Meeting with Kelly Dunn

SFBU met yet again with BU’s Sustainability Coordinator for Aramark, Kelly Dunn, and there seems to be a lot of exciting projects happening!

Efforts to make the upcoming farmers market more traditional with local farmers, vendors, and artisans are still in the works. Once the date and time of it are decided and more details are set, there should be opportunities for students to help!

Most of the utensils at BU's George Sherman Union are already biodegradable. As the GSU is a high generator of waste on campus, dining services is looking into potential compost bins there to reduce waste.

Hopes are that the new dining facility on east campus will be as green as possible with food and architecture in mind. Read about the sustainable Engrained Café for some inspiration! This café is funded by Aramark and is located in a green building at Arizona State University.

It certainly seems that dining services is making their effort to be more sustainable! Kelly would still like to work on transparency at BU to improve awareness of what dining services is doing to be more environmentally conscious.

Please contact us if you would like more information about SFBU and BU dining services, or if you would like to become more involved!

Meanwhile, read BU's College Sustainability Report Card for 2009 from the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Happy Holidays!

The Whole Hog: DEMO

Last Thursday night, SFBU (and others!) spent hours huddled together around a butcher block in the Myles basement kitchen to watch an incredible break-down.

Master-butcher, Adam Tiberio, systematically butchered a 150-pound locally raised, Yorkshire hog from start to finish, and spoke about each cut: what parts are traditionally used, why, how. Words like "cracklings," "lardo," and "trotters" became real terms we could identify, and recognize as food. We learned that the key to using the whole hog (and using meat in this way to constitute a sustainable diet) is to be resourceful in considering which parts to prepare. Most grocery stores, for example, only sell the "easy cuts:" ribs, tenderloin, the pork chop and the pot roast. Adam's demo showed us the underrepresented bits and pieces that are available to the creative cook. They're just as easy to incorporate into soups and main dishes, just as delicious (even better!) and definitely a shame to waste.


Adam's experience with the lost art of butchery comes from several years employed in various grocery meat departments, industrial slaughterhouses, and apprenticeships with local butchers. He's seen the dark side of what goes on in the industrial food chain, and uses his informed approach to do things differently. Adam currently works at an independent butcher-shop in Goffstown, NH.

“It used to be that there were five or six butchers in every neighborhood, and by butcher I mean a guy who knew how to take a whole animal and break it down into usable cuts. These days I’d be surprised if there were five or six guys in the whole city," says Jaime Lionette, co-owner of Lionette's Market in Boston's South End. There's a disconnect between producers, processors, and consumers in our food system, and we've got to take the time to re-teach ourselves how to procure, how to prepare, and how to eat to survive.

As the demo drew to a close, attendees divvied up the meat and cooked it as part of a series of simultaneous potlucks. Pulled pork, pot roast, soup stock, head cheese, pigs feet, sausage, and lardo were all made to great success! Big ups to Robert Flynn and everyone working in the Myles kitchen for letting us use their space. Thank you thank you to James and Adam for making it all the way out to Comm. Ave. with an entire pig in tow, and also to Kenji for posting this awesome review.

Taza Chocolate Factory

This past Saturday, Slow Food went over to Somerville to visit the Taza Chocolate Factory, the only producer of 100% stone ground chocolate in the U.S.!. Their cacao beans are organic, fairly traded, and come from small farmer cooperatives.

Though the tour was short, we were able to see that making the beans involves lightly roasting them and putting them through a winnow machine, which separates the outer shell from the inner cacao nibs. The cacao is then stone ground and the chocolate is later wrapped by hand!

Need your chocolate fix that is also good, clean, and fair? Taza chocolate is sold at various farmers markets in MA during the growing season and in stores throughout the U.S.

Look at Taza's website to read more about the chocolate-making process, where to buy their products, and how they are incorporating sustainability into their business!

Fighting For Fair Food

Fair Food For All!

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) gave a presentation at the Lucy Parson's Center to bring awareness to the struggles of tomato pickers in Florida and a few representatives from Slow Food BU attended. Most of the Immokalee workers are from Central America and Mexico and pick tomatoes by hand all day. To make Florida's minimum wage, they must pick 2.5 TONS of tomatoes each day. The tomatoes are picked by the bucket and the worker is paid 40 cents per bucket. Their wage hasn't risen since 1978, while consumers have seen vast inflation in the aisles of their supermarkets and fast food meals since then. The work is physically demanding, puts heavy strain on their backs, and they lack medical coverage, insurance or benefits. There have been many instances of slavery and and in some farms, armed guards threaten those who want to leave. But in the past 10 years, CIW has begun to improve their living and working conditions. There has been seven slavery ring busts by the Federal Government, freeing 1000 workers, and their wage has increased from 40-50 cents. In 2001, the Campaign for Fair Food began, putting pressure on the "Big Purchasers" to make their food a bit more fair. They started urging big fast food corporations to sign a contract demanding that the workers be paid 1 cent more per lb, that employers establish a code of conduct to prevent human rights abuses, and that there be a forum for the workers to have a voice. The campaign has been wildly successful and almost all major fast food labels (McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, and most recently, Subway) and Whole Foods have agreed. The next step is to put pressure on grocery stores and food distributors. These demands are very modest, yet resistance is still strong. After the presentation we went to Star Market with the Coalition to hand-deliver a letter to the manager-a strategy they have found very effective in past campaigns.
So the next time you reach for a tomato in the grocery store, aside from asking if it was grown in a local sustainable manner, think of the workers who picked the food. Most local, sustainable food is produced in a fair manner, so buy directly from the farmers, and try to do your grocery shopping at Whole Foods, since they are committed to these principles. Awareness is the first step-it is only with consciousness and commitment that we can make change. Visit the CIW hompage and Alliance for Fair Food for more information and ways to get involved!

SFBU and Dining Services

Slow Food met with Robert Flynn, manager of the Myles Dining Hall. Good news: The dining halls compost to Save That Stuff! In addition, produce is no longer purchased from Sid Wainer and local produce is soley purchased through Costa. Read more about BU Dining Services and sustainability.

SFBU also met with BU's new Coordinator of Sustainability for Aramark, Kelly Dunn, who previously worked as a recycling program manager for Cambridge. She hopes to make everything transparent at BU by increasing the accessibility to and awareness of what dining services is doing to be more sustainable. Kelly is also interested in expanding BU's green roof, bringing local vendors to the BU's farmers market, expanding green-cleaning products in all of the dining halls, and more. A new dining facility may also open up around east-campus in the future! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this place, e-mail us and we can pass the information along to her!

We anticipate working more with Kelly in order to increase the availability and consciousness of environmentally friendly, sustainable, and fair food options on campus. If you would like any more information regarding Slow Food BU and dining services or if you would like to become more involved, e-mail us!

In addition, see how other schools are integrating sustainability at their campuses!:

-Addie's Loft at BC is a vegetarian, sustainable café. BC also has a campus garden.
-Real Slow Food at UConn and UConn's Local Routes program, which brings sustainable foods to the Whitney Dining Unit. The UConn EcoGarden Club also has a student-run garden with their produce featured on Whitney's menu!
-Read about the pilot farmers market at University of California, Davis and their Student Farm.
-When the Fine Arts Café (run by Aramark) at the University of Virginia School of Architecture was renovated, it opened with a sustainable menu with the help of the student Serena Weaver.
-The experiment of incorporating sustainable foods at Yakeley Hall cafeteria in Michigan State University.
-The Harvard Farmers Markets on the Harvard Campus and at Allston.
-The Yale Sustainable Food Project

Local Thanksgiving:

A soup-to-nuts plan for a home-grown holiday meal (click here).Recipes for dairyless fennel soup, maple-whipped sweet potatoes, and deep dish pumpkin pie from New York Magazine. You can swap in these Boston-area farms to make it hyper-local. 

Stillman Farm - New Braintree, MA
Atlas Farm- Deerfield, MA
Grateful Farm - Franklin, MA
Red Fire Farm - Granby, MA
Happy Valley Cooperative Farms - Hadley, MA

December Calender!!

Although there won't be a meeting 11/25 because of Thanksgiving, we have several Upcoming Events before the end of the semester, and would love for you to join us!

"The Whole Hog"
December 4th 6-8pm
Myles Kitchen
610 Beacon Street
James Lionette of Lionette's Market in the South End is graciously giving SFBU a butchering demo using a locally raised pig. He will show us how to break down the pig, and use each cut most effectively, while also speaking about the place of meat in a sustainable diet, emphasizing the importance of eating locally. *This is not for the squeamish, and if you have any qualms about seeing exactly where your meat comes from, it might not be best for you to join*
We will meet in the back kitchen of the Myles Dining Hall. The only catch is that its quite small, and we can only have about 20 people. So please RSVP to slowfood@bu.edu if you are definitely coming.
But, after the demo, we're heading over to Allston for an old-fashioned pit roast! Unlike the demo, we want everyone to come to this. Exact location and time TBD, but just know that there will be heaps of food roasting over open fires, and just as much camaraderie. So join us!!

Tour of Taza Chocolate Factory
December 6th 10 am
561 Windsor Street
Somerville, MA
Taza Chocolate is a local company that is dedicated to using Organic Sustainable Fair Trade Ingredients to make amazing chocolate. It is a true "bean-to-bar" chocolate maker and the only 100% stone ground chocolate maker in the United States. They source directly from small farmer cooperatives and minimally process the chocolate to maintain its quality. They are opening the doors to their factory on December 6th and letting everyone see exactly how their chocolate is made. And if that doesn't convince you, there's going to be lots of Free Samples!!! We want to get their early so we're meeting at the factory at 10am, when the doors open! For directions, click here

Collection of Immokalee Workers Informal Discussion
TJ Scallywags
December 6th around 8pm
Coalition of Immokalee Workers actually won their case with Subway this past week, so instead of protesting, they're going to share how they are accomplishing such feats at the Lucy Parsons Center (549 Columbus Ave) at 5:30pm. Once that is done they would like to meet with us at TJ Scallywags in Allston. 8pm is the tentative meeting time. One part of Slow Foods' principles is that food be fair and the Coalition is working towards that same goal, by organizing for better wages & working conditions for over 15 years. To learn more about their efforts, check out their site!

Free Vegan Dessert At Fiore's! December 12th 6-9pm
If you don't get your fill of sugary deliciousness after the chocolate factory there's scrumptious desserts at Fiore's with the Boston Vegetarian Society! For more information and directions and to RSVP, click here *Note the Date Change!!*

And that's it for this semester!!! Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and stay warm!!

Roof-Hopping at Tufts

Last Sunday, SFBU spent a chilly morning on top of Tisch Library, gazing at succulents and the bones of the Tufts Green Roof Collaborative. We spoke with Colleen Butler, who organized the project for her research on pollinator insect species, and dreamed of a day when BU would agree to set up something similar for students to participate in urban agriculture.

There are a lot of considerations that go into to building a green roof: roof access, access to water, weight-bearing capacity, and membrane-layering are just a few things Colleen told us about the construction process. The Green Roof Collaborative was set up as an experiment in its first year, using uniform, shallow containers to allow for easy removal of the plants if need be, and to facilitate the scientific research going on there. Colleen's work specifically deals with measuring the bee population that visits the different species of plants on the roof, but she's also interested in the insulation and heat-island reducing effect a green roof can have in an urban setting.

Plans are in the works to set up a test garden this summer on top of BU's College of Arts and Sciences. The Organic Gardening Collective operates out of the (as yet) ramshackle greenhouse there, so we could put out some containers on the roof, experiment with what grows best, get some good hands in the soil, and propose a plan for further action to BU administration in Fall 2009. Ultimately, we'd like to have a student-run workstudy/internship program in green building/design/urban ag. available to those who tend the garden. Of course, all of this goes back to reestablishing the connection between the individual and his or her food supply; knowing where your food comes from is easiest when you grow it yourself! If you'd like to be part of this project or share any thoughts/advice, contact slowfood@bu.edu.

Other green roofs in Boston that are worth a look:

WGBH in Brighton
Boston's World Trade Center
the Four Seasons Hotel and
Massachusetts General Hospital (run by the Food Project)
also the Apple Store on Boylston St. ...maybe?

Living walls are cool too.
Green Roof FAQ from Good Magazine: here.

Food Not Lawns: White House Edition

There is talk of growing a victory garden-style organic farm on the White House Lawn. Never a time more opportune! Support it at http://www.thewhofarm.org/

Potluck 11/18 and Other News

Join us for a potluck this Tuesday, November 18, at our usual meeting place: room 109 of the Fuller Building (808 Commonwealth Ave.)! We will be meeting at 7:30pm and anticipate a small tasting of a couple of home-brewed, flavored kombucha! Also, remember to bring your own cups, plates, and cutlery, so we can reduce our waste!

On Wednesday, Nov. 19, Somerville Local First will be hosting a party, featuring local food from Sherman Market, Kickass Cupcakes, and various local brews! It will be held at Grand (374 Somervile Ave., Union Sq., Somerville) at 6:30 pm. But RSVP is required! To RSVP, e-mail somervillelocalfirst@gmail.com. Suggested donation for the event is $15.

Also, read this recent article that was in the Weekly Dig about CitySprouts, whose mission is to incorporate school gardens in Cambridge’s public schools.

SFBU November Calendar

There's so much going on this month!

MONDAY NOV. 10: THE BEEHIVE DESIGN COLLECTIVE gives a talk, or rather, an interactive picture presentation on how to make political posters. With huge portable murals of collaboratively produced illustrations, a six foot tall fabric picture book, and an engaging narrative, the Bees will take you on a visual tour of the interactions between colonization, militarism, and resource extraction in the Americas. Dismantling Monoculture: Tales of Ants and Economics in the Americas. BU Central (GSU basement, 775 Comm. Ave.) 7pm.

TUESDAY NOV. 11: This week's meeting will also be a restaurant outing to Asmara Restaurant, 739 Mass. Ave in Cambridge. It's Ethiopian food, communal and delicious, near the Central Square T stop off the Red Line. Please rsvp to slowfood@bu.edu by Sunday, Nov. 9th if you plan on coming so that we can make reservations. We'll meet at Asmara at 6pm.

WEDNESDAY NOV. 12: Andrew Rimas reads from his non-fiction work Beef: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World, which examines the cultural and culinary history of cattle. Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., Brookline. 7pm.

THURSDAY NOV. 13: Louisa Dell Amico speaks on "An Inconvenient Food: The Link between Animal Agribusiness and Global Warming" at the Emmanuel College Library Lecture Hall. 7:30pm.

SUNDAY NOV. 16: SFBU goes roof-hopping in Somerville to check out Tufts' Green Roof Collaborative. We'll hear a bit about the project from Colleen Butler, and then take to the roof to see what's left of the verge.  We'll see how we can apply the Tufts model to a possible work-study/internship based green roof collaborative at BU. Meet in the lobby of Tufts' Tisch Library at 10am.

VOTE

Today's the day. 

Remember, voting, like eating, is a political act. Viva la comida rebelde!!!

Required reading: 

this crucial letter from Michael Pollan to the future president of the United States. 

General Updates

Hello Slow Foodies!

We took advantage of the nice fall weather on October 13th by taking a bike trip down to Russell Orchards in Ipswich, MA, to do some apple picking! This was followed by an Apple Bake-Off on October 20th with many apple baked goodies.

For those of you who were unable to attend, read about the panel discussion on sustainable food at Harvard that took place on October 14th during Harvard’s Sustainability Week! Speakers included Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse, Josh Viertel, co-director of the Yale Sustainable Food project and president of Slow Food USA, Harvard’s Humanities Center Director, Homi Bhabha, and Anna Deavere Smith from the Chez Panisse Advisory Board. Topics included the right to local and sustainable food, the pleasure in eating and sharing good food, and reducing our environmental impact.

This past Tuesday we enjoyed the wonderful fizzy and apple cidery taste of Kombucha while watching a demonstration on how to make it! If you missed this meeting don’t worry, a kombucha blog/forum of some kind should hopefully soon be in the works. Meanwhile, see an instructional video and read this Kombucha brewing guide.

The Boston Vegetarian Food Festival at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center yesterday was also a blast! Free samples abounded, and speakers included the holistic nutritionist Jae Steele and the author of My Sweet Vegan, Hannah Kaminsky, among others.

Our next planning meeting will be at Espresso Royale (736 Comm. Ave.), Tuesday, November 4th, at 7:30 pm. So come if you want to help plan and be updated on upcoming events! Proposed ideas are a butchering workshop, a visit to Tufts’ green roof, and more!

Terra Madre 2008!

A few past and present members of Slow Food BU recently returned from Terra Madre, the world meeting of food communities, in Turin, Italy. Terra Madre brought together farmers, breeders, beekeepers, fisherpeople, chefs, academics, and students to expand the current dialogue about the centrality of food in our modern economy. More than 6,000 delegates came to the table, including 700 students and young farmers working to cultivate the growing international youth food movement. Click below to listen in on a breakout session. Topics include access to local, organic food, the nature of the Slow Food movement, and new opportunities to keep the flow of knowledge moving:

Terra Madre 2008/ reception day from Frank Corsten on Vimeo.

To add your voice to the mix, visit the Youth Food Movement website or join the Facebook group. There are more videos from Terra Madre posted there, as well as information from the network of incredible delegates, their projects, strategies, and plans for the future of food.

EAT-IN

Slow foodies from all over Boston attended this weekend's Eat-In on Harvard Yard. It was the perfect day for a long and leisurely picnic:

See more photos or upload your own to the the Slow Food in Boston group on flickr. 

Recipes from the event are being added to the SFBU Recipe Exchange. You can find log-in information under the About the Exchange tab. Write 'em up to keep a record of all the delicious things we've been eating this year!

What to Eat Now

Hello everyone! SFBU is back in action with workshops, potlucks and picnics happening soon. 

GENERAL INTEREST MEETING September 16th at 7:30pm in room 134 of the Fuller Building (808 Commonwealth Ave). If you can, bring a dish to share potluck style- but if you don't have access to a kitchen, no worries! Come anyway! We're making the most of the late-summer harvest.

EAT-IN ON HARVARD YARD October 4th at noon (postponed from September 27th foreseeing thunderstorms). Slow Food BU and Real Food Harvard are hosting a massive eat-in on Harvard Yard. The idea is to get people to slow down and take notice of what they eat- but we also just want to have a huge picnic before the weather gets too disagreeable! Bring a blanket, some home-baked treats and as many friends as you can find. This is gonna be big.

WORKSHOP IN URBAN FORAGING September 30th at 7:30pm in CAS 222. Russ Cohen, author of Edible Plants I Have Known... and Eaten gives a slide presentation on edible plants and mushrooms of the Greater Boston area. He will also lead an identification walk through the Fens the following Monday for those interested. Email slowfood@bu.edu to RSVP.

Also: a talk on the global food crisis at the Boston Public Library, pasta-making at Dave's in Somerville, and Slow Food Nation recap and photos.

Gearing up for Earth Day...

The declining state of our planet isn't news to anyone, but some recent articles and websites (just in time for Earth Day) offer promising ideas:


• Real fake meat? It's possible-- see the NYT article and New Harvest
• The Small Planet Institute jsut launched a new website, Take a Bite out of Climate Change
• Going to San Francisco anytime soon? Slow Food Nation is in the works...
• Attention Michael Pollan fan club!

Don't forget all the fantastic Earth Day events that are happening right here on BU's campus: Earth Day on Marsh Plaza, Picnic for the Planet (co-sponsored by ESO and SFBU), a screening of King Corn, and a presentation by Food Not Bombs co-founder Keith McHenry (at 3pm in SAR 102).

PLUS Dining Services is holding special events in the dining halls each day/night! In addition to going trayless all week long, here is what's going on:

Monday: "Awareness Day," with information on how much BU recycles and composts
Tuesday: New England cheeses at dinner
Wednesday: Coastal New England seafood
Thursday: All-organic salad bar
Friday: Local poultry and beef


Check back soon for Earth Day wrap-ups...and FYI, our last meeting of the year will be Tuesday April 29th at 7:30pm in the GSU Back Court.

The Omnivore's Solution

Hey Foodies,

For those of you who were not able to see Pollan speak at Brown, here's a video of him giving the same talk at Williams College.

Enjoy!

 

The Foodie's Solution: A Post-Panel Wrap-Up

Hey Slow Foodies!

Last Thursday's panel "The Foodie's Dilemma" was a smashing success! Thanks to everyone who came, and a special thanks to our panelists, AND an especially special thanks to Jamey Lionette, owner of Lionette's Market, who provided us with a delicious spread of hummus and cheese!  

For those of you who were not able to attend, here are some photos:

Also, if you missed the discussion and would like to know was said, there is an audio recording of the event available for listening.  

And with that, let's end this post with some thoughts shared by Dr. Starr on "local food as a social movement":

"The most important thing to understand about this movement is that as a local food activist my top concern is not MY health or MY moral purity in not eating certain foods.  Although I might have those concerns, my top priority needs to be working in this movement in a way that is about "food security" and the "right to pleasure" for all people.  SInce its earliest moments, the local food movement has been about ending the rape of third world economies, which results in Americans having tomatoes in the winter and people in Central America going hungry because too much of their land is used for export crops.  And since the early 1990s, the most pathbreaking work that has happened around these issues has been done in the name of "community food security" which is about establishing secure sources of healthy and culturally appropriate food in urban communities of color, through gardens, farmers markets, special CSAs, and other innovations.  As we build this movement we need to make sure that we are doing it in a way that expands the movements' commitments to Global South people and marginalized people here.  One of the most crucial steps is figuring out how we can support the rights and dignity of farmworkers here in the US.  I actually prefer the term "community food movement" rather than "local food movement" because it says why we want local food.  We want it because eating is a community act, and we want to make sure everyone involved-all the eaters, all the producers, feel that we are looking out for each other and that we want the best for each other."

If you are looking for something to read over spring break and want to learn more about social movements and local food, check out these titles:

• Food Fight by Michael Pollan
• Colonialism and Culture by Carlos Polanyi
• The New Protectionism: Protecting the Future Against Free Trade by Tim Lang and Colin Hines

Everyone have a tasty spring break!

Updates

Hey Everyone!

Last night's meeting involved girls, carrot cake, and a live cow butchering. Sort of.

Here's the lowdown on our upcoming panel:

Slow Food BU presents
The Foodie's Dilemma: How Boston's Cheapskates Can Eat Sustainably

Thursday, February 28th 7:30 pm
Kenmore Classroom Building (565 Commonwealth Avenue), Room 101

The word is out: industrially-produced food just isn't that good for your body, the environment, and your conscience. But it's not easy to eat all that delicious, local, sustainably-produced food while trying balance your meager student budget and braving a cold winter in the city. So why bother? These foodie-experts will discuss the merits and difficulties of eating ethically:

• Jean-Claude Bourrut, Coordinator, Serving Ourselves Farm
• Chef Chris Douglass, Executive Chef and Owner, Icarus and Ashmont Grill
• Corby Kummer, Senior Editor of The Atlantic Monthly and Advisory Board member of Slow Food USA
  
• Jamey Lionette, Lionette's Market, Co-author of Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed
• Dr. A. Starr, Professor of Sociology at Chapman University (check out her Political Economy of Food course)

The event is free for BU students, faculty, and staff; it is also open to the public, with a suggested donation of $5 (proceeds go to Slow Food BU).

Partially funded by your Undergraduate Student Fee!

-----
More meeting round-up:

• Myles Dining Hall is going trayless on Tuesday Feb 12th!! SFBU will be there, tabling and distributing information.
  
• Get involved! We need volunteers for a number of things, including:
• Donating baked goods to the ESO/SFBU Valentine's Day Bake Sale at the GSU on Feb 14th
  
• Helping out at the SFBU tables at Myles on Feb 12th (see above) and at the GSU on Feb 14th
• Making posters about sustainable foods to hang up in Myles
• Spreadin the word about the Feb 28th panel
  
• Our own Jessica Volz has volunteered to compile a Slow Food BU Cookbook. Submit your recipes to slowfood@bu.edu, or bring them to an upcoming meeting.
• A Slow Food Night will be happening sometime in April at Myles.
  
• Our local foods tasting is postponed until after Spring Break.
• Lionnette's is doing a cow break-down on Feb. 20th. Find out what real beef looks like in this month's newsletter.
  

Other news:

• Happy Chinese New Year! 2008 is the year of the rat. It's also the year of the potato, says the UN. You decide which is tastier.
• "Buying organic meat is meating vegans halfway"
• There's still hope for the Farm Bill!
• Yum, free food :)
  

-----

Next meeting/potluck: Tuesday February 26th, 7:30 pm, Room 109 at 808 Commonwealth Ave (Fuller Building).

"Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler"

From Mark Bittman's most recent article in the NYT. Scary.

Michael Pollan Fan Club

Calling all Slow Foodies!

Michael Pollan

award-winning author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma

Thursday, February 21, at 6:00pm (Brown University, Salomon Center):

"In Defense of Food: The Omnivore's Solution"

What should we eat? is a question most people for most of history have
had little trouble answering. You ate what tradition (aka your mother)
and nature dictated. Now, we have something called "nutritionism," an
ideology promoted by science, the food industry, government and the
media that has hopelessly confused the issue and done nothing for our
health, except to make it worse. Pollan traces the rise and triumph of
nutritionism and the Western Diet, before proposing an alternative
approach to eating that promises to improve both our health and the
health of the environment. A book signing will follow.

Location: Salomon Center is located on Brown University's main College
Green; accessible via the Waterman Street gates and the George Street
gates.

A campus map is available online: http://fm-cad.plantops.brown.edu/maps/PAUR_Campus_Map.pdf

For more information:

Michael Pollan: http://www.michaelpollan.com/
Brown's Committee on Science and Technology Studies: http://www.brown.edu/Faculty/COSTS/

------

Check out the NYT article that led to the book, and the Gourmet interview.

Welcome back y'all!

Last night we had our first meeting of the semester, and my, what a turnout. Home-baked mac and cheese, orzo-veggie salad, lemonade, fish toasts, ants on a log...yum.


We talked about upcoming events/activities:

• Spring Activities Expo, Tuesday Jan 29th from 2-6pm in Metcalf Hall
• Expert panel discussion Thursday Feb 28th at 7:30 in KCB 101 (title tbd)
• Tasting on March 4th or 5th in the Gastronomy demo kitchen
• Sid Wainer field trip
• Dinner/lunch/brunch clubs: pick a time and place, then show up!
  

And signed up for task forces: Publicity, Dining Services, and Group Liaisons. Email us if you'd like to get more involved in any of these areas. (Publicity will deal with making/posting flyers, event promotion, and just spreading the word in general; Dining Services will communicate with the DS reps, learn how DS works, plan DS-SFBU events/special nights/"SFBU-approved" foods, and scout the dining halls; Group Liaisons are our links to other student groups.)

If you're interested in getting even more involved, there are some internships available at Eat Well Guide and the Real Food Challenge. Plus, check out opportunities for farm apprenticeships through ATTRA and NOFA.

In other news...

• The real price of food is revealing itself (The Guardian and NYT).
• Michael Pollan isn't the only one exposing the food industry-- see what Raj Patel has to say in Stuffed and Starved.
• Buying food is just plain overwhelming.
• Jamie Oliver tells it like it is.

Next meeting: Tuesday February 5th, same place (room 109 @ 808 Comm Ave), same time (7:30 pm), same deal (bring treats).