Seed-to-Plate: How the University of Vermont is Cultivating Food Systems as an Academic Discipline

[cali]

By Cynthia Belliveau

Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:47am EDT

by Cynthia Belliveau

I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Hungry for change.

We can't live without food - so we better get started solving our food issue before it eats us alive. At colleges and universities, we are in a unique position: We can plant the seeds for a sustainable economic future by growing food systems as a transdisciplinary academic area. For us, a systems-based approach is new, novel - and necessary.



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At UVM, our focus is on 1) food, culture and health; 2) energy and food; 3) policy, ecology, and land use; and 4) regional food chains.

Within those foci, we've already:
- Launched a Farmer Apprentice Program, an entrepreneurial approach to small-scale farming, that provides new farmers with the academic and practical knowledge necessary to pursue a career in agriculture. We're extremely pleased to work with local Vermont farmers on this program.

- Seeded food systems knowledge in the undergraduate experience, from classroom to dining hall and beyond. Students benefit from courses like Environmental Cooking, VT Rural Food Systems and NYC Urban Food Systems (through a partnership with New York University). We also offer a weeklong summer intensive focused on food systems as well as summer science courses for undergrads.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/idUS123537179720110718