PUREFOOD Winter School in Barcelona

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Press Release:

Building bridges: The PUREFOOD event “Beyond Divides: An International Winter School and Forum on Contemporary Agri-Food Issues” forges network, debate and learning

Barcelona, 12 to 22 November 2012

By Leah Ashe

The PUREFOOD Network and the Food and Nutrition Observatory of the University of Barcelona played host to the international winter school ‘Beyond Divides: An International Forum on Contemporary Agri-Food Issues”, held in Barcelona from the 12th through the 22nd of November, 2012. The event featured contributions of leading international scholars including Professors Patricia Allen (Marylhurst College, USA), Michael K. Goodman (King’s College, UK), James Kirwan (Countryside and Community Research Institute, UK) and Jesús Contreras (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain). With a mission of fomenting debate, exchange and collaboration, the forum featured various opportunities and learning formats, including thematic panels and roundtables on contemporary themes such as food justice, alternative food networks, food and nutrition security, tradition and innovation. Continue reading →

2 week intensive course in Ghent

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The Rural Sociology Group of Wageningen University offers Master students the possibility to participate in a 2-week intensive course on Micro-organisms and Traditional Food. During these intensive weeks, you follow lectures by various scholars from around Europe focusing on both social and microbiological sciences, you work on group assignments and go on excursions. This time the IP takes place in Ghent from 4 to 15 February 2013. Last year 4 MFT students experienced 2 interesting weeks in Rumania. You can read about their adventures (and more info about the programme) here: https://ruralsociologywageningen.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/interested-in-multidisciplinarity-and-traditional-food/

The facts:

  • Multidisciplinairy team of international students
  • Interesting and diverse scholars
  • Combination of lectures, group work and excursions
  • 2 weeks in Ghent from 4-15 February (re-exam week and first week period 4)
  • 3-6 ECTS (depending on the choice for an extra assignment)
  • All costs reimbursed, except for 25% of the travel costs
  • Deadline: Wednesday 28 November!

Food myhts Busted – do we need industrial agriculture to feed the world?

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In the light of the debate on how to feed the world’s growing population and what type of agriculture is needed, a video by the Food Myth Busters takes a firm position:  we do not need corporate agriculture, actually we are even better of without it. In the video they demystify claims upholded by corporate businesses with some facts. I’m however sure that these are not the facts the CEO of Wageningen UR has in mind when proclaiming that further intensification of agriculture is needed (in fact he is arguing for a further industrialization of agriculture according the famous Dutch model and promoting a joint venture of corporate business and science, ergo: corporate science) to secure food provision for 9 billion people. Have a look yourself and make up your mind:

Local food hip and happening

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Lots of anecdotical stories buzz around for who is looking for the local trend in food. A local ‘snackbar’ (de Patat Koning) in Rotterdam contacted local farmers for local potatoes. My colleague Jan Willem van der Schans rightly observed; ‘why can you get ten different sauces on your fries but no choice in which fries you eat’. It makes a difference from which potato the french fries are made said the connoisseur. Equally, the burger is localising. Instead of imported beef, old Dutch breeds are being rediscovered for their meat, such as the ‘blaarkop’ cow. Some foreign breeds of cows used for grazing in conservation areas have difficulty adapting to the richness of the fodder compared to their own more harsh environments. The ‘blaarkop’ is adapted to local climate, and aparantly makes excellent hamburgers……. Continue reading →

Localising the food economy in Arnhem?

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Von Thunen’s famous ring model

Can the city-region of Arnhem be self-suffient for food? Certainly not for meat, but surprisingly for quite a few other product categories such as potatoes, eggs and most probably vegetables. And suppose we reduce our meat intake, could the region then also produce wheat for bread consumption?

Today five students of the Academic Consultancy Training course presented their recommendations to Stichting CASA in Arnhem. CASA is a non-profit for Architecture and urban development in Arnhem which focused on food and the city this year with a program called ‘Taste the city’. CASA commissioned research with the Science Shop on the question of regional food production and consumption in the region Arnhem and development of a food strategy. Continue reading →