---

News Release

Last modified: Thursday, November 3, 2011

Sustainable food systems focus for Midwest scholars attending conference this Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 3, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- More than 60 faculty members and graduate students representing 16 universities from four states will gather on the Indiana University Bloomington campus Saturday in an effort to develop regional networks in the Midwest tied to sustainable food systems.

"Indiana University is already at the forefront of interdisciplinary food studies, with a growing community of scholars working in this domain," said IU Anthropology Professor Richard Wilk, a co-organizer of the event with Peter Todd, a professor of cognitive science, informatics and psychology at IU Bloomington. "We are fortunate to have the support of Indiana University and its forward-thinking administrators in bringing this group together."

The one-day workshop on ongoing and future research related to food and sustainability is being funded with a Sustainability and Environmental Literacy Leadership Award from the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs.

"The goal of the workshop is to build regional networks of research collaboration on this vital topic," Todd said. "With increasing efforts at making the Midwestern food system more sustainable appearing all over the region, along with growing interest in food quality, origins and healthfulness on campuses, this is a particularly important time for faculty and graduate students to meet and share their research interests, plans and results."

The conference will run from 10 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 5) in the Student Building. Space is still available, but limited, and interested parties wishing to hear the presentations and meet the participants should contact Ryan Kennedy at jonrkenn@umail.iu.edu for details.

For more information or to speak with Wilk or Todd, please contact Steve Chaplin, University Communications, at 812-856-1896 or stjchap@iu.edu.

---

---