The University of Illinois Program in Law and Philosophy teamed up with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (FES) to host the Food Systems Symposium on September 30 and October 1. The symposium promoted new ideas that push the conventional boundaries of food systems thinking and highlighted emerging researchers, innovative projects, interdisciplinary thinking, and non-traditional collaboration.
The Program in Law and Philosophy is co-directed by Professor Heidi M. Hurd, who is doing a one-year Masters in Environmental Management at the Yale FES.
“Our goal was to bridge the gap between academics and practice,” said Hannah Walchak one of the event’s organizers. “The symposium was a rare chance for people from far corners of the ever-expanding food world to talk face-to-face and hash out solutions for feeding our growing world.”
Featured speakers included Wes Jackson, president of The Land Institute in Kansas, who has made regular visits to the University of Illinois College of Law in recent years. Also featured at the Food Systems Symposium was M. Ann Tutwiler, director general of Biodiversity International, a global organization that conducts research for development and is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.
“There is a persistent theory out there that science has overcome Malthus's dire warning that population growth will eventually outpace the planet's ability to feed everyone,” says Mark Bomford, a participant in the Food Systems Conference. “Of course, achieving a sustainable food system that feeds humans worldwide isn't that simple. If universities are true to their mission, it is not actually an ethically defensible way to deal with a complex problem by ignoring all the nooks and crannies and dark shadows."
Shedding light on some of these dark shadows was one of the reasons behind the organization of the national Food Systems Symposium. The two-day conference — which attracted researchers, practitioners, theorists (and eaters) from across the country brought together voices from many disciplines to explore the path to a more sustainable food system. Highlighting innovative projects, new food research, and non-traditional collaborations that are pushing conventional boundaries, the conference also looked to identify areas where the worlds of food research and professional training interact.
"We started to think about what is the next step in building food and agriculture," said Adan Martinez, one of the event's organizers. "I think it's about expanding what's possible, creating opportunities for cooperation, and seeing a wider breadth of possibility in the study of food systems."