5 lectures coming up on October 15 to November 12 at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., 6:30 p.m. each night. Free to all food lovers. Tickets available at 4 p.m. at the Fox’s box office each day of the lecture. Sounds yummy to listen to talks about food, and to learn about food sustainability.
www.downtownlectures.arizona.edu
CHANGING GEOGRAPHIES OF FOOD
Diana Liverman
Wednesday, October 15, 2014 – 6:30pm
We are living in a new planetary epoch – the Anthropocene – in which humans are changing the environment at a global scale. Dr. Liverman leads us on an exploration of how our everyday food choices contribute to these changes and are in turn affected by them in an increasingly connected world. How can we ensure food security for all in a world where agriculture competes for land and water with cities, industry, and ecosystems; where climatic or economic upheaval in one corner of the world triggers food price rises in another; and where billions are hungry while others are overfed? This lecture will assess the state and geographies of our food system, tracing trends in environment, food production, trade and consumption, and identifying choices that can promote a more sustainable future for food around the world.
TUCSON: CITY OF GASTRONOMY, HUB FOR FOOD DIVERSITY
Gary Nabhan
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 – 6:30pm
This presentation will highlight why Tucson has been nominated to become the first UNESCO-recognized Global City of Gastronomy in North America, and why it has become a nursery grounds for rediversifying the American diet as means to provide farmers with better livelihoods, celebrate our multi-cultural food heritage, and combat obesity and diabetes. The antiquity of agriculture and diversity of desert food traditions in the Tucson Basin is unparalleled within any metro area in the entire United States, but many of Tucson’s current inhabitants remain vulnerable to hunger, food insecurity and nutrition-related diseases. We will suggest how this collaboration among the city, county, university and local non-profits and food micro enterprises can be used as a means to leverage positive change to enhance food security and alleviate poverty in the eight USDA- designated food deserts within Metro Tucson. It will also discuss how enhancing the diversity of food choices available to our community and others relates to issues of food justice and food democracy.
