Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University

Thought for Food

Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Agricultural sustainability is intimately linked to public health because agricultural production methods not only affect food availability, but also food product development, food distribution systems, climate change, as well as the health of farm animals, communities and individuals.

Topical Background (provided by the speaker)
Many of the problems in our current food system can be traced back to changes in agricultural policies in the 1970s. Soon after, changes in the U.S. food environment—agricultural as well as corporate–promoted a culture in which it became socially acceptable to consume more calories than expended. The resulting “epidemic” of obesity threatens the health and security of Americans, strains the health care system, and creates a substantial economic burden on society. Underlying these changes is an overabundant and overly competitive food system in which companies are required to expand market channels in order to meet corporate growth targets. The contradiction between public health goals and corporate goals has led to a large and growing food movement in the United States aimed at changing the system in order to promote Read more

Panel Discussion

Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Panelists

Jennifer Halpin, director of the college’s organic farm
Jay Myers of the food distributor, Feesers, Inc.
Keith Martin, director of dining services
Ben Riggs ’86, Four Seasons Produce Distributors
Scott Wagner, John Gross & Co.
Moderated by Andy Skelton, professor of psychology, Dickinson College

Each day, Dickinson College provides thousands of meals for students and employees. How does an institution feed so many people, with such a variety of tastes and needs? Where does all this food come from and how is its quality assured? Our panel will address these and related questions, offering a glimpse behind the scenes of how a residential college feeds its population.

Biographies (provided by the panelists)

Jennifer Halpin
Halpin manages the production and educational aspects of the Dickinson College Farm, in addition to working cooperatively with students and faculty to create meaningful educational experiences on the farm. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), is an active member of the South-central Buy Fresh, Buy Local Campaign and is the board president of Farmers on the Square, a Read more

Sports Nutrition Consultant to the New York Giants, New York Knicks, The Juilliard School and The School of American Ballet

Eating Your Way to Athletic Success

Thursday, March 3, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance is a strategic approach in what, when, and how much to eat of selected foods to maximize athletic conditioning, training and performance. Learn some of the tools that athletes can use to reduce risk of injury, maximize muscle repair, maintain a healthy immune system and increase endurance.

This is event is co-sponsored by the Department of Athletics.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Considered a thought leader in the nutrition, Heidi is the Sports Nutrition Consultant to the The NY Knicks Basketball Team, The Juilliard School, School of American Ballet and Fordham University Athletics. She was the team nutritionist for the past 18 years for The Football Giants and continues to see clients one-to-one one day a week at The Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Hospital of Special Surgery. Heidi is a contributing advisor to Men’s Health magazine and is co-author of Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance; the right food, the right time, the right results (Human Read more

Panel Discussion

Thursday, February 10, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 12:00 p.m.

Panelists

Chad M. Kimmel, associate professor of sociology, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Shippensburg University
David Sarcone, associate professor, Department of International Business and Management, Dickinson College

Carlisle, Pennsylvania has a rich history of farmers markets. From the “Market House(s)” located on the square for more than a century, to the more modern market buildings that followed, farmers have continually engaged in commercial activities in Carlisle since the middle of the 18th century. Honoring this tradition, the Carlisle Central Farmers Market (CCFM) established itself as a year round, hybrid public/farmers market. CCFM espoused both social and economic goals as stated in its mission statement – “…to promote sustainable agriculture practices, to encourage healthy eating, and to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for those who produce and sell local products.” But what began in September 2007 as a well intentioned venture, ended in February 2009.

This presentation will explore the life history of CCFM, and will pay particular attention to the timeline of events and decisions that opened, maintained and finally closed the market. Other models/timelines of farmers market development in other parts of the nation will be used for purposes Read more

World Renowned Ecologist, Author and Cancer Survivor

“Fracking” Our Food: A New Threat to Sustainable Farming

RESCHEDULED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER
(originally scheduled for February 2)
New Date:

Thursday, February 3, 2011
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.
A reception and book signing will follow.

We are standing at a historic confluence, a place where two rivers meet: a stream of emerging knowledge about what the combustion of fossil fuels is doing to our planet is joining a stream of emerging knowledge about what synthetic chemicals derived from fossil fuels–such as pesticides and fertilizers–are doing to our bodies.” So writes biologist and author Sandra Steingraber in the second edition of her classic book, Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment. In this lecture, Steingraber will explore the tangled relationship between petrochemicals and farming, with a special focus on natural gas, the feedstock for many agricultural products and whose extraction from shale bedrock of our nation is threatening the ecological conditions that support our food system.

The event is co-sponsored by the Women’s Center, the Office of Institutional and Diversity Initiatives, and the Departments of Biology, American Studies and Environmental Studies.

Biography (provided by Read more