UCA News
Nation's Food System Focus of UCA Honors College Challenge Week
Posted in Campus News on October 27, 2009
The University of Central Arkansas Honors College will take a closer look at America's food system and the growing issue of obesity in the U.S. as part of Challenge Week 2009.
This year's theme " Just Food: Farm-to-Fork Food Systems for 21st Century Communities," addresses the "just food" movement in America. The movement calls for ecologically responsible and economically sound agriculture, better food safety, anti-hunger policy, and programs that address obesity and other aspects of healthy eating.
“In various ways, thousands of Americans are working to improve the quality of the nation’s food supply and citizens’ access to good, affordable food,” said Allison Wallace, associate professor in the UCA Honors College.
Challenge Week begins Nov. 5 and will run through Nov. 12.
“Challenge Week brings to campus nationally known authors to the entire community in a reflective interchange of ideas," said Rick Scott, director of the Honors College. "Speakers present ideas and arguments to members of the UCA community and to the broader community of central Arkansas in an effort to inform and educate, and to thoughtfully address contemporary problems and concerns."
The symposium kicks off Nov. 4 with a special screening of the documentary Food, Inc. at 7 p.m. at the Market Street Cinema in Little Rock. Tickets are $5. Students are admitted free with a student ID.
Challenge Week will also spotlight a series of speakers including:
*Joel Berg, who will speak about hunger on Thursday, Nov. 5th at 7 p.m. the Clinton School of Public Service. Berg is a former USDA executive under the Clinton Administration and currently the Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.
*Chris Taylor will present his film, Food Fight , on Monday, Nov. 9 at the McCastlain Ballroom at 7 p.m. at UCA. The film tells the story of 20th century agribusiness and American food culture.
*Woody Tasch will speak about community investment on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at the McCastlain Ballroom at 7 p.m. at UCA. Tasch is a former venture capitalist and author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered.
*Marion Nestle will make a presentation about the food revolution on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall at UCA. Nestle is a Paulette Goddard professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Her speech is co-sponsored by the UCA Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.
*Joel Salatin will address sustainable farming on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Wally Hall Ballroom at the Arkansas State House Convention Center in Little Rock. Salatin is the renowned “grass farmer” of Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Valley and author of Everything I Want to Do is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front. This event is co-sponsored by Heifer International.
Individuals interested in learning more about local foods are encouraged to stop by the local foods information fair prior to Salatin’s lecture.
Free bus transportation will be available to UCA students on a first-come, first-served basis for the Joel Berg and Joel Salatin events in Little Rock.
Buses will be parked in front of Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center next to Reynolds Performance Hall. Buses will load at 5:30 p.m. Students traveling by bus must sign in and must return by the same bus.
These events are free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the UCA Honors College website at http://honors.uca.edu/ChallengeWeek/index.html
Founded in 1982, UCA's Honors College engages students in interdisciplinary study of classic thought and contemporary issues, helping them express leadership in the larger world as citizen-scholars.
This year's theme " Just Food: Farm-to-Fork Food Systems for 21st Century Communities," addresses the "just food" movement in America. The movement calls for ecologically responsible and economically sound agriculture, better food safety, anti-hunger policy, and programs that address obesity and other aspects of healthy eating.
“In various ways, thousands of Americans are working to improve the quality of the nation’s food supply and citizens’ access to good, affordable food,” said Allison Wallace, associate professor in the UCA Honors College.
Challenge Week begins Nov. 5 and will run through Nov. 12.
“Challenge Week brings to campus nationally known authors to the entire community in a reflective interchange of ideas," said Rick Scott, director of the Honors College. "Speakers present ideas and arguments to members of the UCA community and to the broader community of central Arkansas in an effort to inform and educate, and to thoughtfully address contemporary problems and concerns."
The symposium kicks off Nov. 4 with a special screening of the documentary Food, Inc. at 7 p.m. at the Market Street Cinema in Little Rock. Tickets are $5. Students are admitted free with a student ID.
Challenge Week will also spotlight a series of speakers including:
*Joel Berg, who will speak about hunger on Thursday, Nov. 5th at 7 p.m. the Clinton School of Public Service. Berg is a former USDA executive under the Clinton Administration and currently the Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.
*Chris Taylor will present his film, Food Fight , on Monday, Nov. 9 at the McCastlain Ballroom at 7 p.m. at UCA. The film tells the story of 20th century agribusiness and American food culture.
*Woody Tasch will speak about community investment on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at the McCastlain Ballroom at 7 p.m. at UCA. Tasch is a former venture capitalist and author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered.
*Marion Nestle will make a presentation about the food revolution on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall at UCA. Nestle is a Paulette Goddard professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Her speech is co-sponsored by the UCA Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.
*Joel Salatin will address sustainable farming on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Wally Hall Ballroom at the Arkansas State House Convention Center in Little Rock. Salatin is the renowned “grass farmer” of Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Valley and author of Everything I Want to Do is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front. This event is co-sponsored by Heifer International.
Individuals interested in learning more about local foods are encouraged to stop by the local foods information fair prior to Salatin’s lecture.
Free bus transportation will be available to UCA students on a first-come, first-served basis for the Joel Berg and Joel Salatin events in Little Rock.
Buses will be parked in front of Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center next to Reynolds Performance Hall. Buses will load at 5:30 p.m. Students traveling by bus must sign in and must return by the same bus.
These events are free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the UCA Honors College website at http://honors.uca.edu/ChallengeWeek/index.html
Founded in 1982, UCA's Honors College engages students in interdisciplinary study of classic thought and contemporary issues, helping them express leadership in the larger world as citizen-scholars.