FYE 101 - Food for Thought: The Food Web

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND SUSTAINABILITY OF WHAT WE EAT: This FYE will center around the topic of food–specifically the building and execution of rituals with/around food, writing about food, examination how society influences the food that we eat, and how our food choices affect the environment. This FYE will be taught in four sections led respectively by a biologist, an English professor and poet, a sociologist, and a Religion professor and rabbi. Sometimes we will meet together, sometimes separately in sections.

THE FOOD WEB: Few things are as important for our sustenance than the food we eat. Yet, often we do not consider the variety of social actions that have occurred prior to putting food in our shopping cart or being served to us on a plate. This portion of the FYE aims to reveal the invisible structures that contribute to feeding (or are failing to feed) society. We will spend time considering the actors and organizations that are instrumental to how food is produced, including a visit to a local farm and assessing the role that large multinational corporations play in what gets planted each harvest. Additionally, we will uncover the multitude of methods that food leaves farms and arrives to the destinations that we secure it from. This portion of the FYE includes exploring the development and monopolistic practices of certain food providers, such as grocery stores, and investigating emerging alternatives, such as farmers’ markets, dumpster diving, and food cooperatives. Lastly, we will spend time eating food (how could we not!). Here we will consider the role that food plays as a medium to celebrate our cultures and denote the individuals that we are.

Credits 1

Compass Attributes
First Year Experience