagogical strategies in the Zena Farm Program, including communal
living, experiential learning, reflective practices, university-community partnerships, and
farmers-as-teachers, in order to empower students to not only understand the problems with
current food systems but also give them the motivation and tools to work towards community
and structural change.
Speaker Bios:
Wendy Petersen Boring is an Associate Professor of History at Willamette University in Salem,
Oregon, where she teaches pre-modern European history, women and gender studies, and
sustainability studies. She has served as Chair of Willamette’s Sustainability Council and
currently teaches food systems and food ethics at Willamette’s Zena Farm Summer Institute in
Sustainable Agriculture. She earned her Ph.D. from Yale University.
Marshall Curry has used his degree in Sociology (Willamette
University 2013) to work alongside a local celebrity chef at
Marion-Polk Food Share in Salem, Oregon to mass-produce the
Better Burger (a vegan Quinoa-Burger). Since January he has
worked to create a vocational training program within the Better
Burger Program partnering with community organizations and
expert volunteers to create a comprehensive, industry-backed,
program while assuring food safety and quality control. Currently the speaker uses his
background in Afterschool Programs, Innovative Pedagogies in Sustainability, and
Leadership/Community Development to encourage youth and adults to move towards
accomplishing their dreams.
Kyle Batisky was born in Goshen NY and raised, the son of a golf course groundskeeper and high
school swimming coach, in Scranton PA and later Pittsburgh PA. After studying for a year at
Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts he transferred to Willamette University
and became involved with Zena Farm while also pursuing a degree in philosophy with minors in
environmental science and history. He attended the Zena Farm Summer Institute in Sustainable
Agriculture in the summer of 2013 and lived on the property as a farmhand for the remainder
of the summer. Over the course of the summer of 2014 he worked as a garden educator with
the Marion-Polk Food Share Youth Farm. Kyle is now the Student Farm Manager of Zena
farm as well as the president of Zena Farm Club.
Samuel Spengler is a senior Environmental Science major at Willamette University in Salem,
Oregon. He was born and raised in Kailua, HI on the island of Oahu. Currently Sam is copresident of Willamette Unversity’s Zena Farm Club and is also employed by the school as a
farm hand and groundskeeper. He’s particularly interested in the development of small-scale,
diversified agricultural systems within the Willamette Valley and is devoting his thesis research
to this study topic. As part of Willamette’s Summer Institute in Sustainability Agriculture, Sam
worked with both Professor Wendy Peterson-Boring and student Kyle Batisky who are also
presenting at this conference.
-------Title: “‘Good Food’ and ‘Good Jobs’? Does Boston’s alternative food movement address
‘sustainability’ and ‘justice’ for food system workers?” - Carole Biewener, Ph.D. (Simmons
College) – Kroon Hall Room 321
This paper considers some of the successes and challenges that Boston practitioners, food
movement activists, and policymakers face in fostering sustainable and just food initiatives that
also provide decent jobs for food system workers. Many alternative food system initiatives
focus on increasing people’s access to locally produced food, with food justice often framed in
terms of providing healthy, affordable, locally produced food to lower-income communities.
Yet, the focus on sustainability, access, and local food all too often neglects consideration of
how to provide “good jobs” along with “good food,” especially when most of those working in
Boston’s food system are not farmers or farm workers, but people working in restaurants,
grocery stores, and institutions such as schools and hospitals. The paper surveys several of
Boston’s alternative food system initiatives to consider whether they have been able to develop
good labor practices along with “good food,” worker safety along with food safety, and living
wage jobs along with affordable and accessible food. The paper concludes by outlining possible
avenues for further progressive movement in this regard.
Speaker Bio:
Carole Biewener is a Professor of Economics and of Women’s and
Gender Studies at Simmons College, Boston, MA. Her current
research is on the political economy of food, with a focus on food
system workers in the Boston metropolitan area and the
determinants of economic viability for alternative food system
initiatives. Recently she completed a collaborative research project
with Marie-Hélène Bacqué (Professor of Urban Studies, Université
de Paris Ouest Nanterre) that traced the genealogy of the term “empowerment” in the fields of
gender and development, urban policy and social work. Prior research has addressed
community development and social economy projects in the United States and Canada,
debates at the intersection of poststructuralist feminism and postmodern Marxism, and the
French Socialist government’s financial and industrial policies in the 1980s. Recent publications
include “Feminism and the Politics of Empowerment in International Development”
(forthcoming); L’empowerment, une pratique emancipatrice (Editions La Découverte 2013;
Spanish translation forthcoming in 2015); and “Different manifestations of the concept of
empowerment. The politics of urban renewal in the United States and Great Britain”
(International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, August 2012).
--------
Panels, Friday November 14th
1:45-3pm
Title: Back to the Future: Explorations of Traditional Cheese - Sylvia Sobocinski (Manager at
Caseus Fromagerie and Bistro), Mark Gillman (Cheesemaker/Owner at Cato Corner Farm), Ben
Wolfe (Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Tufts University), Brad Jones (Cheese of Choice
Coalition & Oldways) – Burke Auditorium
Abstract: Innovation across the contemporary sustainable food system largely means looking to
traditional provisioning models with long histories of healthy communities, healthy economies,
healthy environments and healthy food. Cheese is a perfect case in point. This panel brings
together practitioners and academics to discuss various aspects of traditional cheese. Mark
Gillman will discuss his experience of traditional cheese making at Cato Corner Farm in
Colchester CT. The hometown folks at Caseus Fromagerie and Bistro will examine the
importance of small-scale, and independently-owned food purveyors, and Dr. Ben Wolfe of
Tufts University will present his fascinating research on cheese microbiology.
Speaker Bios:
Sylvia Sobocinski has a background in communication and healthcare,
but quickly developed a passion for cheese when her son Jason opened
Caseus Fromagerie and Bistro in New Haven 6 years ago. She manages
the Cheese Shop, teaches pairing classes, and hosts interns, with a focus
on education and spreading the word about good cheese. Her cheese
knowledge has developed through her love of cooking, expanding her
palate, and visiting local farms and dairies to learn about the process firsthand. The philosophy
at Caseus is that every cheese has a story, and the more you know about what you eat, the
more satisfying the experience.
Benjamin Wolfe is an assistant professor of microbiology in the
Department of Biology at Tufts University. Dr. Wolfe's research uses the
microbial communities of food to address fundamental questions in
microbial ecology and evolution. From 2011 to 2014 he was postdoctoral
fellow with Rachel Dutton at the FAS Center for Systems Biology at
Harvard University where he began his research on food microbes. In
addition to his new teaching activities at Tufts University, he has taught
food microbiology courses at the Harvard Summer School and Boston
University's Gastronomy Program. Dr. Wolfe also frequently teaches
classes or workshops on food microbes at Formaggio Kitchen, the San Francisco Cheese School,
and for artisan food guilds across the country. He is a regular contributor to the food
magazine Lucky Peach and writes an online series about the biology of food
for Boston magazine.
Mark Gillman (left) is the head cheesemaker at family-owned Cato
Corner Farm in Colchester Connecticut. Mark left his job as a 7th
grade English teacher 15 years ago to join his mother making cheese. Mark makes cheese by
hand using traditional recipes and raw milk from their herd of 40 pastured Jersey cows. Cato
Corner Farm Farmstead Cheeses are very highly regarded in the artisan cheese community and
have garnered numerous awards and accolades.
Brad Jones manages the Cheese of Choice Coalition (CCC) at Oldways.
The CCC is a non-profit consumer advocacy program that supports
traditional, artisan, and raw-milk cheeses. At a time when regulatory
uncertainty threatens the fate of traditional cheese, Brad and the CCC
are committed to ensuring that consumers continue to have the right to
choose their cheese of choice. Brad holds a graduate degree in
Gastronomy from Boston University, is a member of the American
Cheese Society, and has been a cheese judge for the Good Food Awards
and the Big E agricultural expo.
-------Title: Sustainable Seafood: Innovations and Future Pathways - Jonathan Labaree (Director of
the Community and Sustainable Seafood programs at Gulf of Maine Research Institute), Sean
Dixon (Village Fish Monger, Seafood CSA), Gary Wikfors (Northeast Fisheries Science Center),
Meghan Jeans (New England Aquarium’s Director of Conservation), Emily Farr (Senior Fellow at
GreenWave) – Kroon Hall Room 319
Abstract: Panelists will discuss their work across the seafood supply chain: production (Emily
Farr of GreenWave and 3D farming), distribution (Sean Dixon of Village Fish Monger
Community Supported Fishery), aquaculture/research (Gary Wikfors of Northeast Fisheries
Science Center), large-scale sourcing (Meghan Jeans at New England Aquarium) and climate
change impacts on fisheries/innovative marketing approaches (Jonathan Labaree at GMRI). This
panel will explore the current innovations and trends in sustainable seafood and pathways to
future sustainability from consumer and producer perspectives.
Speaker Bios:
Sean Dixon is the Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Village Fishmonger NYC, a local, responsible
seafood company in New York City which runs the city's largest Community Supported Fishery
and presents the annual "Sustainable Seafood Week NYC." Sean is also a member of the
Adjunct Faculty at Pace Law School and is a volunteer SCUBA Diver at the New York
Aquarium. Sean was the 2014 Planning Chair of the Spring Conference on Environmental Law
for the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources and now sits
on the Section Council, and is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program
Emily Farr graduated from Yale College in 2014 with a degree in Geology and Geophysics. Her
thesis explored the role of vernal pools in the global carbon cycle with a series of air-water gas
exchange experiments. As a student, she held several positions at the Yale Sustainable Food
Program, and served as a Master's Aide for Berkeley College. Since graduating, Emily has
apprenticed on a goat dairy in Vermont, learning about cheese-making and animal husbandry.
As winner of the Gordon Grand Fellowship, she is currently working with GreenWave to opensource the 3D ocean farming model pioneered by Thimble Island Oyster Company, and as
recipient of the Fulbright-Casten Fellowship, will further explore the relationship between
climate and ocean farming at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy in 2015. In her
future career, Emily endeavors to help re-imagine systems of food production that mitigate
rather than contribute to global climate change.
Jonathan Labaree runs Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Community Department, one of three
programmatic arms of the organization, along with Research and Education. In this capacity, he
oversees GMRI’s programs that engage coastal communities from around the gulf to connect
the economic well-being to ecological health. Previously, he ran GMRI’s Fisheries Technical
Assistance Program, which helps New England’s fishing industry adapt to regulatory changes,
such as the groundfish fishery’s recent switch to sector management. Jonathan came to GMRI
in March of 2009 after a decade at Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a state-wide land trust, where
he held several positions conserving land and raising funds. Prior to MCHT, Jonathan worked
for the Quebec-Labrador Foundation’s Atlantic Center for the Environment, running
community-level conservation projects throughout New England aimed at increasing public
involvement in natural resource management. He also ran a small-grants program for marine
research projects in southern New England. A lifetime of summers on Vinalhaven Island in
Penobscot Bay instilled in Jonathan a deep love of Maine’s coast and a commitment to the
people and communities who rely on the Gulf of Maine for their livelihoods. Jonathan holds an
undergraduate degree in history from Williams College and a masters of environmental
management from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Gary Wikfors holds a PhD degree in Phycology – the study of algae – but he always has worked
at the intersection of phytoplankton and the bivalve mollusks -- such as oysters, clams, scallops,
and mussels -- that derive their nutrition from phytoplankton. Gary has studied trophic transfer
of pollutants from phytoplankton to bivalves, biochemical nutrition of shellfish, and harmfulalgal effects upon bivalves. As Chief of the Biotechnology Branch of the Aquaculture &
Enhancement Division of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Gary has a hands-on role
in several current team initiatives: 1) Nutrient bioextraction using shellfish aquaculture, 2)
Probiotic bacteria for use in shellfish hatcheries, and 3) Shellfish cellular immune responses to
environmental variation.
Meghan Jeans serves as the New England Aquarium’s Director of Conservation where she
supports a number of initiatives including the Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Program which
promotes scientifically-based market and policy solutions to ocean conservation
challenges. Meghan earned a J.D. and M.S. in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law
School and a B.A. in biology and environmental science from Colby College. She previously
served as the Director of the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum at Stanford University
and worked in ocean conservation with NOAA’s Office of General Counsel for Fisheries, the
Marine Fish Conservation Network, Ocean Conservancy, the Conservation Law Foundation, and
the Island Resources Foundation. She is a member of the Marine Stewardship Council’s
Stakeholder Council Steering Group, Fair Trade USA’s Fisheries Advisory Council and has served
as a technical advisor to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna
(ICCAT), the International Sustainable Seafood Foundation (ISSF) and the Pacific Fishery
Management Council’s Highly Migratory Species Advisory Subpanel.
-------Title: A Bug’s Life: Insects for Human Protein Consumption - Mark Bomford (Nordic Food Lab),
Kevin Bachhuber (Founder at Big Cricket Farms), Leah Jones (Founder at Crickers) – Sage Hall
Bowers Auditorium
Abstract: This panel explores entomophagy (human consumption of insects) in the Western
diet. Panelists will discuss the environmental benefits of insect protein consumption, as well as
challenges of adopting the trend in among Western consumers. Panelists will also discuss
current research and gastronomy trends around bugs as well as entrepreneurial approaches to
adding insects to a western diet.
Mark Bomford is the Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project. Mark’s career in the
sustainable food movement began in 1997, when he founded the successful “Growing Schools”
initiative with the LifeCycles Project Society in Victoria, BC, establishing school gardens and
garden-based curricula throughout the city. He went on to coordinate the internationallyawarded “DIGS” youth empowerment and entrepreneurship project, and co-managed the
society’s overall domestic and international urban agricultural operations. In 2001, Mark moved
to the University of British Columbia, where he worked to re-invent the UBC Farm. He founded
the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC in 2005, and led a rapid expansion that saw
new cultivated crops, research projects, university courses, and community programs. Mark
joined the Yale Sustainable Food Project in October 2011. His strong background in the systemic
issues of food sustainability will provide us important insight at the intersection of ecology,
agriculture, and socio-economics, especially for insects’ role in food security and biodiversity.
Kevin Bachhuber was born and raised in the frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wisconsin. He has a
Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin Steven's Point, one of the nation's top
schools for wildlife conservation and natural resources. A lifelong urban farmer, Kevin founded
Big Cricket Farms in response to growing water shortages, the rising costs of protein
production, and a simple desire to eat bugs with friends. In 2006 his travels to Thailand, Kevin
was able to sample a variety of edible bugs including crickets, and found them to be delicious!
Upon returning to the USA, he also discovered that there were essentially no commercial
sources of crickets for people to eat, so he decided to create one. In 2014, the time was ripe,
and Big Cricket Farms was born.
Leah Jones is the co-founder of Crickers, a start up company based in Austin, Texas making
cricket-based crackers. She graduated from Southwestern University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s
Degree in Environmental Studies. She has been actively involved in environmental and food
systems work since age 15 as a leader of the Sierra Student Coalition, the student run branch of
the Sierra Club, and has since organized various successful renewable energy campaigns on her
college campus and in the greater Central Texas community. She has worked on several organic
farms and for food justice organizations from Texas to the Northeast, and spent a year as a
FoodCorps service member teaching food systems education to kindergarten-high school aged
youth in Massachusetts. After a lot of research and recipe experimentation, Leah and her
roommate and fellow former college intern at The Sierra Club turned their passion for
entomophagy into a company, Crickers in June 2014, and have been devoted to building the
entomophagy movement in Texas ever since. Aside from her work with Crickers, Leah also
works part time at the Sustainable Food Center in Austin on the Farm Direct Projects team,
where she helps increase sales outlets for local farmers and connect consumers, institutions,
and school communities to local food.
Friday, November 14th
3:15-4:30pm - Paper presentation 2
Title: “The Problem of Deliciousness in Sustainable Food Systems” - Amy Bentley, Ph.D. (New
York University) – Burke Auditorium
For many involved in food systems work, the idea of “deliciousness” is regarded as
problematic. It turns out that there are some good reasons to avoid talking about taste and
pleasure when attempting to reimagine the industrial food system. After articulating and
analyzing the challenges, I attempt to make a case for deliciousness, arguing that not only is
pleasure in taste necessary but that it is central to the reimagining and restructuring of our
industrial food system.
Speaker Bio:
Amy Bentley is an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition,
Food Studies and Public Health at New York University. A historian with
interests in the social, historical, and cultural contexts of food, she is the
author of Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health and the Industrialization of
the American Diet (University of California Press, 2014), Eating for
Victory: Food Rationing and the Politics of Domesticity (University of
Illinois Press, 1998), and editor of A Culture History of Food in the
Modern Age (Berg, 2012). Bentley is co-founder of the Experimental
Cuisine Collective, an interdisciplinary group of scientists, food studies
scholars and chefs who study the intersection of science and food, and
also co-founder of the NYU Urban Farm Lab. She serves as editor for the journal Food, Culture
and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research.
--------
Title: “Fresh to You: An Innovative Public-Private Partnership to Increase Access to Fresh Fruits
and Vegetables: History, Lessons Learned and Next Steps” - Kim Gans & Gemma Gorham
(Brown University Institute for Community Health Promotion) – Kroon Hall Room G01
Purpose: Fresh to You (FTY), a public-private partnership between fruit and vegetable (F&V)
distributors, Brown University and RI Department of Health was created to address barriers of
low income consumers to eating F&V (cost, limited availability and limited time to shop). A F&V
distributor provides high-quality F&V directly to community-based organizations (CBO) at
discounted prices. FTY was implemented in 6 CBOs serving low-income families to evaluate
feasibility and effectiveness.
Methods: F&V Markets were held regularly at each CBO. Market participants with children aged
3-13 (n=487) were enrolled in a cohort effectiveness study. Baseline and five-month follow-up
surveys were conducted with parents. Change scores of F&V intake were calculated and tested
for significance applying paired t-tests for adults and children. Process evaluation was
conducted to measure costs and feasibility.
Results: Participants were 91.5% female, 59% Hispanic; 52% born outside the US; 49% on food
stamps; 34% employed full-time; 45% household income < $20K per year. The greatest barrier
to eating more F&V was cost. Market participation varied by site, but averaged 38 people. F&V
prices averaged 15-25% below supermarket prices. Most popular items included bananas,
mangoes, grapes, tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus and tomatoes. FV intake of 3-13 year old
children increased by 0.51 cups, (P = 0.0001) but parents’ intake did not change over time.
Children’s vegetable intake improved somewhat more than fruit intake.
Conclusions: The FTY program was successful in increasing children’s, but not parents F&V
intake. We will also discuss other outcome results as well as implementation challenges and
lessons learned (including the 4 P’s of product, promotion, placement and price). We will also
discuss current research and future directions of FTY.
Speaker Bios:
Kim Gans
Kim M. Gans, PhD, MPH, LDN is currently Professor in the Department
of Human Development and Family Studies and the Center for Health
Interventions and Prevention at the University of Connecticut. She is
also an Adjunct Professor at Brown University and was Director of the
Brown Institute for Community Health at Brown University from 20092014. She has a BS degree in Biology from Duke University, an MPH in
Nutrition from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D.
in Nutrition from the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Gans has over 28 years of experience in
intervention development and evaluation research in community-based settings to improve
eating habits and prevent obesity. This research has included health communication
interventions with print and video; interventions to improve home, work and neighborhood
nutrition and physical activity environments; and translational research to study the
dissemination of effective nutrition and obesity prevention interventions into community and
clinical settings. The majority of this research has been with ethnic minority, low income and/or
low literate populations. She is the co-founder of Fresh To You, an innovative private
partnership program that brings discount, fresh fruit and vegetable (F&V) markets to
convenient locations near where people live and work.
-------Title- “How Global is My Local Milk? : Compatibility between Perceived Attributes and the
Reality of Local Produce” - Tamar Makov, MA, BSc (Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies) & Clare Gupta, Postdoctoral Fellow (Yale School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies) – Kroon Hall Room 319
Abstract - Local food has become a ‘big tent’ under which a motley association of socioecological benefits is believed to reside (Martinez, 2010; Pollan, 2010). In this paper we argue
that it is time to move beyond the romanticism of “local food,” and the accompanying efforts of
critical food scholars to better define this term, towards developing terminology that more
precisely aligns with the goals that various local food advocates are actually trying to achieve.
Currently, local food is purported to be a vehicle for providing various public benefits. Local
food systems are touted providing food that is good for people, the environment and the local
economy—in other words food that successfully meets triple-bottom line criteria. Yet in
practice, empirical research has shown that a localized food system does not inherently provide
such benefits (DuPuis & Goodman, 2005; Edwards-Jones et al., 2008; Matthews, Hendrickson, &
Weber, 2008; Purcell & Brown, 2005; Weber & Matthews, 2008).
We argue that the difficulty in defining local food stems from an inherent misalignment
between the word local—which implies a certain kind of physical geography—and the
underlying motivations behind local food systems—which reflect various societal desires that
may have very little correlation with geographic distance (e.g. reduced greenhouse gas
emissions, healthier food, fair labor practices). We use an illustrative example—the case of
“local milk” in Hawaii—to demonstrate this point. Examining the qualities of “local milk” in
Hawaii reveals that “local” is a phrase that is thus unable to encapsulate the qualities people
are seeking. Ultimately, those working to develop alternative food systems would be better
served by focusing less on the locality of food and the policing of its definition, and more on
developing alternate conceptual language that are better tailored to the types of food systems
that lead to the desired outcomes.
References
DuPuis, E.M., & Goodman, D. (2005). Should we go “home” to eat?: toward a reflexive politics
of localism. Journal of rural studies, 21(3), 359-371.
Edwards-Jones, G., Milà i Canals, L., Hounsome, N., Truninger, M., Koerber, G., Hounsome, B.,
…Plassmann, K. (2008). Testing the assertion that ‘local food is best’: the challenges of an
evidence-based approach. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 19(5), 265-274. Martinez, S.
(2010). Local food systems; concepts, impacts, and issues: Diane Publishing.
Matthews, H. S., Hendrickson, C. T., & Weber, C. L. (2008). The importance of carbon footprint
estimation boundaries. Environmental science & technology, 42(16), 5839-5842.
Pollan, M. (2010). The food movement, rising. The New York Review of Books, 10(2010), 31-33.
Purcell, M., & Brown, J. C. (2005). Against the local trap: scale and the study of environment
and development. Progress in Development Studies, 5(4), 279- 297.
Weber, C. L., & Matthews, H. S. (2008). Food-miles and the relative climate impacts of food
choices in the United States. Environmental science & technology, 42(10), 3508-3513.
Speaker Bios:
Tamar Makov is a PhD student at the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale,
where her research focuses on sustainable consumption and food systems.
Before attending Yale, Makov was a consultant to the Israeli Ministry of
Environmental Protection and the leader of the joint ministerial project for
Well-being indicators. Prior to her work on Well-being, Makov was awarded a
Koret-Milken institute fellowship where she focused on green building policy, sustainable
consumerism and financing biodiversity. Mrs. Makov holds a BS.C in Nutritional Sciences from
HUJI and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from IDC.
Her recent publications include:“Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, and reactive nitrogen
burdens of meat, eggs, and dairy production in the United States”, Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (2014), “Partitioning United States’ feed consumption among livestock
categories for improved environmental cost assessments “, Journal of Agricultural Science
(2014), and “EcoTime—An intuitive quantitative sustainability indicator utilizing a time metric”
Ecological Indicators (2013)
-------Saturday, Nov 15th
9:30-10:30am - Paper presentation 3
Title: “Access to Land: Innovations in Securing Affordable Farmland for the Next Generation” Holly Rippon-Butler (National Young Farmers Coalition) – Kroon Hall Room 321
Abstract: Land is a critical piece of the food system. Without it, there are no vegetables to
harvest, no fruit to pick, no milk to drink or meat to eat. Access to affordable farmland is one of
the biggest challenges facing beginning farmers, and unstable leasing arrangements can present
a further obstacle to success. If we as a nation want access to fresh and locally produced food,
then we must take bold steps to secure a permanent and affordable land base for working
farmers.
The time is now—in the next two decades, more than two-thirds of the farmland in the United
States will change hands. In rural areas, family farms are being purchased by speculators or
consolidated into mega farms. In urban-influenced areas, active farms are being taken out of
production as they’re sold for development or rural estates. A new generation of farmers needs
land to satisfy the demand for fresh, local produce, but in many areas, the price of farmland is
far greater than what they can afford. Unable to pay the market price for farmland, working
farmers are being driven from the most valuable growing regions in the country—the land
directly surrounding 80 percent of the American public who now live in cities.
This report focuses on successful, pioneering strategies that land trusts are employing to save
farmland and support working farmers within urban-influenced areas. We highlight the work of
land trust innovators because we believe that their ideas and methods are critical to keeping
farmers on the land and in business. If significantly scaled-up, these strategies that build on
traditional farmland conservation models will help to build a vibrant food system and long-term
food security for our nation.
As a coalition of working farmers, the issue of land access is at the very root of NYFC’s work. We
are working to change policies, spread the word about innovation, and provide the technical
tools that farmers, landowners, non-profits, policy makers, and scholars need to take part in
keeping our farmland productive and in the hands of farmers.
Speaker Bio:
Holly Rippon-Butler is the Land Access Campaign Manager with the
National Young Farmers Coalition. In addition to her work with
NYFC advocating for land access for the next generation of
farmers, she works with her parents on their third-generation
dairy and beef farm in Upstate New York.
-------Title: “New Haven Farms’ Farm-Based Wellness Program: Using iPad technology to collect data
on intervention programs on urban farms” – Rebecca Kline, MPA, Executive Director (New
Haven Farms), Debbie L. Humphries, Ph.D./MPH (Yale School of Public Health), Molly Nelson,
Community and Research Manager (New Haven Farms), Karen Briegs, MBA, Vice President
Sales and Marketing (Writeresult) – Burke Auditorium
Abstract: Innovative approaches that incorporate technological advances in data collection can
play an essential role in characterizing the effect of urban farming in changing social,
behavioral, and nutritional risk factors for populations that are highly vulnerable to diet-related
chronic diseases in the US. New Haven Farms’ (NHF) Farm-Based Wellness Program has an
elaborate research design that uses such technology to successfully examine program
outcomes for a low-income Hispanic population.
NHF’s Program is an attempt to create a sustainable and just community food system that
impacts obesity for those with multiple health and economic risk factors. It provides
participants with weekly exposure to urban agriculture to increase their consumption of fruits
and vegetables and improve their overall health and food security. Participants are referred to
the Program from a local federally-qualified health center, the Fair Haven Community Health
Center, and criteria for inclusion includes at least two diet-related chronic disease risk factors
and a household income that is within 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The Program is
designed as a free, farm-based, bilingual (English/Spanish), 20-week intervention wherein
referred adults and their children receive weekly hands-on farming classes, nutrition education
lessons, and cooking demonstrations that focus on preparing the fruits and vegetables that
participants receive in weekly CSA shares with vegetables produced by NHF and fruit produced
by local Bishop’s Orchards.
Research findings indicate that the NHF’ Program increases individual produce consumption by
0.86 servings/day, and may also increase consumption of produce for the entire household.
Food insecurity was reduced significantly in both adults participating in the program and in
children residing in the adults’ household.
It is challenging, yet crucial to collect the amount of data required to demonstrate the effect of
urban agriculture on human health and food security. NHF’s pre- and post-test includes
standard anthropometric measurements including BMI and BP, and two national validated
surveys: a dietary screener used to estimate fruit and vegetable intake (NHANES Dietary
Screener), and a food security status assessment (USDA Household Food Security Survey
Module). Weekly on-farm data collection includes an assessment of how produce is used by
members, harvest data, and data that demonstrate the number of serving sizes distributed. In
2014, NHF shifted from paper-based data collection to electronic iPad technology for gathering
all data. In collaboration with Writeresult, a New Jersey-based company specializing in clinical
digital data collection, NHF researchers are using reliability, mobility, reduction in user-created
error, ability to train non-research staff, and time efficiencies. The company’s myPROpadTM
data collection device to capture all pre, post, and weekly participant data, as well as harvest
and produce distribution data. This data collection technology was originally designed for use in
the pharmaceutical industry, but has broad applications in research situations where forms and
information capture are traditionally completed on paper. In addition to sharing urban farming
methodologies, program delivery strategies, and available program research results, our panel
will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using this type of new technology in urban farming
and public health interventions including issues of security.
Speaker Bios:
Karen Briegs, MBA, VP, Sales and Marketing – As VP, Sales and Marketing for writeresult, Karen
Briegs is directly responsible for all aspects of Business Development, Sales, and Marketing for a
family of patient-focused and workflow friendly ePRO solutions. Karen started the writeresult
product line when it was under the 3C Company umbrella, serving as Senior Director of Product
Development supporting the launch of their flagship digital writing ePRO solution from 20032007. Before rejoining writeresult, Ms. Briegs was Senior Program Director at GE Healthcare’s
Medical Diagnostics Division where she led the US Project Management Office and was
responsible for progressing the development of imaging agents across multiple modalities and
therapeutic areas. Karen brings to bear more than two decades of experience in the
Pharmaceutical Industry having held senior level roles in Product Development (therapeutic
and diagnostic), Clinical Development/Operations, Project Management and PMO
Management, Clinical Technologies (EDC, CDM, CTM, ePRO), Operational Efficiency, Business
Development, Sales and Marketing. Her career has placed her in a variety of settings – CRO,
mid-sized and top 10 global Pharma, small startups, and one of the largest companies in the
world – and she brings those perspectives together to build strong collaborations which have
consistently led to success for all parties.
Her insights on implementing practical and actionable metrics have been cited in industry
periodicals and whitepapers on the subject of performance management within drug
development, and she’s been called upon to present at several forums on topics ranging from
implementation of Electronic Data Capture to Integration of Telework into Pharmaceutical
Research Organizations. Ms Briegs holds undergraduate degrees in both Biological Science and
Human Ecology from Cook College at Rutgers University, and a Masters of Business
Administration with a focus in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New
Jersey.
Dr. Debbie Humphries, PhD, MPH, Clinical Instructor in Epidemiology, Yale University School of
Public Health, Co-Principal Investigator, New Haven Farms – Dr. Humphries has a broad
background in public health research and practice. She has been a consultant in the areas of
diet and physical activity behavior change, sustainability of community health programs,
program monitoring and evaluation, and training in participatory monitoring and evaluation.
She works with agencies throughout Connecticut in her Practice Based Community Health
Research course, which places student groups with agencies in the State of Connecticut to
conduct implementation research. Dr. Humphries has collaborated with New Haven Farms
since the 2013 season, to assist with research methods, implementation and analysis. She is
interested in the importance of food systems, and local food systems in particular, on
enhancing and strengthening positive food practices for individuals and households.
Rebecca Kline, MPA, Executive Director, New Haven Farms, has worked at the intersection of
poverty alleviation, agriculture, and environmental sustainability for the past 10 years. She
graduated from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs (SIPA) with a
Masters in Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy, after which she
completed a 1-year sustainable agriculture fellowship with the Deshpande Foundation in rural
India. Rebecca has held positions in Sarah Lawrence College’s Office of Community
Partnerships, running national and international experiential learning social justice programs
for students, and the Fair Haven Community Health Center’s Diabetes Prevention Program,
where she captured and packaged the program so that other community health clinics
worldwide could replicate it. Rebecca founded and currently directs New Haven Farms, a
community organization in her hometown that aims to promote health and community
development through urban agriculture. Rebecca splits her time between Connecticut and the
Sierra Foothills of California, where she lives in a small yurt with her husband and their 2-year
old daughter Ava Joan.
Molly Nelson, Community and Research Manager, New Haven Farms, received her BA from
Bates College, and is currently pursuing an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of
New Mexico. Within New Haven Farms, Molly is responsible for all data collection and
participant attendance at the Farm-Based Wellness Program. She lives in New Haven with her
boyfriend and two dogs, actively competes in triathlons, and is training for her first Ironman.
-------Title: “A New Framework for Comparative Analysis and Assessment of Urban Farm Systems” Helena Farrell, MLA (University of Massachusetts Amherst & Stockbridge School of Agriculture)
– Kroon Hall Room 319
Abstract: Urban agriculture is composed of many different styles, practices, and modes of
production from traditional to state-of-the-art. Its diversity and adaptability allow it to
optimally suit disparate sites and provide wide-ranging outcomes and benefits. At the same
time, this makes systematic farm system evaluation difficult. Given the tremendous variation of
urban farms and the importance of understanding the interwoven relationships between site,
people, biology, climate and economics that create and sustain them, there is a need for a more
sophisticated research method that better articulates and distinguishes actual farm systems,
their designs, dynamics, outcomes and benefits.
As eminent urban agriculture researcher, Luc Mougeot, has said, we need “a conceptual
yardstick for identifying meaningful differences & gradations”1. This paper has responded by
creating a comprehensive analysis & assessment framework that makes it possible to compare
and contrast, realize advantages and disadvantages, and maximize urban agriculture’s potential
to contribute to the sustainability and quality of life in 21st century cities. Researchers,
planners, designers, policy makers and community members can use this framework to
evaluate and improve existing urban agriculture projects, as well as guide the development of
new ones.
While Urban Agriculture research has historically focused on a small number of social and
economic impacts especially, food security and household savings, the new framework is
expanded to include additional social, economic, and ecological metrics. Furthermore, urban
agriculture outcomes and benefits are linked to metrics within farm system design and
dynamics; a connection not yet established or clearly articulated. Explicit analysis of designed
urban agricultural systems is minimal to non-existent within the academic literature to date.
This new framework is ideal for case study research, supports holistic evaluation of farm
systems, and is essential for understanding the web of influences that make urban farms so
dynamic, diverse, and productive.
The evaluative framework was created through a synthesis of value metrics and assessment
criteria from common agricultural practice, agro ecosystem analysis, permaculture, edible
forest gardening, landscape architecture, urban planning, and neoclassical and informal
economics. Matrices make it possible to cross-reference value metrics (data) with assessment
1
“Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potentials and Risks” Thematic Paper 1, Mougeot, Luc J.A.
criteria (values/ratings). This paper presents the framework, its application as a research
method, and the key findings from comparative analysis and assessment of two case studies:
Growing Power, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI and the Holyoke Edible Forest Garden in Holyoke, MA.
Both are leading examples of their respective, urban agriculture typology: Growing Power
modeled after a traditional, family farm in the Midwest, and the Edible Forest Garden modeled
after a wild, mid-succession, forest ecosystem. The contrasting farm systems yield especially
rich comparisons that reveal the significance of different design strategies, their influence on
system dynamics, and the eventual culminations in outcome & benefits. Sophisticated insight
produced by this approach is paramount for designing and maintaining successful urban farms
and food systems, for bringing new information to bear in this burgeoning field, and for
providing scientific data to support policy, research and entrepreneurial endeavors in
contemporary urban farming and food systems.
Speaker bio:
Helena Farrell currently works as an Associate Landscape Designer at
Regenerative Design Group in Greenfield, Ma. and a Lecturer in the
Sustainable Food and Farming program at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst where she teaches Urban Agriculture courses online and in
person. She has a BA in Cultural Geography and Sustainable Human Habitat
and a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Her multidisciplinary education and
experience inform Helena’s perspective as a designer and researcher. By
integrating skill sets and taking a holistic approach to problem-solving, her
work addresses complex, critical issues of 21st century Human Ecology. Her interest in farm
systems comes from more than 13 years of practicing Biointensive Farming and Permaculture
and developing the skills, knowledge and wisdom at the heart of Agricultural Systems
Ecology. In 2010, Agroecology became the focus of her masters project in which she developed
a research method for evaluating farm system designs and assessing their agricultural, social,
economic and ecological outcomes. Her method has been applied to research in the U.K. and
serves as the foundation for the courses she instructs at UMass, Amherst.
-------Title: “Eating Invaders: Can We Manage Biological Invasions with a Fork and Knife?” – Joshua
Galperin (Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Yale Law School) & Sara Kuebbing (Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies) – Kroon Hall Room G01
Abstract: As the public, academy, government, and private sector all turn increased attention
to food systems, new ideas constantly emerge for healthy, sustainable, and just innovations in
growing, marketing, and eating food. “Invasivory”—eating invasive species—is one such idea.
Biological invasions occur when humans transport an organism from its ecosystem of origin into
a new ecosystem and that organism adapts to its new location, spreading widely from the site
of introduction. Invasive species can cause significant ecological, economic, and public health
damage. Crops, homes, and native species are all at risk.
“Invasivores,” as the proponents of invasivory are called, recognize the many dangers of
invasive species, and they propose bringing invaders into the food system. Whether as
commodities, value-added artisanal goods, game, or any other object of the system, the
argument is the same: the food system is a powerful force and human eating habits can effect
dramatic change as is evidenced from the many species that humans have eaten to near
extinction. What was bad for the passenger pigeon or Atlantic Cod is good for European
starlings or Asian carp. Put differently, humans can address the problems of invasive species by
eating them.
Businesses, governments, and academics now promote the invasivore movement. In New
Haven, Connecticut, Chef Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi is one of the nation’s leading invasivores, and
he serves a number of invasive dishes in his restaurant. Governments as different as Michigan
and Florida have started campaigns to promote consumption of invasive fish. Professors and
graduate students from Vermont to Indiana host websites touting the ecological benefits.
Unfortunately, there are compelling arguments against the invasivore movement. This
presentation will describe the rationale and breadth of the eating invaders movement followed
by a series of critiques. For example, both food safety and environmental laws may prohibit the
sale of many invasive species. Birth and death rates might make it impossible for consumption
to have any impact on populations. Social expectations and economic standards are likely to
interfere with complete eradication of any popular food source.
The invasivore movement is captivating and, to its credit, is a tool for educating the public
about an important issue. However, it is unlikely to be effective and the more popular it
becomes, the more likely it is to exacerbate ecological problems. For this reason, a more critical
and public debate of the idea is necessary.
Speaker Bios:
Joshua Galperin – Joshua Ulan Galperin is the Associate Director of
the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and Clinical Director
and Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. Josh oversees all operations
of the Center for Environmental Law & Policy, including budgeting,
fundraising, research, and teaching. His own research addresses the
law of takings and just compensation, with a current focus on just
compensation in the context of climate change adaptation; and the
law and policy of invasive species management. Josh directs and co-teaches the Yale
Environmental Protection Clinic. Prior to his positions at Yale, Josh worked for the Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) where he was a policy analyst and research attorney. In that
position he established and managed SACE’s coal plant retirement campaign, which was a
hybrid legal, grassroots, and analytical effort to catalyze retirement of the Southeast’s oldest,
dirtiest, and least efficient coal plants. Before SACE, Josh was a legislative counsel for the
Vermont General Assembly where he primarily staffed the House and Senate committees on
agriculture. In that role he was involved with a number of bills that eventually became law
including Vermont’s farm-to-plate investment program, dairy price stabilization, and creation of
the Vermont Grape and Wine Council. Josh studied law at Vermont Law School where he
graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Vermont Law Review’s senior editorial
board. He earned a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies and a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in
wildlife conservation from the University of Delaware.
Sara Kuebbing holds a Gaylord Donnelley Postdoctoral Environmental
Fellowship from the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies. Sara is a research
fellow at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies where she
studies the impacts of nonnative, invasive species on native communities and
ecosystems. Currently, she is working to build better models for predicting
when nonnative plants are likely to impact ecosystem processes, like
decomposition and carbon cycling in forested ecosystem. Sara’s research also
focuses on increasing public awareness of invasive species and promoting
better state and federal policies to prevent the spread and impact of current and future
invaders. Prior to coming to Yale, Sara worked with the Vermont Chapter of the Nature
Conservancy as the Program Coordinator of a statewide invasive species awareness campaign.
Sara earned her doctoral degree in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville and her bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Conservation from the University of
Delaware.
-------Saturday, Nov 15th
10:45am-12:00pm- Paper presentation 2
Workshop: “Beyond the Field Trip: What do collaborations between academics and
practitioners look like on the ground?” - Saskia Cornes & Emily McGinty (Duke Campus Farm) –
Burke Auditorium
Given the unusual breadth of stakeholders invited to the Yale Food Symposium, this workshop
will provide attendees the opportunity to hear from both academics and practitioners as to
how experiential and land-based learning within the food system might best be incorporated
into more traditional classroom settings at the university level.
Saskia comes from the Duke Campus Farm, a relatively young campus farm program with
strong academic ambitions. She has worked on both sides of the aisle (as a university instructor
using site-visits to engage and complicate theoretical concepts, and now as a campus farmer
trying to solicit/field collaborations with scholars). Particularly within food systems work, more
and more academics and practitioners sense a mutual benefit in collaboration. Even with good
intentions, however, cross-pollination between field and classroom presents unique challenges
for both sides.
This workshop will facilitate a discussion among participants around such questions as:
- How can academics build site visits to campus farms, community gardens and
community-based projects etc. into their curricula in intellectually rigorous ways, as
more than ancillary field trips? What would they need to understand about these sites
in order to do so?
- How can “hands-on” approaches best support course content and critical thinking?
What kinds of responsibilities do academics have to collaborators in the context of
relatively brief interactions and vice-versa?
- How can campus farms and other land-based projects best communicate their
institutional and/or intellectual value?
- How can each side best leverage the opportunities that such sites offer? What are
some best practices/fruitful missteps of such collaborations that might be shared
among the group?
To begin this discussion, presenters will briefly present a case study from their own project. The
one-acre campus farm at Duke includes a small “Cackalacky” (Carolina) Cash Crops
demonstration garden that includes cotton, sweet potatoes, indigo, tobacco, and peanuts.
These crops will be used as entry points into conversations around complex regional histories of
race and rural economy. For example, Duke Farm grows white cotton, similar to varietals
currently being reintroduced to the Carolinas in the wake of tobacco’s demise, as well as
heirloom varietals of naturally colored cotton, grown by 18th and 19th century slave populations
banned from cultivating the white cotton of their masters.
Presenters would like to hear about other integrative projects, missed connections, needs and
aspirations from both scholars and the places and communities they work or seek to work with.
Speaker Bios:
Saskia Cornes is farm manager and program coordinator at the Duke Campus Farm. This oneacre farm, part of Duke University, is in its fourth season of working to catalyze change in the
food system. Cornes has taught environmental humanities courses as a PhD student in English
at Columbia University, and sustainable agriculture at the Center for Agroecology and
Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz.
Emily McGinty is the current Duke Campus Farm Fellow, a position that allows her to engage
with both the farm's production operations and educational programming. Emily has had the
privilege of helping grow the Duke Campus Farm since its 2010 inception, and she is interested
in the ways dynamic growing spaces contribute to vibrant intellectual and practical experiences
in broadly-defined campus communities.
--------
Title: The Revolution is in the Kitchen, Cooking: Food Justice in Action! – Nadine Nelson (Global
Local Gourmet) – Sage Hall Bowers Auditorium
Abstract: Cooking real food is a revolutionary act. Food is about nourishment and
is fundamental to our existence. As more people do not know how to cook, we have lost the
means to care for ourselves. Nadine Nelson will share her projects that engage people in
culinary education and food justice. Designing programs like Public Kitchen and Master Cooks
Corps, she uses the kitchen as a revolutionary place for people to feel empowered, learn,
connect to the environment, share their culture, provide fellowship, build community, and cook
up solutions to brainwashed thinking that food costs too much, it is too hard, what about food
desserts, and it takes too long. She will share concrete examples that show how cooking can
liberate the food movement and make it even more delicious.
Speaker Bio:
Chef Nadine is the chef and owner of Global Local Gourmet an interactive culinary event
company specializing in experiential epicurean occasions that cook up delicious adventures for
from expected yet close to home in the form of cooking classes, culinary tours, culinary team
building events, and wellness workshops. She has studied the culinary arts in Paris at the Ritz
Escoffier, has a certificate in food styling from the New School and a certificate in fundraising
and philanthropy from New York University in New York, and earned a teaching degree from
Tufts University in Boston, consequently she brings a worldly perspective to seasonal food.