Saturday, 17 October Welcome Remarks - Kathleen LeBesco, Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Professor of Communication and Media Arts, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, United States Plenary Session - Melanie Dupuis E. Melanie DuPuis is a professor and the chair of Environmental Studies and Science at Pace University and a professor emerita from University of California, Santa Cruz. She has a BA in anthropology from Harvard University and a PhD in development sociology from Cornell University.

She is the author of Nature’s Perfect Food: How Milk Became America’s Drink, the co-author of Alternative Food Politics: Knowledge, Practice, and Politics, with David and Mike Goodman, and the editor of two edited collections: Smoke and Mirrors: The Politics and Culture of Air Pollution and Creating the Countryside: The Politics of Rural and Environmental Discourse. Her latest book, Dangerous Digestion: The Politics of American Dietary Advice, was published by UC Press in October of 2015. She is also the co-editor, with Matthew Garcia and Don Mitchell, of Food Across Borders.

Dr. DuPuis has been involved in environmental, energy, and sustainable food policy issues and organizations since the 1990s. She was a founding member of the Farm and Food Project, a food policy group in the New York Capital Region. Prior to coming to Pace, DuPuis held academic and administration positions at the University of California, Washington Center, in Washington, DC, and University of California in Santa Cruz, CA. DuPuis worked for 10 years with Power Economics as a member of a consulting firm management team that provided economics witnesses in energy and environmental administrative and judicial procedures, including testimony against Enron. She was also the energy and environment policy analyst for the New York State Department of Economic Development during the 1990s.

*This is a pre-recorded virtual plenary session. The link to the plenary will be sent on the first day of the conference to registered participants. Plenary Session - Mireya Loza Mireya Loza is an assistant professor of food studies in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. She earned her doctorate in American studies and an MA in public humanities at Brown University. In addition, she holds an MA in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her areas of research include Latinx history, social movements, labor history, and food studies. Her book, Defiant Braceros: How Migrant Workers Fought for Racial, Sexual and Political Freedom (UNC Press), examines the Bracero Program and how guest workers negotiated the intricacies of indigeneity, intimacy, and transnational organizing. She is currently carrying out research for her second book project tentatively titled, The Strangeness and Bitterness of Plenty: Making Food and Seeing Race in the Agricultural West, 1942-1965. Her first book won the 2017 Theodore Saloutos Book Prize awarded by the Immigration and Ethnic History Society and the Smithsonian Secretary’s Research Prize. She was also named a distinguished lecturer by the Organization of American Historians. Her research has been funded by the Ford Foundation, the Mexico-North Research Network, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Prior to joining the faculty at NYU she was a curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and an assistant professor in the Department of Latinx Studies and the Department of History at the University of Illinois.

*This is a pre-recorded virtual plenary session. The link to the plenary will be sent on the first day of the conference to registered participants. PARALLEL SESSIONS Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Toward Sustainable Communities The Wisdom of the Mountains: Traditions of Fermentation and Entomophagy in Rural Japan Aiko Tanaka, Co-Founder, Food Studies Research Institute (FSRI), Japan Japan is an island nation made up of 75% mountainous regions. When we think of traditional Japanese food, our minds are drawn to the culinary styles of Kyoto with its elegant ryōtei restaurants and kaiseki cuisine. Yet within the mountain ranges a bit further to the north are communities who face the long, cold winters with heartier, wilder food made at home. The need for prolonged storage resulted in a long history of eating fermented foods, and the proximity to nature has nurtured a lasting tradition of wild herb and insect consumption. In Nagano prefecture, where the intake of salt in preserved foods had led them to being the population with the shortest lifespan in all of Japan, recent food education and eat-local promotions have helped them to weather the difficulties of the current year with more success than their urban counterparts. Through my focus on the eating habits of this area, I explore both the pros and cons of such a lifestyle and what we can learn from it in the Post-COVID era. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Trading on "Terroir": Fostering Artisanal Cheese and Alcohol Production through Specialized Agrarian Industrial Districts Mariel Collard, Harvard University Graduate School of Design Stefan Norgaard, Student, PhD in Urban Planning, Columbia University We introduce and critically engage Specialized Agrarian Industrial Districts (SAIDs), geographically bounded zones that produce distinctive agricultural products, with localized-producer networks and regional inter-firm relations. We define characteristics that animate these zones, and their social/ecological opportunities and pitfalls. We examine the role that public actors—specifically nation-states—and local institutional arrangements play in supporting and enabling SAIDs as counters to global agro-industrial consolidation. Moreover, we consider SAIDs as new spatial sites, or geographical arenas for critical study. Our investigation examines cheese in the Franche-Comté, France and in Minas-Gerais, Brazil; and alcohol in South Africa’s Western Cape (wine) and Jalisco, Mexico (mezcal). Cheese and alcohol often require artisanal, centuries-old production and storage techniques; their biophysical properties and longstanding cultural traditions explain why SAIDs produce these commodities. Regulations and specific “denominations of origin” bound SAIDs, protecting them from pernicious, “race- to-the-bottom” globalization. SAIDs relate to land and property systems with long histories (agrarian reform, collective ownership, natural protection, and cultural/touristic heritage) and distinctive “terroir” (physical geographies with climate, topography, and soil central to production). SAIDs offer regional-development opportunities, negotiated relationships between workers and producers, and quality food. SAIDs cannot be created, but can be fostered where nascent. Yet concerns abound: exclusionary divisions that privilege “insiders” over “outsiders”; informal and exploited labor; nation-states that promote SAIDs at the expense of long-marginalized communities and social justice; and mass producers who deceive consumers by imitating SAIDs’ appeals. Nevertheless, if done right, SAIDs represent an urgently necessary alternative to “cheap food,” and a just, sustainable regional-development strategy. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Authenticity and the Politics of Food in the Face of Climate Change Jody Beck, University of Colorado Denver Claims of authenticity, sustainability, and locality are often grounded in concepts of place as a stable foundation, with the capacity to generate a consistent set of material facts over time. The key to these material facts – from dishes to cuisines – is a consistent suite of ingredients, which in turn requires a consistent climate. It is therefore clear that we can no longer ground authenticity on previous concepts of place. However, authenticity is still a useful and valid concept within food discourse. The wedge that climate change is driving between authenticity and place, as we’ve used these terms, foregrounds that, at least within food discourse, authenticity is properly a descriptor of relationships, and not of material facts. This shift in turn directs us to unpack the concepts we often entrain with authenticity, which can only make a claim about representation, and can make no claim regarding moral or aesthetic value. Ironically, the common reasons for discussing food in terms of authenticity, sustainability, and locality is explicitly to make moral or aesthetic claims. In order to do this, however, we must first think about what kind of relationships we value. This very quickly takes us to the need to ground our discussions of the authenticity, sustainability, and locality of food in consideration of right political relationships. This paper explores the concept of right political relationships in relation to authenticity and food through the work of Arendt, Agamben, Marx, and Taylor. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Pastel Maya: Processed Foods and the Re-appropriation of Mayanness Lauren Wynne, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Anthropology and Sociology, Ursinus College The food of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has been having a moment for at least a half of decade, exemplified by René Redzepi’s pop-up Noma outpost in Tulum and David Sterling’s two James Beard Awards for Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition. While anthropologists and allied scholars have worked to critique the category of “Mayanness” since the 1990s, outsider appreciation for “Mayan food” still often rests on assumptions of authenticity and naturalness. Amidst all of this, the term is increasingly claimed by indigenous people themselves. This is happening in a multitude of ways, in ways that are sometimes clearly linked to the commodified value of Mayanness in the tourist industry but also in ways that suggest attempts to wrestle meaning-making away from regional and global elites. This paper explores the creation and recreation of a newer dish called “pastel maya” that consists largely of mass-produced and highly processed ingredients. The paper considers how the use of “maya” to describe this dish poses a challenge both to scholarly rejections of the descriptor and to outsiders’ attempts to romanticize or capture local foodways, and culture more generally. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Making Place Real: Creating an Edible, Sustainable Urban Campus Jerri Husch, Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, Sociology Department, American University American University’s (AU) new strategic plan, grounded in the values of scholarship, learning, and community, is committed to bettering the human condition and effecting meaningful change. To support these goals, AU prioritizes experiential learning and building the practical skills needed to address food security, regenerative agriculture, and urban resilience. Through an all campus integrated initiative, "Learning by Leading," AU students, staff, and faculty have designed courses and research activities that support the creation of an "edible" campus. This paper provides an overview of the the design, implementation, and institutional processes required to build collaborative partnerships across the campus and the DC community. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Digital Story Mapping for Rural Food Justice Tatiana Abatemarco, Visiting Faculty of Food Studies, Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Bennington College, United States Madison Cilk, University of Vermont This research explores the question of, ‘how do you create a food justice community across a vast, rural region?’ through a case study of the North Country Food Justice Working Group, which is based in the Adirondack region of New York. The researchers have been engaging with this organization since its inception in 2017. At the organization’s first food justice summit in 2018, people put post-it notes on a physical map, showing their organizations, as well as regional dream projects. This group effort was digitized to create an interactive story map, which was unveiled at the 2019 summit. The goal of the map is to tell the story of food justice across the Adirondack region and create a living document for connection and movement growth. But, is this digital story project an effective way to create food justice community? Are there other ways to bridge a large, rural region? The case study uses the methodology of Participant Action Research to contribute to a progressive food justice movement and shares some preliminary findings based on the digital mapping project. It addresses the particular challenges and opportunities of food justice work in this rural region. The Adirondack North Country of NY is home to a small, sustainable farming resurgence, but is also a location with both extreme wealth and extreme poverty. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability From Old Categories to New Wine Geographies: An Ethnographic Analysis of Value Creation in Recent Winemaking Scenarios Maria Del Carmen Salas Quesada, PhD Student, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo A.C (Research Center in Food & Development) From the perspective of food anthropology, this project’s main goal is to develop an ethnography of two new wine geographies, Cananea, a town in Sonora (Mexico) 30 miles from the US border where wine activity just started ten years ago, and Sonoita (USA), a small area in Arizona where wine industry took off in the 1980s. In the last decades, the wine industry has undergone an important transformation due to the changes in global production and consumption trends. Ideas such as terroir, tradition, savoir-faire, authenticity or geographical indications, basic pillars for the conventional strategy of value creation in the wine market, have been expanded, reproduced and translated to worldwide contexts giving rise to very diverse local responses. This current scenario of global wine diversification puts into question these ideas, which represents and materialized the relationship between a product and its place of origin; and reveals the complexity posed by the study of the new wine geographies, their conformation (subjective and objective) and valorization. We find these geographies as an open tasting ground that provides us an opportunity to analyze and discuss about new ways of interactions between a product and its place of origin; about the creativity of these winescapes; about the viability of the old categories in the new geographies; and about the new meanings and actions around the valorization of this winemaking scenario which account for the reality of the global wine sector in the XXI century. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Authenticity as a Quality of Deliciousness: Exploring Online Reviews of Popular Restaurants in Hawaii Weranuj Ariyasriwatana, Assistant Professor, Communication, Marist College This study aims to investigate how Yelpers express deliciousness through various perspectives. A corpus of 1,200 online reviews of the 48 most popular restaurants in Hawaii, from a leading social media site Yelp.com, was content analyzed. Mentioning that a menu item is authentic is one of the many ways to express deliciousness. Six percent of all reviews (75 out of 1,200) contain discussions of authenticity in the following terms: authentic, traditional, real, true, and “the best that you can get out of Japan.” The data were also interpreted through the lenses of sociology. Categories that emerged from findings build upon existing literature. First, being “local” (32 instances) is considered being “authentic.” Second, four qualities of authentic food are geographic specificity (16 instances), simplicity (32 instances), personal connections (six instances), and historicism (two instances). Yelpers did not only identify authenticity in terms of food, they also contemplated other diners (e.g., “local diners”), feeling, atmosphere, decoration, chef, and even a waiter’s accent. Despite its manufacturing origin, “spam” was considered “local”—from the historical standpoint and consumer behavior—along with Poke, Loco Moco, and traditional Hawaiian cuisine. This scholarly work contributes to food communication, sociology, and the knowledge of “Making the Local.” The most important implication from this study is the following: linking deliciousness with authenticity automatically makes being “local” a desirable and relevant quality consumer look for in their meals. This will facilitate the process of realizing food sustainability. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Perspectives on Production How Can Commercial Craft Beer Brewing Take Advantage of Traditions for Beer Brewing and Drinking? Hans Olav Bråtå, Senior Researcher, Eastern Norway Research Institute, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences This paper discuss how craft beer production based on place and authenticity may contribute to fulfilment of sustainability goals and advance commercial craft brewing. Craft beer breweries frequently give their beers names that refer to place or local history. This is labelled neo- localism. The next level of local connectivity in craft beer production is the use of locally produced ingredients, such as hops, other herbs and grain. In Norway, the use of the local and ancient yeast, the kveik, is another example which gives a distinct and authentic beer. A third level of connectivity may be introduced, namely the adaptation of local and historical traditions for beer drinking to the present day situation. The discussion is based on an analysis of the brewing history in Norwegian mountain valleys. A survey in 1952 to local scholars as well as written records and publications is the basic material describing history. This is related to knowledge, both Norwegian and international, about craft brewing and sustainability. The paper is of great scholar value because it focus on how knowledge about place, history and authenticity may be an advantage in modern commercial brewing. A deep understanding of traditions related to beer production and drinking may increase the values of them and stimulate further reach on local food history in a broad sense. This is about beer, but the theme is much broader. It is related to how local food production can take advantage of history and stimulate a sustainable production of food and beverage. Food Production and Sustainability Optimal Farm-level Pollination Investment for Producers of Pollination Dependent Crops Steven Wilcox, PhD Candidate, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University Growing research is demonstrating potential reasons for concern regarding the stability of pollination resources, with implications for agriculture and ecological pollination service provision. In this paper, we characterize the dynamic optimization problem of pollination- dependent crop producers to study these relationships and examine cross-sectional data on apple farmers for suggestive evidence on pollination choice behavior in this sector. We also use numerical dynamic programming to simulate the properties of optimal farm-level pollination choices as nested within the larger decision set that farmers face. Empirically we find evidence of spatial and farm size variation in reliance on managed pollination service markets (e.g. honey bees). Our simulations show that optimal pollination choice varies with the relative effectiveness and costs of pollination resources (e.g. wild pollinators versus honey bees), and by farm size. Our work broadly supports the idea that farm-level pollination choices to invest in wild versus managed pollination resources are important for farmers with implications for production, profitability and pollination resource conservation. This work also highlights how little is known empirically regarding these relationships and suggests value in better understanding these relationships for the benefit of farmers and society. Food Production and Sustainability F and B Produce Supply Chain Disruption : Targeting Food Deserts in the U.S. Cynthia Mejia, Associate Professor & Interim Chair, Department of Foodservice & Lodging Management, University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, United States The growth of convenience stores and dollar stores throughout the U.S. over the past two decades has contributed to the emergence of urban and rural food deserts. A food desert is described as an area which has limited access to affordable fresh and nutritious foods, such as whole fruits and vegetables. This dangerous phenomenon has negatively impacted multiple generations of Americans, many of whom have grown up shopping for groceries at a pharmacy, or a dollar store, or even a gas station. The deleterious effects of eating highly processed foods has contributed to an increased rate of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes in this country at a rate unseen in modern human history. While solutions to this social problem are highly complex, one strategy toward ameliorating severe health issues as a result of unhealthy diets, might be found in produce delivery boxes intended as meal plans prescribed by doctors, and subsidized by insurance companies. The idea of regular fresh fruit and vegetable home delivery is noteworthy, but on its own merits does not solve the problem of actually consuming the produce. This paper puts forward a mechanism for reaching those persons living in food deserts, who suffer from food-related illness, and who may benefit from a produce supply chain disruption. In addition, practical suggestions are offered for a scaffolded approach to helping people to cook and consume the fresh foods. Food Production and Sustainability Global Markets and Indigenous Spirits: The Case of Artisanal Mezcal Production in a Community in Oaxaca, Mexico Maria Lira, PhD Candidate, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba Mezcal is a Mexican spirit known for its artisanal small-scale production in rural and indigenous areas. In the last twenty years, Mezcal demand has increased at a global level, involving producers in the complex dynamics of global value chains. This research aims to contribute to our understanding of the different strategies that indigenous producers use to interact with global markets. Through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and participatory satellite imagery classification in the mezcal producer community of San Juan del Rio, Oaxaca, Mexico, we document how the growing demand of mezcal is causing pressure on community institutions and lands. Furthermore, our results show the individual and collective strategies that producers use to respond to these pressures. The strategies include the strengthening of the community institutions that rule the management of natural resources; the creation of groups of producers as a way to increase their production capacity and reduce their vulnerability in the market; the creation of own brands (individual and collective) to upgrade their position in the value chain; and the use of young generations’ skills and knowledge to market their mezcal. While it is often assumed that small producers will succumb to pressures of global markets leading to the collapse of collective institutions, degraded natural resource, and capture of value chains by more powerful actors, people in San Juan del Rio are struggling to find a different pathway for their community to benefit from, and not be damaged by, the global value of artisanal mezcal. Food Production and Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS It’s the How, Not the Who: Differences in Meat Production Practices Determine Its Impacts Pam Kleppel, Co-owner, Longfield Farm Gary Kleppel, Professor Emeritus, Biology, SUNY Albany Few questions about the food system are more difficult to answer than, "Should I eat meat?" While animal protein is fundamental to human health, and herbivore-carnivore interactions are critical to environmental health, recent literature and campaigns by interest groups suggest that meat production and consumption are deleterious. We hypothesized that the way meat is produced, not meat itself, determines its impacts. We compared the risks of meat production and consumption produced by industrial and conventional (IC) practices, with that produced by regenerative and pasture-based (RP) practices. IC operators usually feed grain, even when livestock are pastured. Animals are often maintained or "finished" in high density confined animal feeding operations, where they may receive hormonal and antibiotic growth- enhancers. RP livestock are usually pastured and "grass-finished." Hormonal supplements are never used; antibiotics are only administered to sick animals. RP soils have higher microbial biomass, diversity and fungal: bacterial ratios than IC operations. Soil carbon and carbon sequestration rates, plant biomass and diversity are higher on RP than IC operations. RP-meat production generates 30% of the greenhouse gases and requires 10% of the water used in IC production. Total lipid levels and low density: total lipid ratios are higher in IC than RP meats. RP meat production is associated with 0.3% of the E. coli contamination risk as IC production. Do meat production and consumption represent risks to human and environmental health? The answer depends on how it is produced. Food Production and Sustainability Ocean Warming Increases Methylmercury in Fish Samuel E. Moskowitz, Research Professor and Emeritus Professor of Applied Mathematics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Despite reduction of mercury emissions in air and water, methylmercury levels in fish and shellfish are rising. Anthropogenic sources of atmospheric pollution that include burning of coal and mining of iron ore contaminate habitats of fish with inorganic mercury. Microorganisms in water transform this metal into toxic organic methylmercury. Greenhouse gases raise sea and ocean temperatures. Appetites of fish are stimulated and enhanced in warmer water. With over-fishing of nearby prey there is a need for greater mobility to reach alternatives which, in some cases, contain higher levels of mercury. Fish currently eat more; the higher place on the food chain, the greater the intake of methylmercury. For example, between 1969 and 2017 methylmercury concentration in Atlantic Bluefin tuna rose 37%. Fish, however, remains an important source of protein, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and vitamin D. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that shark, pike, albacore, halibut should be eaten a few times per month; trout, canned tuna, few times per week; and that salmon, pike, and oyster have no restriction on amount. Limited aggregates should be eaten by young children, pregnant women, and women of child-bearing age. We shall discuss in detail the connection between warming, over-fishing, and methylmercury concentration in fish. Mercury is accumulative and poisonous in humans, damaging the central nervous system. Selenium binds to mercury and allows unabsorbed amounts to pass through the body, but toxic beyond trace levels. Consumption of fish that have long life-spans and are high on the food chain should be avoided or restricted. Food, Nutrition, and Health Communication and Composting: A Service-learning Case Study Jay Newell, Professor, Greenlee Journalism and Communication, Iowa State University Laura Witzling, Assistant professor, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, Iowa State University, Iowa, United States Food waste poses a significant environmental challenge to the U.S. Fortunately, many organizations and municipalities are exploring options to encourage individuals to waste less food, and to compost food that cannot be eaten. Such efforts require thoughtful communication strategies. Consequently, in this case study, we examined two semesters of a graduate-level communication strategy course that was designed to center around a team-based service-learning project that would help promote composting. Previous research suggests that service-learning generally benefits undergraduate communication students as they practice team-building skills, learn to relate to clients, and create work that they can use in their portfolios. However, little work has examined whether graduate communication students might derive similar benefits. Our study also explored whether a service-learning project focused on food waste could engage students with sustainable food systems, even through their majors were not expressly related to food or the environment. In one semester of the course, the students worked with city staff to promote a pilot community compost program. In the other semester, the students worked with campus dining services to promote sustainable dining efforts, including campus composting. We invited students to participate in a focus group to evaluate how the class engaged the students with sustainable food systems issues, and how it impacted other aspects of their learning. We also examined end-of- semester course evaluations and interviewed community partners. Based on our findings, we make recommendations for incorporating sustainable food systems service-learning projects into the classroom. Food Production and Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Cultural Connections Story Mapping the Evolving Nature of Food Culture in Madrid’s City Center Malcolm Compitello, Professor of Spanish, Spanish and Portuguese, University of Arizona There is consensus among scholars that culture and its commodification play a seminal role in the urban process around the world. Spain’s capital city, Madrid, is no exception. Over the last two decades food culture (restaurants, bars, cafes, public markets and chain food stores) has been both a cause and effect of significant changes in the transformations Madrid has undergone. The current project explores the transformation of food culture on Santa Isabel and Argumosa streets. Both are located precisely in the middle of where the cultural transformation of the city began in the last two decades of the 20th century with the reconstruction of the Atocha railway hub and the establishment of the Reina Sofía art museum. This paper uses the story map function in the ARC GIS platform to demonstrate how this transformation evolved in this area. Story mapping enables the analyst to provide a compelling visual narrative of how the food trade evolves in space and time and to visually contextualize these changes against the major transformations in Madrid’s urban process over several decades. Story maps allow one to understand the nature of these transformations both textually and visually. Pedagogically, for both students and scholars alike, the story map helps humanists to see the importance of marshalling data, empowers them to construct their own interpretations of that information and offers a way to construct powerful arguments in support of their own points of view. Food, Politics, and Cultures Constructing Identity through Food in "Roman Holiday" and "Un americano a Roma" Chiara De Santi, Assistant Professor, Modern Languages, Farmingdale State College, SUNY Building upon the idea that "Un americano a Roma" (Steno, 1954) is seen as a response to "Roman Holiday" (William Wyler, 1953), and to Wyler’s depiction of Italy and Rome as a postcard-like reality, this paper discusses how the depiction of food in the two films contributes to the construction of Italian identity, one stereotyped by Wyler and the other parodied by Steno. Wyler tends to present a stereotypical image of Italian identity through food, and its consumption in scenes where spumante, espresso, and gelato are consumed in bar all’aperto, while the street markets (mercati) tend to identify a separate working-class Italy. "Un americano a Roma" suggests, instead, that reality is different, starting with the maccheroni scene. Alberto Sordi as Nando, a young Roman obsessed with the United States, has the intention of eating food American style (jam, yogurt, mustard, and milk), yet soon reverts to eating Italian pasta and drinking red wine, justifying this by saying “maccarone mi hai provocato? E mo’ te magno.” Although this scene is not the only reference to Italian (and American) gastronomy and eating styles in Steno’s film, it certainly represents its manifesto: Italian cuisine is superior to the American. Through parody, the film by Steno criticizes the obsession that many Italians had toward the American culture, including its gastronomy, making the point that the true Italy is not the one which Hollywood filmmaker Wyler had depicted in "Roman Holiday." Food, Politics, and Cultures Food, Culture and Religion: The Food of the Maronites of North Lebanon Claude Chahine Shehadi, Libaliano Kitchen My paper focuses on the food culture and rituals of the Maronites, a religious minority from the mountains of northern Lebanon, who developed a distinct cuisine in line with the religious calendar, the seasons, and their natural environment. This most authentic and indigenous cuisine contrasts with that of Lebanon’s coastal areas which was subject to the influences of empire and trade. In the fifth century, the Maronites sought refuge from persecution in mountain caves. As such, their food was determined by this rocky nature. They kept agile climbing goats, and goat is the main source of meat. Foraging wild herbs supplemented their diet, and in line with the seasons, they gathered a comprehensive pantry to tide them over the winter. Pegged to the Eastern Catholic calendar, during Lent and periods of abstinence, they cooked vegan dishes with grains and pulses. On the day of the Assumption, they prepared, a slow-cooked Hrisseh combining wheat and meat simmered overnight in large communal pots. Rites of passage were also marked with food, like Meghle, a spiced rice pudding to celebrate a birth or Snaynyeh--whole wheat grains, boiled, sweetened with dried fruits, and flavored with aniseed--to mark baby’s first tooth. Many of these dishes and food rituals are now cooked and practiced across Lebanon and in the diaspora. But as this paper shows, they originated in the harsh environment of the country’s mountains, from a poor, rural folk whose food culture was connected to religion, nature and survival. Food, Politics, and Cultures Food and Place Branding João Freire, Marketing Professor , IPAM and Universidade Europeia Rosane Gertner, Associate Professor, Marketing, College Of Staten Island-CUNY, New York, United States Food fulfills physiological, social, and emotional needs. The human body requires nutrients to function. At the same time, food is part of almost all social events, serving as a tool for developing social connections. In addition, foods satisfy emotional needs, bringing comfort, nostalgia, and pleasure to members of a group or culture. People’s interest in experiencing food from different places and parts of the world has substantially grown, ultimately creating a new global trend--food tourism. According to Erik Wolf, World Food Travel Association Executive Director, “Food tourism is the act of traveling for a taste of place in order to get a sense of place.” To a group of people, commonly called ‘foodies’, food is their main motivation to visit a place. As this group of people spends more time and money looking for unique food experiences, place marketers have had opportunities to build their "place brands" around food and, thus, appeal to another significant segment of visitors. Just like products, place names have been treated like brands. Place branding, as well as image destination, has become a fruitful research field. To discuss the relevance of food for place brand management, this investigation employs a qualitative method of research-- exploratory research. The study results suggest that local cuisine experiences are used to evaluate destinations and overall satisfaction with the trip. Food influences destination brand images and, consequently, should be considered a relevant dimension when building a destination brand. Food, Politics, and Cultures Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Celebrity Chefs and Restaurants of Celebrities on Instagram: Tracking Symbolic Capital in Two Brazilian Restaurants Camila Crumo, Sociology, University of São Paulo This paper aims to investigate the circulation of symbolic capital among chefs, restaurant owners, and their personal accounts on Instagram. For this purpose, two famous restaurants of São Paulo city, Brazil, are compared. One of them is the Président, owned by Erick Jacquin, a highly recognized chef, famous for being one of the Masterchef Brazil judges. The second is a very popular restaurant in Brazil, Paris 6, well- known for its dishes named after celebrities and for its plentiful desserts. These restaurants have interesting similarities and distinctions. Both refer to France as an inspiration. However, their menus differ a lot. One major difference is the size: Président offers fourteen main courses, while Paris 6 offers about eighty. Despite these differences, which alone would distinguish their customers, the two locations have similar strategies on social media, such as reposting customer selfies and photos of dishes on Instagram stories. The most striking feature of their strategies is the "traffic" of symbolic capital: in the case of Président, it moves from the chef’s personal account to that of the restaurant; in the case of Paris 6, it passes from the restaurant profile to the owner's personal account. Through an analysis of the content of social media and websites of restaurants and owners, and through a “mystery shopping” method, this paper aims to track this flow of capital in its different forms. In addition, it seeks to answer what kind of distinction strategies they are using and which audiences they are reaching. Food, Politics, and Cultures What to do with a Hungry Peasant? : Food Supply and the State in Interwar Egypt Atar David, PhD Student , History , University of Texas at Austin In examining the tangled question of the state's responsibility to ensure food supply for the citizens, Egyptian upper and middle class attitudes changed along the interwar years from a static to a more active approach. Rather than seeing the state as an unwanted actor in the economic system, these writers, journalists, and state-clerks began demanding further intervention in food production, supply, and distribution. The paper points at three main causes for this change. Economically, the local crisis caused by the global depression revealed the necessity for governmental initiative in economic markets. Socially, the growing numbers of poor peasants (fellahin) posed a logistical problem of food supply, while at the same time their incorporation into the national discourse created new horizons for solving the nation's food problems. Finally, and in accordance with global trends, the cultural place of "food" changed from a personal need to a national right. Revealing changes in Egyptian perceptions regarding food security is meaningful not only for the internal debate regarding the origins of the Egyptian welfare state but also for the global discussion about the interwar years and the place of the great depression and the liberal order in shaping today's economic and social structures. Food, Politics, and Cultures Tropi-food: Gastro-tourism and Culinary Authenticity in Puerto Rico Today Mónica E. Lugo Vélez, Spanish Instructor, World Languages and Cultures, Eastern Illinois University, United States Massimo Montanari defines the experience of eating geographically as the way in which individuals know or express a culture of a specific region through cooking, local products, and/or recipes. That is, eating “local” is a contradictory notion that is used to give “authenticity” and differentiation to the cuisine of a region. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the inherent contradictions found in official tourist propaganda discourses, and in their interest in selling a mediated idea of Puerto Rico without problematizing the multiple influences that characterize what is considered as “authentic” Puerto Rican food. Attention is given to the composition and the visual discourse utilized in advertisements on the websites of government-owned tourism companies. In this discussion, it is important to take into account the role played by government tourism offices in marketing so-called Puerto Rican food. The analysis focuses on the pages endorsed by the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, including their Discover Puerto Rico page, and the gastronomic event, Saborea Puerto Rico announcing the Puerto Rican cuisine. Likewise, I examine the discourse of the electronic portals of gastronomic companies that sell “authentic” experiences of Puerto Rican cuisine to tourists. Food, Politics, and Cultures Segmenting Indian Millennials According to Their Primary Motivations for Buying Organic Products Neel Das, Professor, Appalachian State University Lubna Nafees, Professor of Marketing, Marketing & SCM, Appalachian State University, North Carolina, United States Unal O Boya, Appalachian State University Eva M Hyatt, Appalachian State University Lawrence L. Garber, Jr., Elon University We segment Indian millennial organic food consumers according to each consumer’s primary motivation for buying organic products. Prior research collectively reveals ten motivators for buying organic foods, repeatedly specifying two as the most common: the desire to live healthfully, and the desire to help the environment. A preliminary study confirms the dominance of the latter two motivators and adds a third, the desire for superior quality foods. These three are used in all subsequent analyses along with a fourth that is a composite of the other seven to reveal and profile segments according to their attitude toward organic foods. Focus groups were used to identify the needs/benefit attributes of Indian millennial organic food consumers consider when purchasing. Thirteen such attributes were revealed and used in all subsequent analyses to address the question: are all Indian millennial consumers who buy organic products driven by these motivators in tandem, or do they define three respective consumer segments according to what drives each respective segment’s organic purchases? We address this question by deriving the organic perceptual profiles of each set of organic millennial organics consumers according to their self reported primary motivators, and comparing them. The frequencies with which the above four major market segments of Indian millennial organic foods consumers were associated with these 13 organic product performance attributes were mapped onto a common, multidimensional space using correspondence analysis package, and their positions within the resulting attribute space are interpreted. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Food, Politics, and Cultures Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS (Dif)fusion Cuisines: Gastropoetics of Return Migration in the Singaporean Postcolonial Novel, Soy Sauce for Beginners (2014), by Kirsten Chen Gema Charmaine Gonzales, PhD Student, Department of General and Comparative Literature, Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle Paris III Situated in the junction of the alimentary and the literary, this paper investigates food and eating semantics as representations of gendered postcolonial experiences in the discourse of and about return migration. It explores how foodspeak is employed in building a narrative recalcitrant to colonial and patriarchal ideals, while putting emphasis on the fashioning of a female subjective I. The struggle that Chen’s female protagonist faces in her homecoming — always in the in-between, being at once autochthon and foreign, homesick and homeless — is articulated through the language of food, a language that incessantly confronts (and eventually, challenges) the imperialist thought, the continuing neo-colonization and the approaching globalization taking shape in the postcolonial community. My approach is twofold: first, I engage in a food-centered reading of the text to identify the postcoloniality of the returnee’s home community, their ambivalent relationship with the West and the tensions between guarding their traditions and adapting to globalization; second, I move from the community to the individual, to describe the returnee’s experience of coming home, the disintegration of her memory of home and her hybridity resulting in her exclusion within the community. As a conclusion, I submit that the returnee’s disconnection from home, from the West, and from any place, as symbolized by food metaphorics, allows her to be liberated from the psychosomatic oppressions entailed in being fully anchored to a single society and culture. Food, Politics, and Cultures Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Colloquium Come Dine with Us!: The Power of Food Media to Invite Food Stakeholders to the Table Viktor Proesmans, PhD student, Department of Marketing, Innovation and Organissation, Ghent University, Belgium Christophe Matthys, KU Leuven Katrien Maldoy, Universiteit Antwerpen Jules Vrinten, PhD Student, Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, KU Leuven, Antwerpen (nl), Belgium Paulien Decorte, Student, PhD Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, Belgium Lauranna Teunissen, Student, Master Strategic Communication, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium Isabelle Cuykx, PhD Student, Communication Sciences, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen (nl), Belgium Sara Pabian, Universiteit Antwerpen Charlotte De Backer, Universiteit Antwerpen Kathleen Van Royen, Universiteit Antwerpen Food media such as cookbooks, magazines, TV cooking shows, and the most recent explosion of messages about food via social media have created an overflow of -often conflicting and non-evidence-based- media messages about food. Researchers have warned about the power of food media and their potential negative effects, that often focus on unhealthy and unsustainable dietary choices. Yet different stakeholders participating in food discourse can learn a lot from the successful strategies of food media to reach out to consumers and communicate authentically. In this colloquium, we first discuss the roles of the stakeholders engaging in food discourse including food media, health organizations, food industry, policy makers and consumers. Further, we look at how we can use the different voices that talk about food to navigate towards healthier and more sustainable and local food consumption patterns for everyone. We present quantitative and qualitative data to explore in-depth if and how food media could be used to develop lifelong healthy relations to food (i.e. “food literacy”) and what consumers, health organizations, policy makers, and also food industries can learn from food media. Paper 1: Positioning stakeholders participating in local food discourse. Paper 2: What food industries can learn from food media to reach out to consumers. Paper 3: What local health organizations can learn from food marketers. Paper 4: What health organizations can learn from food media to communicate authentically to consumers. Paper 5: Towards a consumer-inspired platform to unite stakeholders in food discourse. Food, Politics, and Cultures PARALLEL SESSIONS Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Local Ties Farming Novels: Narrating Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Kathryn Dolan, Assoc Professor, Dept of English & Tech Com, Missouri Univ of Science & Tech, Missouri, United States Henry David Thoreau named the production of food simply our “grossest groceries.” This is an important time to consider food in terms of culture and consumption. The foods people eat and the stories we tell each other are two of the most fundamental components of human civilization, perhaps more significant now in terms of the effects of environmental changes and globalization as it has ever been. The French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin famously wrote, “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.” Extending this, farming novels tell us what we prepare, produce, and consume, through agriculture and culture. Agriculture has been connected to literature since antiquity. Some examples of narratives of agriculture throughout history and the globe include Virgil’s Georgics, the works of Willa Cather and Wendell Berry in the United States, Stella Gibbon’s Cold Comfort Farm and James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small in Britain, and world literature like Charles Massy’s Call of the Reed Warbler (Australia) and Héctor Abad’s The Farm (Colombia). In each case, the language and the land are deeply connected. In this paper, I discuss this connection between stories of farming and the rural life as they are used to describe and define place, authenticity, and sustainability. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Eating Tensions: Exploring the Foodscape of US National Parks Kathleen LeBesco, AVP for Strategic Initiatives; Professor of Communication and Media Arts, Office of the President, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, United States This paper, extracted from a book-length project I’m working on about eating in US National Parks, examines the mission and history of national parks in the US, and restaurant and eating cultures within and near the parks. Key questions to be addressed include: How does one see the competing mandates of US national parks—preservation of natural spaces, and enjoyment of these spaces by the citizenry—manifest or reconciled within the possibilities for eating in the parks? More specifically, what does the nation’s reliance on industrial food concessions in the parks reveal about the tensions inherent in the mission of the park service? To answer these questions, I provide an overview of the US National Park “foodscape” and a more detailed analysis of eating in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Sustainability Consciousness in Rural Food Tourism Development: A Russian Case Study Jeremy Schultz, Assistant Professor, Human Services, Western Carolina University, North Carolina, United States The purpose of this research was to explore sustainability consciousness among rural food tourism operators in the Krasnodar Region of Russia. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore how such operators viewed the concept of sustainability and what measures they took to adhere to sustainable management practices. The properties interviewed were part of a regional rural food tourism development project that was aimed at fostering economic mobilities while caring for the local environment and culture. This research also represents a collaborative effort between Russia and the United States that supports an agenda of sustainable destination development and management. As a global community, we need to continue to investigate stakeholder perceptions and strategic management techniques that best support the pillars upon which sustainability and responsible tourism were founded. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Global Chains, Local Communities: AB Sugar in East Anglia Laura Moreira Tomich, Binghamton University Sugar is a major ingredient in industrial food systems. Companies like AB Sugar, the sugar producing arm of the multinational Associated British Foods (ABF), have businesses that span continents and operate in multiple languages. However, the physical limitations and time sensitive nature of sugar processing require factories to be located as close to the fields as possible. Tim Lang’s work with global value chains and short food supply chains provide a framework to help us interrogate the unexpected relationship between the transnational scale of the sugar value chain and the extreme localness of its commodity production. This paper draws on Doreen Massey’s understanding of a socially constructed place to examine how ABF’s international value chain creates local sugar producing communities in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. These geographically concentrated communities of stakeholders are constructed through necessarily localized efforts in plant breeding, in the integration of sugar beets into existing arable crop rotations (including crops such as wheat and barley), in the contracting of haulers and the building of specialized trucks for the transportation of sugar and in the hiring of seasonal workers during the annual campaign. This discussion raises complex questions about the relationship between short food supply chains, the construction of place, and the ways that we understand sustainability. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Cheese International: The “Glocal” Politics of Artisanal Cheese Carlos Yescas, Program Director, Oldways Cheese Coalition, Oldways Preservation & Trust The movement to preserve raw milk cheese is transforming from its "slow food" origin, to a transnational movement with strong international actors, advocates, and detractors. The flows of information at specialized conferences, workshops, and webinars are helping connect researchers and producers in a network of knowledge creation that presumes shared values and desired outcomes. My research shows how the language created by the "artisanal" cheese movement is being hijacked by large corporations to blur values, practices, and outcomes in a quest to commodify authenticity. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Level of Sourness, Acceptability, and Palatability of Selected Indigenous Souring Agents: Diversity of "Pinoy Sinigang" Allen Luis Dizon, Community Chef, Fremont Hills Retirement Community, United States Food acceptability is largely determined by palatability factors. Knowledge of food acceptability is an important consideration on concerns on health, food marketing and sales, and in development of food products. This study primarily determined level of sourness and acceptability of selected indigenous souring agents available in the Philippines, in terms of its palatability factors: aroma, appearance, taste and texture. The study focused on twenty-five souring agents used in preparing and cooking “Sinigang.” The study used the experimental research design to innovate the “Sinigang” recipe using the indigenous souring agents. Descriptive method was also used to determine the level of acceptability of the souring agents in terms of palatability factors. A questionnaire was formulated and used as a major tool in data gathering. The data gathered were analyzed using weighted mean, frequency count, percentage, ranking technique, variance analysis and correlation analytics. The study concludes that the twenty-five indigenous souring agents for “Sinigang” can be alternatively used as souring agents. The souring agents differ in sourness, acceptability, visual appeal, olfactory evaluation, taste and specific flavors. Ratings on the sourness and acceptability differ significantly. Some of the researcher’s recommendations are to introduce the twenty-five selected indigenous souring agents available in the Philippines for a healthier, more organic and natural diet. Studies on the preservation of these souring agents can aid in extending their availability when not in season. Launching and marketing culinary tours will promote food tourism and culture of the food-loving Filipinos. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Community Kitchens as Innovation Spaces for Small-Scale Food Production in Manitoba: An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities Emmanuella Addae-Wireko, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba Community kitchens have received much attention in the literature yet their use for commercial purposes by small scale food producers/ processors are under-reported. The purpose of this project is to understand the role played by Commercial Community Kitchens (CCK) in Manitoba. CCK are a type of innovation space where small-scale food business owners develop product ideas and process raw materials into finished products. Primary data collection was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with ten small-scale food business owners who produce and/or process a variety of food products (e.g. kombucha drinks, hummus, almond butter spreads, and gluten-free perogies). Results indicated that the frequency of CCK use for these food products ranges from seasonal yearly use to periodic year-round use. Some business owners stopped using particular CCK, combine the use of CCK with other facilities, or use more than one CCK. Some have stopped using CCK because space, storage, tools, equipment, or resources were not adequate to their needs or the rental cost was too high. The main reason for using a CCK was due to the need for a government certified CCK, which meets the health standards and regulations of Manitoba, to commercialize food products. Based on business owner interviews the research suggests that CCK can improve their services by increasing storage space, providing relevant tools and equipment for their users, and implementing programs to build user capacity of the kitchen facilities and equipment. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Community Reflections Yogic Foodways in America: Cooking Up a Countercultural Yogic Diet at Yoga Anand Ashram Christopher Miller, Bhagwan Mallinath Assistant Professor of Jainism, Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, United States Based on archival and ethnographic fieldwork focused on the category of "yogic diet" undertaken in 2016 and 2017, this paper follows foodways through a contemporary yoga community known as Yoga Anand Ashram (YAA) in Amityville, New York. YAA was founded by an immigrant guru from Calcutta named Gurani Anjali (1935-2001) during America's countercultural movement, and maintains operations today. Adopting Anna Tsing's notion of "frictions," I identify two important cultural conditions that allowed for the creation of what is more broadly conceived as "yogic diet" in American modern yoga culture. First, I consider the role of the countercultural environmental movement, and the ways in which food played a role in aspirations to make the personal political. Second, I show how the community's adoption of a vegetarian diet, and its popular vegetarian restaurant known as "Santosha," not only reflected the aspirations of particular textual yoga teachings adopted by YAA pertaining to proper diet, but were enabled, following Belasco, by the "hip enterprise" movement, as well as the notion that the personal was political. Countercultural America's aspirations to be in harmony with nature, and to do so primarily through a vegetarian diet, created fertile conditions for a transnational conjuncture resulting in a distinctly American "yogic diet." Food, Politics, and Cultures The Development of Sizzling Sisig in Filipino Cuisine: Authenticating its Local Roots amidst Nationalization John Edward Edquilag Alfonso, Instructor, Institute of Arts, Sciences, and Teacher Education, Mabalacat City College, Pampanga, Philippines The Philippines is a nation comprised of various ethno-linguistic groups, each with their own cultures and local cuisines. But despite these variations, certain local foods made their way into the tongues and plates of Filipinos across the country. This research shares the story, and provides an interpretation, of how the Filipinos embraced Sizzling Sisig, from a local food to a nationwide dish, based on interviews and documentary analysis. It looks back at the 70’s when the dish debuted in a simple food stall in Angeles City. After gaining a steady stream of patrons, it was brought to the country’s capital of Manila, marking the beginning of its nationalization. The study then talks about the practices developed and incorporated in the dish’s food system that make it sustainable in the community. Some of the practices are manifested in the valuation of the pig’s ears, the main ingredient of the dish, in the local markets and the various advertisements and interpretations made to cater to the tastes of the people. It ends with how the dish affected the community and how the city of Angeles have exerted its efforts to preserve the dish’s authenticity, specifically through a local ordinance enacted by the city officials. For a nation with a strong sense of regionalism, preserving the local culture has been one of the priorities of many of its cities and the development of Sizzling Sisig is one clear manifestation of the people’s efforts in establishing the dish’s locality amidst its nationalization. Food, Politics, and Cultures Teaching Sustainability to Culinary Students: Graduating Sustainability-Minded Chefs? Luciana Godoy, Student, Cultural Studies PhD (candidate), Trent University, Ontario, Canada In 2016, The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities mandated that culinary colleges across Ontario, Canada, implement sustainability into their required program outcomes. Positioning the potential impacts of a chef’s actions on food production, consumer choice, and food service operations’ management is crucial in assisting students to develop a sustainable mindset as future culinary leaders. This paper explores “The Sustainable Chef” course, offered by one of Toronto’s main culinary colleges, to assess the potential of future graduates to contribute to more sustainable food systems by making informed and responsible decisions as members of the food industry. Food, Politics, and Cultures An Internationally Recognized Cake: Strawberry Shortcake, Millefeuille, and Napoleon Masahiro Miyake, Assc. Professor, Human Environmental Scisnces, Mukogawa Women's University, Hyogo, Japan This paper investigates what makes a classic cake. How are cakes changing in this time of globalization? Macha cake has spread out to many different countries in a short time. You can find Macha cake under the same name in a lot of different countries. Millefeuille/Napoleon has been available in many countries for a long time. It can be found under different names in many different countries. The name given to a cake is strongly related to the period of time when it was introduced to a particular country. The focus of this research is about millefeuille, a traditional pastry in France, and Castella in Japan. The method used was to visit and to conduct interviews at a different bakery-patisserie in different neighbourhoods at random every day continuously for 365 days, and research the 365 millefeuille in order to analyze the tastes and ingredients from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 in France. And the resulting analysis were detailed along with detailed watercolors of 365 millefeuille. In 2010, I also analyzed tastes and package boxes of one traditional cake (Castella) from 365 different patisseries every day through visiting and doing interviews with detailed watercolors of 365 cakes in 365 patisseries in Japan (27th August 2010 to 26th August 2011). Food, Politics, and Cultures Reactions and Counterreactions to Chile’s Food Labeling Guidelines: A Typology of Market-based Micro- strategies Jael Goldsmith Weil, Associate Professor, Centro de Desarrollo Regional y Políticas Públicas, Ceder, Universidad de los Lagos, Chile, Chile This paper analyzes the food industry’s counter-reaction to Chile’s 2016 Food Labeling Law which imposes warning labels on food products that are deemed high in saturated fats, calories, sugar, and salt. It attempts to analyze these micro-strategies using Political Science literature and frameworks concluding that the discipline is partially blind sighted when it comes to issues at the intersection of the private and public sector. It then proceeds to create a typology, propose a research agenda and policy recommendations for analysts in other countries considering imposing similar regulations. Food, Politics, and Cultures Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Understanding the Impact of a Food Insecurity Support Fund on College Students Christina Olstad, Dean of Students, University of Wisconsin-Madison Kathleen Gould, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Towson University, Maryland, United States Nicole Libbey, Graduate Student, Towson University Andrea Brace, Associate Professor, Towson University, United States Food insecurity, or the inability to access nutritious food regularly or with ease, has been increasing substantially in the United States in recent years. As of 2016, 15.8 million Americans were identified as experiencing food insecurity. In hopes of combating this statistic, initiatives on federal and institutional levels, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, campus food pantries, and dining point exchanges have been created and implemented. Specific to Towson University, the Food Insecurity Support Fund (FISF) was created in 2016 to provide immediate assistance to students with difficulties accessing adequate food by providing on-campus dining points to students to have immediate access to food. In fall 2017, 169 students accessed this resource. This study aimed to understand the impact of the FISF through a series of face-to-face, semi-structured interviews from recipients of the FISF. A total of fourteen students were interviewed and asked questions about the process of obtaining the help and the overall impact of the service on their life. Example questions included: “Please describe the impact this entire process had on you,” and “What were your expectations when you sought the fund?” The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The responses were analyzed using Atlas.ti software where three major themes emerged, which are: 1) Appreciation, 2) Helpful, and 3) Increasing access and variety of meals. These findings can help improve services offered at this university and serve as a template for other universities to implement a food assistance program on their campus. Food, Nutrition, and Health Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Political LInks Hunger: Metamorphoses of its Meaning in Brazil (1930-1940) Adriana Salay Leme, PhD Student, History, University of São Paulo, Brazil The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how hunger was understood in the 1930s and 1940s in Brazil, analyzing mainly the press, literature and scientific production of the period. It can be seen that the term hunger, as a social phenomenon and not a biological sensation, was closely linked to the sense of crisis. For example, a great drought in the northeastern hinterland generated hunger, a war could also be a cause of hunger. However, nutrition studies and food surveys have started to understand the needs beyond the crisis: nutritional problems, associated diseases and malnutrition were linked to the availability of food from the principle that human beings would need the minimum necessary for the healthy maintenance of life in their daily lives. Thus, the rationalized diet has created tools such as counting calories and discovering vitamins that changed the understanding about food intake. With the repercussion of this new view in Brazil, the term hunger takes on a broader meaning, which Josué de Castro named in his book "Geography of Hunger," of hidden hunger: even in a regular situation, there may be hunger because it is a structural and social problem, and not arising from climatic and temporary issues. The focus is on how a particular social group looked at the phenomenon of hunger and how it gradually widened its meaning. It is not just an epistemological issue, as the expansion of its definition has a substantial impact on how the public policies were constrcuted. Food, Politics, and Cultures Fighting For Farming Justice: Diversity, Food Access and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Terri Jett, Associate Professor, Political Science/Peace and Conflict Studies, Butler University This paper presentation is based on a book I am currently writing that looks at the fairly recent settlements of the Pigford (I and II) (Black Farmers), Keepseagle (Native American Farmers), Garcia (Latino(a) Farmers) and Love (Women Farmers) with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and how current efforts in the food justice arena, such as farmers markets, cooperatives and community/urban gardens, are situated in the historical struggle of these specific groups. Specific examples are cited, and a discussion of whether or not the USDA is now more supportive of these particular farming groups will also inform my paper. The efforts of one organization in particular, WFAN (Women, Food and Agriculture Network) are provided. Food, Politics, and Cultures Food Policy of Wuhan City Urgent Shut-down under COVID-19 Yaolin Chen, Student, M.A, SUNY University at Buffalo, New York, United States To constraint the spreading of COVID-19, Wuhan has to lockdown the whole city of nearly 30 million residents. After a period of chaos and panic, the supply system broke down and consequently insufficient food supply, which has been heavily reported in the news. The metropolitan has gradually recovered to a stable stage with a typical food supply system, where the food or deli are mostly delivered directly to the home, at the point barely any market is opened and few residents would risk shopping outside. For such a newborn system, we focus on several major topics. Firstly, how the government design and conduct the food policy to activate key components of the food supply chain to get it resurrected with minimum risk of the virus propagation. Secondly, how to ensure a food delivery system with bearable delivery time and overall affordable cost, which also includes various out-of-city food importation and donation. Thirdly, the relevant effect imposed on the local market and online market, where the online market with high-end imported food and one-day delivery is fancy recently. Lastly, we also care about the food-sharing within the neighborhood and cook-at-home behavior, under the tendency the neighbor connection fades as residents move from townhouses to mansions, along with more people eating away from home. Our work will follow Chinese reports of the food system by conducting phone call interviews with the involved institutions and agencies, as well as applying quantitative analysis on how an urgent food supply system is built and maintained. Food, Politics, and Cultures Ethics, Applied Humanities, and Food Studies Mererdith E. Abarca, Department of English , The University of Texas at El Paso Beth Dixon, S.U.N.Y. College at Plattsburgh Tatiana Abatemarco, Visiting Faculty of Food Studies, Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Bennington College, United States How do ethics, applied humanities, and food studies inform each other? How do they challenge each other? How do they redefine each other? How do decolonial and feminist epistemologies inform our understanding of local community as locations for actions and places of knowlege? In this colloquium session, three scholars will discuss their work at the intersection of ethics, applied humanities, and food studies, and engage the audience in a discussion of the tangible philosophy of community engaged practice, exploring ways in which theory can be generated from the ground up, in conversation with community. Tatiana Abatemarco will talk about her work at Bennington College to create a Food Studies program that is based in the humanities and works in the town of Bennington, Vermont to address issues of food insecurity. Beth Dixon will illustrate how to use the methodology of narrative ethics to make visible structural injustices about food insecurity in order to advocate for changes in policy, laws, and practices. Meredith E. Abarca will present a digital archive open source project that she is creating, El Paso Food Voices, based on gathering food oral stories from El Paso, Texas residents. She’ll highlight some of these stories to illustrate micro levels of social transformation taking place within private and public ‘cocinas.’ Food, Politics, and Cultures What Does Food Sovereignty Mean for People with Disabilities Washieka Torres, Teaching Assistant, Disability and Human Developmen, University of Illinois at Chicago This study focuses on the ways in which the food justice movement has been exclusionary to the needs of people with disabilities through various food practices that create barriers for those who are disabled two effectively buy and make food that is sustainable for them. I consider the ways in which community gardens and greenhouses are often hailed as a way to reduce food insecurity and increase healthy lifestyles are in many ways built to exclude people with various types of disabilities. I look to not only theoretically propose but also to showcase solutions that have been created and sustained in communities that center disabled people and the ways in which centering disabled people from a bottom-up approach when it comes to food production and sustainability is not only inclusive to the needs of people with disabilities but also should be considered a foundational social justice practice. Food Production and Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Analysis and Management of Environmental and Food Security Risks in Bangladesh Do Hoon Kim, Northfield Mount Hermon Environmental issues, along with the global warming, have become the topic worldwide, as they are directly related to the survival of the mankind. Also, climate change is regarded as one of the big challenges for food security. Now it is the time to find means to adapt for various environmental issues and food security arising from the global warming. European countries and the USA are responding to global warming, environmental issues and food security from the nation-wide perspective, but because the developing countries have relatively limited adaptability, damages from environment and food security are expected to aggravate. Thus, the purpose of the research is to analyze the economic and the geographic characteristics of Bangladesh, and the causes of environmental issues and food security in Bangladesh, having high risks in environment and food security among the developing countries, and then to find proper response methods on damage prevention and management of environmental and food security risks of Bangladesh. For these environmental and food security risks, this research proposes systematic and integrated approach of risk management when considering the seriousness of the risks. Therefore, a structured system encompassing accident prevention, post-accident response, compensation, governance, international cooperation, and enterprise risk management(ERM) is applied to overfishing, water pollution, natural disaster, and food security respectively. Furthermore, the research suggests several policy alternatives for the environmental and food security risks in Bangladesh. Food, Politics, and Cultures Maritime Cabotage as an External Non-tariff Measure: The Case of Puerto Rico's Agrifood System William Suarez I I, Adj. Assisstant Professor, , Community Health Unit - Educ. Department, CUNY, City University of New York- Hostos College, New York, United States An exploration between the United States Maritime Merchant Law and Puerto Rico's agricultural sector before Hurricane Maria is needed to situate the multidimensional findings of this research. This paper explores the multidimensional effects of an external non-tariff measure (NTM) on maritime transportation between the United States (US) and Puerto Rico (PR) trades. The vulnerability level of PR’s agrifood sector in relation to sustainability as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) highly influenced by exogenous factors is explored by its particular conditions, but also by external policies to trade imposed by a larger economy. Due to the high potential of climate changes in the Caribbean, this study reviewed the effects of a maritime cabotage policy on a SIDS agribusinesses’ logistic. Could a NTM affect the supply chain capabilities and the food security of a SIDS? What challenges and opportunities does the US Cabotage policy present for PR’s agricultural sector’s competitiveness? Based on mixing empirical analysis in an exploratory convergent design, the research categorises the cabotage policy in relation to the effects on PR’s agrifood supply chain, its port infrastructure, and its native agribusinesses’ competitiveness. Results show the maritime cabotage itself is a constraint. However, the interactions with others NTMs, indirectly related to the cabotage but inherent to the political status and business relationship between PR and the US revealed an impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of PR’s agribusinesses. Food, Politics, and Cultures A Matter of Trust : A Quantitative Study to Explore Allergen Awareness and Compliance in Takeaway Food Businesses in the Borough of Knowsley Michael A Pascucilla, CEO/Director of Health, Local Health Department, East Shore District Health Department In December 2014, the EU introduced legislation which aimed to ensure that customers with food allergens could make informed choices and safely consume food, without the risk of a potentially life-threatening reaction. With the number of people suffering from food allergies increasing globally, and food allergies accounting for more hospital admissions than food borne diseases (FSA 2017), food allergens pose a significant public health threat. Using a questionnaire and allergen audit (designed to provide a consistent and standardised means of measuring food safety practices within food businesses), the research looked to explore the awareness, understanding and practices of 21 randomly selected food business in the Borough of Knowsley, located in the North West of England. The findings revealed a significant gap between the level of confidence expressed by food business owners and their practices and understanding. Whilst all (n=21) felt confident in providing a safe meal and 90% (n=18) were aware of the need display allergen information, none of the food businesses owners demonstrated a high level of allergen control in their premises and 43% (n=9) did not display any allergen information within their premises. In addition, the research established that there appeared to be no direct link between the levels of food hygiene found in a food business and the awareness and practice of the food business owner regarding food allergens. This gap leaves customers exposed to a significant level of risk, as it appears that the confidence food business owners have in producing a safe meal is misplaced. Food, Nutrition, and Health Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Colloquia Improving DC Residents' Health through Food Access and Nutrition Education Elizabeth Cotter, Assistant Professor, American University Robin McClave, Program Director, Department of Health Studies, American University Researchers from American University's Department of Health Studies, DC Central Kitchen, and Common Threads will present multiple perspectives on the delivery of community-based interventions intended to improve fresh food access and nutrition education. Research and evaluation are essential components to identify evidence-based strategies and programs that can be delivered in community-based settings. The overall purpose is to discuss two critical components of improving Washington, D.C. residents' health: increasing access to healthy foods and providing strategies around healthy eating and nutrition literacy. We share results from the work of DC Central Kitchen in their Healthy Corners program that has expanded purchasing of fresh fruits and vegetables. The authors present the results of qualitative interviews with DC residents that highlight strategies that can be used with future nutrition education programs to better engage families, such as the use of technology and holistic approaches that consider family stress. Finally, we present findings on behavioral economic strategies that encourage fruit and vegetable consumption in school cafeterias. The strategies and results shared will serve as model interventions that communities across the country can implement to improve access to and consumption of healthful foods. Food, Nutrition, and Health Food for Justice: Power, Politics, and Food Inequalities in a Bioeconomy Madalena Meinecke, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Eryka Silva Galindo, Doctoral Researcher, Institute for Latin American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin Renata Motta, Junior Professor of Sociology, Institute for Latin American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany Marco Antonio Teixeira, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Institute for Latin American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin Carolin Küppers, Post-Doctoral Researcher , ZI Lateinamerika-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany “How are we going to feed the world?” This question is the subject of heated debates, with different interests competing to shape the agrarian present and futures. Social mobilisation for food justice targets the issue of access to food and arises out of various conflicts related to how and what kind of food is produced, distributed and consumed. Consequently, food movements have increasingly gained public interest. They pursue and enact their own views on a (bio)economy and provide alternative ways to navigate the politics of the current system. The research group “Food for Justice: Power, Politics, and Food Inequalities in a Bioeconomy” looks into social mobilisation targeted at injustices in the food system. Combining theoretical perspectives on intersectional and global inequalities with social movement research on food justice, the project aims to analyze challenges and solutions both in Europe (with focus on Germany) and in Latin America (focusing on Brazil). In this colloquium we will present the findings from our collaborative research (surveys, documents, participant observations and interviews) of two case studies: The Marcha das Margaridas (“Daisy’s March”), Brazil’s largest protest by rural area women; Wir haben es statt! (“We are fed up!”), Germany’s most popular farmer’s protest. We will address the following questions: What are the main justice claims against inequalities in the food system that mobilize people in different world regions? What is defined as ‘good food’ and who has access to it? What are similarities and differences between Brazil and Germany? Food, Politics, and Cultures Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Innovation Showcase Taking the Classroom to the Field: Blending Disciplines and Institutions to Teach College Students about Food and Sustainable Health Anna Woodrow, Faculty , HPR, John Abbott College This paper explores the development and implementation of a new collaborative course that combines Humanities and Physical Education departments at John Abbott with the McGill University Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Morgan Arboretum. The course provides entry level students with the opportunity to expand their world views around processes of growing and acquiring food, foraging, working with farm animals, and sampling different dietary options. The theoretical application is paired with the physical and mental work required for food production, in a farm setting. After two successful pairings beginning in Fall 2018, the paper includes a description of the considerations, successes and challenges in developing and implementing this type of course, with this form of extended collaboration. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability PARALLEL SESSIONS Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Focused Discussions: Room 3 Addressing Rural Food Insecurity on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, Washington through Place-Based Solutions: A Practitioner's Lens on Equitable Access Karlena Brailey, Washington State University Laura Ryser, Washington State University Clea Rome, Director, Clallam County Extension, Extension, Community and Economic Development, Washington State University, United States This discussion highlights a case study of place-based solutions for fostering community food security in peri-urban and isolated rural areas on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas of Washington State. In this region, over 14% of the population lives below the federal poverty level, one in two students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and one in six pre-schoolers are obese. Many areas of the area are classified as low access in the USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas, with a significant number of residents more than twenty miles from the nearest supermarket. The region is home to five tribes including the Hoh, Quileute, Makah, and Lower Elwha-Klallam. The USDA has designated these tribal areas as food deserts, with limited access to healthy foods. The Olympic Peninsula is connected to the mainland of Washington via ferries, a floating bridge, and two small highways, all of which are susceptible to interruption due to frequent extreme marine weather. In a region where disruptive weather is a common occurrence and where over 50% of children are eating one to two meals a day at school, food security and local food production are interconnected. Through partnerships forged between the local extension offices, emergency food distribution programs, tribes, and the agricultural communities in the region, our innovative work provides economic incubation for regional micro-farms as well as equitable food access to healthy, nutritious, locally grown food for those who can least afford it. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability PARALLEL SESSIONS Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Virtual Lightning Talks: Room 1 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Recommendations : Addressing Healthy Food Access in the United States Matthew J Arnold, Catawba College Miracle Etim Andy, Student, Exercise Science, Catawba College, North Carolina, United States Jennifer Chambers, Catawba College Victor Romano, Program Chair, Exercise Science, Health Sciences & Human Performance, Catawba College, North Carolina, United States The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federally funded program to provide food assistance to struggling Americans. The SNAP program is proposing a nearly 30% decrease, thus eliminating benefits for at least 4 million people and reducing benefits for many others. The current SNAP program provides $1.40 per meal per person, leading to families rely on foods that are less expensive, and often provide less nutritional value. The new SNAP proposal would drastically cut 260,000 store options around the country, in favor of a new government-driven approach of providing boxed food for SNAP households. SNAP participants are currently at a significant disadvantage in terms of dietary quality relative to non-participants in fruit and vegetable consumption. This policy change would further increase this issue. Food insecurity, even marginal food security, is associated with chronic and costly health problems and behaviors among adults. With the SNAP program currently under review, we recommend the following policy changes, 1) increase participant availability through innovative options to increase consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, 2) increase benefit disbursal to promote more frequent purchases with the goal to increase purchases of fresh fruit, vegetables, and healthy meats, and 3) develop and implement nutrition education strategies to educate participants about spending their benefits on more nutritious, cost-effective meals. Food, Politics, and Cultures The Biography of Pork Lard in São Paulo, Brazil: A History of Resistance, Nutritious Contradictions, and Modern Identities Viviane Aguiar, Student, PhD in Social History, University of São Paulo This paper focuses on the articulation between nutrition, cuisine and the construction of regional identities to discuss the “biography” of banha de porco (pork lard) in São Paulo, Brazil. If it was essential for cooking and preserving food until the beginning of the 20th century, in the following decades a clear change took place: advertisements and articles published in São Paulo magazines and newspapers started to associate lard with a custom that should be surpassed, since it was artisanal, linked to rurality, and did not match the new parameters of modernity widely spread by medical/hygienist discourses. A real “hunting for lard” took over the press, suggesting healthier and more modern substitutes, such as coconut fat and vegetable oils, which were beginning to be produced by the emerging industries. Part of an ongoing research, this paper discusses the entry of new ingredients (canned oils) and equipment (such as the refrigerator) brought by the industry into a domestic kitchen still deeply tied to the services of maids who, remnants of slavery, certainly had a hard time overcoming their own traditional habits to fully accept these innovations. Facing transformations in its contradictions, resistances and constant adaptations, rather than in a linear dynamic that simply replaced a taste or a habit with others, the research aims to comprehend a complex and continuous process that culminates, today, with the “redemption” of pork lard, which is being resumed by small and organic producers, ironically rehabilitated as nutritious, healthy, and consistent with the most modern desires. Food, Politics, and Cultures From Wine Cellars to Wines Fridges : Ideals of Sustainability and Quality Julia Cristina Carrillo Ocampo, PhD Student, School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts, and Meal Science, Örebro University How can the wine cellar/fridge reveal the challenges and opportunities of implementing sustainable practices in restaurants? Although food storage and preservation are practices that have shaped human history and food culture, they have been insufficiently addressed from a sustainability perspective. Hence, the paper's aim is to explore the relationship between the restaurants' workers perceptions of sustainability and wine storage practices and facilities. By focusing on the latter, using ethnographic methods such as observation and semi structured interviews with restaurant staff, I explore how different ideals of sustainability and quality are at play in restaurants in Sweden. Storage practices, both traditional and modern, such as the use of technology to prolong the sensory quality of wine, are an entry point to investigate how sustainability is enacted by the restaurant industry. This ongoing study explores how different “food imaginaries” that originate from discourses and practices surrounding sustainability and quality, permeate into restaurants and its personnel’s beliefs. It shows how these culinary infrastructures not only secure wine quality but also may add to its value, and sometimes are at the center of the restaurant concept. Furthermore, it presents that there is a discrepancy between the ideals of sustainability commonly expressed by the restaurant staff regarding other food stuffs and wine. Finally, it portrays that wine´s cultural value is discussed in different terms when it comes to sustainability as wine cannot be always locally produced and the perceived sensory attributes of more sustainable wines are sometimes considered undesirable or merely as not tasting good. Food, Politics, and Cultures Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Norms about Justice as a Way to Mobilize Food Policy Change in the U.S. Patricia Boling, Professor, Department of Political Science, Purdue University , Indiana, United States Crafting policies to address the increasing obesity of Americans and associated increases in rates of diseases like diabetes, cardiopulmonary disease, cancers, asthma, and serious complications from infection with the Covid 19 virus have foundered on the dominant rhetoric of choice and personal responsibility. Though many believe food producers are creating and manipulating consumers’ cravings and addictions to junk food in ways that are comparable to the efforts of tobacco producers to hook smokers on cigarettes two generations ago, approaches to increasing rates of obesity and attendant health problems still mostly focus on individual efforts to become better informed about nutrition, get more exercise, and choose a healthier diet. How can policymakers concerned about the public health effects of such a diet shift the dominant discourse so that personal choice and responsibility are no longer treated like a mantra? Reframing how we think about obesity in the U.S. is critical if we want to hold the food industry responsible for making American consumers fat, and create policies that address corporate responsibility for the toxic food environment most Americans live in. My paper proposes food justice as a way to make a powerful normative appeal to change how we produce and market food in the U.S.. I relate food justice to notions of systemic racism, including connections between class, job access and race, ethnicity or national origin, food deserts and swamps, the availability of safe places to exercise, and cost and time as determinants of what people end up “choosing” to eat. Food, Politics, and Cultures The Impact of Cooking Magazines Distribution during the 1980s and 1990s on Food Culture at Vale do Paraíba in Brazil Maria Luiza Rocha Ribeiro, Master Degree, Mackenzie Presbyterian University This essay studies the caipira cuisine of Vale do Paraíba, countryside of São Paulo, focusing on the cities of Cruzeiro, Pindamonhangaba, and São José dos Campos. Initially, historical bibliographic research was carried out, which sought primary sources in different documents and the collection of reports using the oral history methodology. As a central issue, it seeks to prove the existence of a food culture of Vale do Paraíba during the 1980s and 1990s through personal cookbooks and cooking magazines made available in this period at the region. The effects of industrialization on the food culture of Vale do Paraíba in São Paulo can be observed, indicating the possible changes, both in the inputs themselves and in the way of executing the recipes, resulting from the ease brought by the food industry. Thompson's oral history; the concept of food as a form of anthropological study defended by Montanari; the formation of Brazilian and São Paulo cuisine, presented by Dória; the caipira characteristic described by Antônio Candido and exemplified by the authors Florençano and Abreu in the context of the Vale do Paraíba are used as a theoretical and methodological framework. The metamorphosis suffered by the industrialization processes indicates changes and adaptations in the tradition and preparation of cuisine, however its cultural essence seeks ways to maintain within the limits of the ingredients, utensils and ways of preparation, the transformation changes to keep the culture in other contemporary ways of being in the world. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Black Food, Slow Food: The Racialized Politics of Slow Foods Marilisa Navarro, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, College of Humanities and Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, East Falls, Pennsylvania, United States This study argues that the cookbooks of Bryant Terry, African American chef and food justice activist, act as an archive for black culinary epistemologies. This archive has two effects: First, it contests the notion that “slow foods” is an idea of European origin. Terry’s cookbooks emphasize the ways in which black communities have contributed culinary knowledge to “slow foods,”—consuming fresh, local, homemade, nutritious foods—for hundreds of years. Secondly, Terry’s cookbooks counter the dominant narrative that black food consumption is pathological. Contemporary scholarly and popular literature emphasizes black consumption of unhealthy foods, including foods high in sugars, fats, and calories. Terry presents a counter-narrative in which black communities eat fresh, local, nutritious foods as part of an ancestral, African diasporic tradition. Through a cultural studies analysis, I argue that Terry’s four cookbooks, Grub (2006), Vegan Soul Kitchen (2009), The Inspired Vegan (2012), and Afro-Vegan (2014), are sites that recuperate black culinary epistemologies. Notwithstanding a few notable exceptions, very little academic literature has been written about the relationship between race, knowledge production, and the Slow Food movement. Terry’s work underscores how black chefs and black communities claim their own stake in food justice politics. This paper brings together literature in popular culture, food studies, and ethnic studies to argue that Terry’s cookbooks are sites of political contestation. Food, Politics, and Cultures Lipid Profile and Oxidative Stress Induced by Different Varieties of Edible Oils in a Rat Model: A Comparative Study to Assess the Grades of Edible Oils Urban John Arnold D Souza, Professor & Head, Physiology, Academia & Research, Physiology, Biomedical Sciences & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia, Sabah, Malaysia Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, and a major risk factor for atherosclerosis. Lipid levels and oxidative stress depend on several factors; one such key factor is the oils utilized for household cooking. Little is known about the effect of these vegetable oils on oxidative stress and lipid changes in normal and hypercholesterolemic conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of various other oils on the oxidative stress and lipid profile to recommend its use to the public. Seventy-eight male Wistar rats weighing about 120-150 g were obtained from the central animal facility and divided into different groups. Cholesterol powder was supplemented to the basal chow diet (1%) and given to rats to induce hypercholesterolemia. After the scheduled treatment of different oils, serum was used for lipid profile and vitamin C estimations. RBC hemolysates were used for malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), super oxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) assays. There was a significant increase in LDL cholesterol level in rats treated with vanaspati and olive oil. MDA levels in hemolysate were increased and antioxidant levels were decreased in all oil treated groups. Different oils used in the study have a differing effect on lipid profile and oxidative stress. Coconut and palm oils seem to induce lesser adverse effects compared to olive oil and Vanaspati on atherogenic index. These findings provide useful information regarding the choice of vegetable oils in hypercholesterolemic patient, and needs clinical study for its authentication. Food, Nutrition, and Health Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Posters and Virtual Posters: Room 2 Food System Modeling for Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response Operations Lynndee Kemmet, Research Fellow, Center for the Study of Civil-Military Operations at West Point, New York, United States Due to the military’s role in providing humanitarian assistance, both abroad and within the U.S. through the National Guard, the Department of Defense has supported research to assist commanders in identifying and assessing local food systems. Food systems have been a priority on the understanding that maintaining food security is critical in times of disaster or conflict. The food system model developed by researchers at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point assists commanders in identifying the critical components of the local food system that must be protected or quickly restored in a post-conflict/post-disaster environment to maintain or restore food security. The initial test of this DoD- developed food system data collection, mapping technology and food system model was tested in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Through this data collection and mapping system, the connections among entities within a local food system became visible and the data collected provided decision makers with additional information on the capacity of those entities to support food needs in times of crises. Food Production and Sustainability Physiochemical Characteristics of Hot and Cold Brew Coffee Chemistry: The Effects of Roast Level and Brewing Temperature on Compound Extraction Niny Z. Rao, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Pennsylvania, United States The role of roasting in cold brew coffee chemistry is poorly understood. The brewing temperature influences extraction processes and may have varying effects across the roast spectrum. To understand the relationship between brew temperature and roast temperature, hot and cold brew coffees were prepared from Arabica Columbian coffee beans roasted to light, medium, and dark levels. Chemical and physical parameters were measured to investigate the relationships among the degree of roast, water temperature, and key characteristics of resulting coffees. Cold brew coffees showed differential extraction marked by decreased acidity, lower concentration of browned compounds, and fewer TDS indicating that cold water brewing extracts some compounds less effectively than hot water brewing. Compounds in coffee did exhibit sensitivity to the degree of roast, with darker roasts resulting in decreased concentrations for both hot and cold brew coffees. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was only sensitive to the degree of roast in cold brew coffees, while hot brew coffees had a constant TAC for all three roast levels. This indicates that the solid bean matrix and its chemical constituents interact with cold water differently than with hot water. Surface wetting, pore dynamics, and solubility all contribute to the extraction potential during brewing and are all functions of water temperature. Food, Nutrition, and Health The Benefits of Diet Modification in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: A Case Report Chaya Prasad MD, MBA, Attending Physician, Western University of Health Sciences Holly Ryan, Medical Student, Western University of Health Sciences Chuck Chan, Medical Student, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific , Western University of Health Sciences Autoimmune disease has been steadily increasing in incidence in the Western world over the last few decades despite any significant changes in its genetic contribution, suggesting there is a correlation between the worsening American diet and inflammatory mediated autoimmunity. Several studies have proposed mechanisms for this correlation including the relationship between the gut microbiome and autoimmune disease, as well as the role of diet composition and the activation of the immune system. This relationship between diet and autoimmune disease has been well studied in inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes. The literature on the role of diet in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) however, has been considerably lacking. This case report serves as additional evidence of diet affecting the initiation and progression of HT. We discuss one patient with HT’s improved health and quality of life due to diet and lifestyle changes alone. This poster is particularly beneficial because it provides a conservative approach to HT via diet intervention while minimizing medical management. Food, Nutrition, and Health Advancing Knowledge of Indigenous Berries and Value Added Products Roxanne Lindley, Westbank First Nation Dave Gill, Ntityix Resources LP Lana Fukumoto, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Samir Debnath, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Naomi De Lury, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Kelly A. Ross, Research Scientist, Summerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, British Columbia, Canada Indigenous peoples have a history of agriculture in terms of propagation, prescribed burns, production, harvesting, and processing/ preparation; however, Statistics Canada reported in 2016 that lndigenous agricultural operators represent only 1.9% of agricultural operators in Canada. Indigenous peoples’ heath and traditions have been impacted by colonization and many Indigenous communities want to revitalize traditional lifestyle practices, including increased access to traditional food. Historically there has been a lack of capacity for Indigenous communities and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to partner on research projects but AAFC is evolving by introducing funded research projects focussed on supporting Indigenous food systems in 2019. Advancing Knowledge of Indigenous Berries and Value Added Products represents such a research partnership between AAFC and the Westbank First Nation (WFN). Roxanne Lindley, Chief of WFN from 2016-2019, expressed a community interest in cultivating Indigenous berries, beginning with huckleberries (stqi ́ ə mlx), and processing options for berries, including developing a juice beverage from Soopolallie (sx̌usmi ́p) (soapberries). With help from Ntityix Resources LP, WFN’s natural resource company, huckleberry plants have been collected from two growing locations (lower/moderate elevation and high elevation sites) from WFN lands for propagation work in support of cultivation. Fresh berry quality attributes characterization has been performed. Processing yields of juice from berries have been obtained to support development of an Indigenous berry beverage. Overall this work supports enhancing access to Indigenous foods and aims to contribute to the health of the WFN community by advancing knowledge of Indigenous berries, value-added products, and food sovereignty. Food, Nutrition, and Health PARALLEL SESSIONS Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Workshop: Room 2 Developing Small-Scale Community Solutions to Food Insecurity: An Interdisciplinary Approach Michele Montecalvo Eda Sanchez Persampieri, Asst Prof/Director of CFE, Management, St Francis College, United States Marie Segares, Assistant Professor, Management and Information Technology, St. Francis College, United States A leading health indicator for Healthy People 2020 is increasing nutrition and physical activity and decreasing obesity rates. Strategies to employ these desired health goals include increasing fruit and vegetable access and consumption in the American diet. Additional long-term health strategies are to decrease the number of Americans who are food insecure. Many communities face public health, social, and economic challenges stemming from their positions in food deserts. Small-scale community solutions, and more specifically, microbusinesses, have the ability to address community health needs while also developing the local economy. This interdisciplinary workshop will explore using public health, social entrepreneurship, and design thinking activities to guide student or community groups through the process of developing feasible business concepts to address food insecurity locally. Using the model of the St. Francis College Center for Entrepreneurship’s annual Entrepreneurship Camp (eCamp), participants will engage in hands-on activities for assessing community health needs, using design thinking to create innovative and customer-driven solutions, and examining business models with low barriers to entry, such as pop up markets, carts/ mobile trucks, and kiosks. The Center for Entrepreneurship’s academic programming emphasizes the application of the entrepreneurial mindset for social impact solutions. Participants will leave this workshop with the tools and materials to facilitate similar activities at their home institution to engage their local communities in combating food insecurity. 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Saturday, 17 October PARALLEL SESSIONS Focused Discussions: Room 3 From Coarse Cereals to Nutri-cereals: The Comeback of a Traditional Crop in South India Julie Jacquet, Student, Ph.D. Student, University of Paris-Nanterre, France Millets have held an historical place in the agricultural production, culinary traditions, and cultural life of many communities in south India. Due to policy neglect in the latter half of the twentieth century, when rice and wheat were the stars of the Green Revolution, research and infrastructures were not put in place to support the production or consumption of millets. Since the mid-2000s, various actors are progressively showing an interest in this family of crops. In cities millets are promoted as traditional superfoods. Businesses, targeting the upper middle classes, are proposing new products and, in some cases, putting forward "farm-to-table" and organic supply chains, local and seasonal sourcing, which is "good for the body, good for the farmer, and good for the planet." Meanwhile, in rural areas of South India, NGOs and state programmes are promoting the production of millets, for local consumption and export. Millets require less water, less chemical inputs, and are nutrient-dense. Yet, farmers remain reluctant to grow them as their market value and productivity remain low and processing centres few, despite an increase in the R&D devoted to millet-specific technology. The structures put in place through this millet renewal present a hybrid of conventional agricultural practices and alternative practices which the author seeks to explore through a food systems approach. Are millets seeds of resistance or simply the next lucrative fad? Can millets be part of the solution to India’s agricultural and health challenges, or should they remain a crop of the past? 2020 Special Focus—Making The Local: Place, Authenticity, Sustainability Saturday, 17 October 06:00-07:00 Talking Circles: Europe, Asia, and Australia (6:00 CST / 13:00 Paris / 16:30 India) Talking Circles are meant to give shape to a conference that is wide-ranging in its scope and broad-minded in its interests. They give people an opportunity to interact around the key ideas of the conference away from the formalities of the plenary, paper, poster, focused discussion, workshop, and colloquium sessions. 14:00-15:00 Talking Circles: USA (14:00 CDT Illinois / 21:00 Paris) Talking Circles are meant to give shape to a conference that is wide-ranging in its scope and broad-minded in its interests. They give people an opportunity to interact around the key ideas of the conference away from the formalities of the plenary, paper, poster, focused discussion, workshop, and colloquium sessions.