Co-sponsored by Drew University Library, the Food Systems Working Group, & Campus Sustainability.
Interested in what goes into your food? Like to read? Come join us for one or more of five book-related brown bag discussions this 2013-2014 year.
November 21, 2013: Focus on History
Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America, Harvey A. Levenstein
This popular history was part of the start of the current debate about eating habits and social policy. Of particular interest in our current recession are the long-term effects of the Great Depression on our national food consciousness.
February 13, 2014: Focus on Social Justice and Civic Engagement
Food Justice, by Robert Gottlieb and Anupama Joshi
This is the classic introduction to food/justice issues. Love it or hate it, this is one of the core texts to be familiar with when discussing food systems in American society: farm workers, food processing, food deserts, megastores, and other issues.
March 18, 2014: Focus on Farming—and Literature
Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food, by Wendell Berry.
This collection of writer, foodie, farmer and Slow Food Movement activist Berry’s readable essays and stories will provide us a literary opportunity to discuss farming and food-related issues.
April 16, 2014: Focus on Science and Business Systems
Fresh, a Perishable History, by Susanne Freidberg
Technological and business changes have revolutionized the way we view food in the last hundred years. Friedberg’s book offers an opportunity to discuss those scientific and economic trends and our experiences of them. How much of what we ‘know’ about food and freshness is science, and how much a modern construct?
May 6, 2014: Focus on Sociology, Economics, and Food Work:
Kitchens: the culture of restaurant work by Gary Alan Fine
This ethnography of restaurant cooks opens the ‘back of the house’ for us, whether we’ve worked in the food trade before or not. The economics and culture of what goes among professional kitchen workers may entertain or appall us, but it will surely spark discussion.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to peruse the book to be discussed and then join us for a round-table discussion of some of the topics raised in the reading.
Texts for discussion are all made available via the library’s e-book collection in Ebrary. Links to additional resources will be available at library’s web page.
Coveners: Jennifer Heise, Tina Notis
Interested? Contact jheise@drew.edu for more information.