Food for Thought
Where does our food come from? Most of us can provide little more of an answer than "from the grocery store." Yet media headlines and public debates often emphasize pressing issues involving food, from eating disorders to mad cow disease. Increasingly, it has become difficult and even unwise to take for granted the foods that we eat.
Understanding our food sources allows us to feel more comfortable with ways in which we nourish our bodies and provides answers to many personal, national, and global questions. For example, how do rising petroleum costs affect the availability and price of food? Is there a connection between the decline of American farms and our nation's drastic increase in obesity? And what about our own attitudes towards food: when did we stop valuing food as a nutritious ritual and start seeing it as "fuel on-the-go"?
Food for Thought is a special initiative to explore food, farming, and rural life. Below is a sample of the courses in the program, which represent virtually every aspect of the curriculum. Many of these courses offer opportunities to engage with the surrounding community. Through the program, students broaden their horizons beyond Gambier Hill and deepen their connection to this place.
For additional information about Food for Thought, visit the Kenyon Rural Life Center website at http://rurallife.kenyon.edu. To learn more about becoming involved in this initiative, contact Professor Howard Sacks, director of the Rural Life Center, at sacksh@kenyon.edu.
Certificate in Ecological Agriculture
The Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA)-Kenyon Certificate Program in Ecological Agriculture provides students the opportunity to develop intellectual skills and practical knowledge regarding food and farming systems. Students acquire an understanding of the complex nature of agro-ecosystems; critically analyze the social, political, and economic institutions in which food and farming systems are embedded; and explore the interplay of social values, personal responsibility, and environmental and community goals.
To earn a Certificate in Ecological Agriculture, students must complete three relevant courses and undertake a ten-week summer internship on a farm that uses ecological production methods. Participating students earn $2,500 during their internship and receive a housing allowance, if needed. To apply for the program, contact Professor Howard Sacks at sacksh@kenyon.edu.
Sample Courses
The following is a sample of the courses relevant to Food For Thought and the Certificate in Ecological Agriculture program. To see the complete list of courses and full descriptions, please view the course catalog at the registrar's homepage:
ANTH 220: Anthropology of Food
Credit: .5 unit
Through cross-cultural comparisons, this course investigates the central role food plays in human biology and culture, including the effects of social, political, and economic issues on human nutrition.
ARTS 320: Color Photography
Credit: .5 unit
Food and culture, food politics, land use, and environmental issues will comprise a photography project; students may pursue additional projects addressing these themes.
ENVS 494: Sustainable Agriculture
Credit: .5 unit
Students will work five hours a week on a local farm and meet weekly with the instructor to discuss readings and their farm experience.
HIST 481: Feast, Fast, Famine: Food in the Premodern World
Credit: .5 unit
This course explores the cultural, economic, and ecological significance of food in pre-modern Europe, touching on topics ranging from the religious significance of food to medieval women to the economic and demographic consequences of famine.
PHIL 115: Practical Issues in Ethics
Credit .5 unit
Factory farming, vegetarianism, and the ecology of rural life are among the key ethical issues discussed in the course.
RLST 382: Prophecy
Credit: .5 unit
This course will devote two sections to discussion of agribusiness and globalization and their impact on food, farming, and rural life, both in America and abroad.