We will have a keynote speaker,   Dr. Charlotte Biltekoff, and a short film to end: Thought for Food (21 min)

Our keynote speaker Charlotte Biltekoff, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of  American Studies and Food Science and Technology at the University of California Davis, where she builds bridges between scientific and cultural approaches to questions about food and health. She is author of Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health (Duke University Press, 2013) and has published articles in a wide range of academic journals. Her work on the cultural politics of dietary advice is the subject of a short film, Imperfection Salad, and she engages regularly with the media. Her teaching includes “Food in American Culture,” a large enrollment introductory course, “New Product Ideas,” in which students develop concepts for new food products, and “Design Thinking for Food,” in which students work in multidisciplinary teams to address high impact food challenges.

What does it mean to eat right in America? How have ideas about eating right changed over the last century? What do dietary ideals have to do with social ideals? This talk will use both historical and contemporary examples to explore the cultural dynamics of "good food" and show how dietary advice is about more than “just food.”

You may already know that its important to know where your food comes from. This talk will show why it is also important to know where your dietary advice comes from and will provide suggestions for engaging critically with ideas about good and bad food.

At the event, vendors, local farmers, and organizations will be invited to attend and showcase their products on the Pebble Hill lawn such as:  Hornsby Farms,  Tiger Dining,  AU Sustainability, and some student organizations like Committee of 19, and The Community Garden.

This is a wonderful opportunity for faculty and students representing different departments and colleges at Auburn University to come together, share their passion for food or other sustainability efforts, add to their curricula vitae, and learn about the research on food that is being conducted on campus.

Please RSVP for meals when you register by sending an RSVP email to Patricia James at pmr0015@auburn.edu. 

This one-day symposium is organized by the Auburn University Community and Civic Engagement Initiative in the College of Liberal Arts.

Hosted in the beautiful Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities (Pebble Hill), this symposium will create the opportunity to collaborate and raise awareness of these important issues related to the food that we eat! This symposium is free and open to all Auburn University students and faculty. For specific questions, feel free to contact the organizers: Dr. Giovanna Summerfield, Associate Dean for Educational Affairs (summegi@auburn.edu), or Melani Landerfelt, CCE Graduate Assistant (mrl0021@auburn.edu).