Post contributed by Melani Landerfelt, M.A., Auburn University Counseling Psychology Ph.D. Candidate, Community and Civic Engagement Graduate Assistant
As part of the Annual College of Liberal Arts No Impact Week celebration, faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students are all invited to present on any formal or informal research they have done about food at the “Is it Just Food?” Symposium on Monday, March 26th. The symposium will be held at the beautiful Pebble Hill venue in Auburn! Some presentation examples include: food policies, food movements, food and culture, food and arts, food and social media, food and environment, food and health, food and identity, and other food related topics such as community gardening, water, transportation, or recycling. This is a very open-ended symposium, so presentation topics are not limited to this list. Please contact the event organizers with any questions!
There is no registration fee to participate and the symposium will run from 8:00 am-2:30 pm, but participants are welcome to come and go as needed. A free breakfast and lunch will also be provided! The registration deadline is February 26th, 2018, so visit the “Is it Just Food?” registration page and sign up today! This is a great opportunity for students to add to their resume or CV!
We will also have a keynote speaker, Mr. Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures and a fourth generation cattleman. Mr. Harris changed his family farm from being a traditional cattle farm to a sustainable, multi-species, pastured farm to improve the land and provide a better quality of life for his animals. His talk will touch on the importance of sustainable farm practices that decrease waste, and allow for a healthier environment where animals can thrive, which in turn produces food that is of higher quality and more nutritious. You will also learn more about local resources that are available to you which will allow you to be more engaged in your community and also help the community to thrive! We have also invited local vendors, farms, and other organizations to attend and talk about their efforts to improve sustainable food practices in the Auburn community!
This conference 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 and learn about the research on food that is being conducted on the Auburn campus.
This one-day symposium is organized by the Auburn University Community and Civic Engagement Initiative in the College of Liberal Arts. 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.
We hope to see you there!
