WILMINGTON, Ohio — Wilmington College will present a food symposium April 22, the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970. It will delve into topics surrounding the theme “Food and Farming for the Future: Eat Healthy/Grow Responsibly.”
Food production
The free symposium will feature presentations on such topics as the impact of modern food production with an emphasis on corn, fresh and healthy food alternatives, and feeding the world’s growing population in a sustainable manner.
Film director Aaron Woolf will urge a mindset change from the status quo in “Nudge Our Food System in a Different Direction,” at 1 p.m. in Hugh G. Heiland Theater, followed by master chef Martin Yan presenting a “Garden Fresh Chinese Cuisine” cooking demonstration at 2:30 p.m. in Kelly Center.
Dennis Avery, from the Hudson Institute Center for Global Food Issues, will speak on “Feeding the Future, Sustainably” at 7:30 p.m., in Heiland Theater.
Also, a daylong photography exhibit will highlight images from photojournalist Peter Menzel’s book, The Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. His work, which features dinner tables from around the world, documents 12 families from 12 countries and provides visual analysis of worldwide food consumption, examining what global citizens share — or lack.
Photo exhibit
The photo exhibit will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Harcum Art Gallery, which is adjacent to Heiland Theatre in the Boyd Cultural Arts Center.
Other related activities include a Chinese dinner with chopsticks in the Student Dining Hall, Pyle Center, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and exhibits featuring ethnic grocers, the presenters’ books, cooking utensils from around the world, the local “Grow Food Grow Hope” program, and an outdoor display of farm equipment from three parts of the world.
Woolf is the producer/director of the film King Corn: You Are What You Eat, which chronicles two college friends’ attempt to examine the role that the increasing production of corn has for American society, including its impact on the traditional family farm.
Yan is a James Beard Award-winning master chef and the host of more than 1,500 cooking shows, including the Emmy Award-winning Yan Can Cook. His presentation will emphasize healthy eating practices.
Farming system
Avery is a leading spokesman for the modern farming systems that provide more food from fewer acres. He is the author of the book, Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastic: The Environmental Triumph of High-Yield Farming and the co-author of Unstoppable Global Warming — Every 1,500 Years.
The symposium is being held in conjunction with local Earth Day events, including the college’s annual Quake Day for Community Service April 24.
