91吃瓜

This event will be held in person in Rome and online via Zoom.

贵辞谤听in-person attendance, there is a听30 euro听fee听to cover lunch & refreshments.听
The fee is discounted to 15 euros for non-91吃瓜 students and 91吃瓜 alumni. Current 91吃瓜 students do not pay a fee.

For virtual attendance, there is no fee.

Register to attend at the foot of this page.

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This symposium is organized

with the patronage of the Research Committee on Sociology of Agriculture and Food (RC40) of the International Sociological Association (ISA) and the International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food (IJSAF) and in听collaboration with the Department of Political science of the University of Teramo within the project funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU, Mission 4, Component 1, under the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) National Innovation Ecosystem grant ECS00000041 - VITALITY - 听CUP: C43C22000380007

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Friday, 14 February 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CET)

The Center for Food Studies of 91吃瓜 is hosting a Symposium to continue to explore and showcase research initially presented at the Conference held in Rome in 2023 on 鈥淣ovel Foods and Novel Food Production: A solution to food systems sustainability?鈥�听 听 A selection of articles is being published as a Special Issue of the International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food.听

Novel foods are understood here as foods created as alternatives to conventional meat, dairy, and fish products, derived from plant tissue, cellular agriculture, and microorganisms.听These food product innovations,听increasingly independent of their original raw materials,听are being promoted听by a new generation of food start-ups backed by venture capital, as well as by public investments.听The central focus is on producing substitutes for the animal protein food/feed chains since these are seen as the principal source of greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity depletion. In addition, they are increasingly identified with public and private health concerns. These innovations depend heavily on the so-called disruptive technologies of big data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence for the identification of new molecules with precise physical and functional characteristics. They also draw on advances in biotechnology for gene editing, precision fermentation, and cellular cultivation.听听听

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Food security and food sustainability as the key global challenges of a world that combines continued population growth with accelerating urbanization and rapid depletion of natural resources, are claimed as high on the list of motives of food start-ups. To these, heightened sensibilities around animal welfare and the rise of vegetarianism/veganism can be added. The dominant players in the food systems are themselves now investing and exploring these new lines of products. Initially led by U.S. firms and finance capital, the phenomenon has become global with a proliferation of high-tech food hubs, often stimulated through public policies and funding, especially in countries with abundant capital but limited natural resources.听

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Early expectations for an exponential growth of these alternative protein markets have been tempered as the various scale-up challenges have become more apparent. Opposition from traditional farming interests, uncertainties on consumer demand, and a mixed reception from the academic world have further nuanced appreciation of the role alternative proteins might play in the consolidation of a sustainable global food system. At the same time, these innovations have become more diffused, and public financing and enabling regulatory frameworks are ensuring continued process and product advances.

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Based on the articles of the Special Issue, the Symposium speakers will explore different aspects of this more complex scenario, providing an ideal environment for refining our understanding of the position which alternative proteins might occupy in the global food system as the varied threats to traditional sources of food supply increase听and as food demand shifts to regions where these resources are in scarce supply.

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Themes and speakers/authors (tbc)

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Organizing and Scientific Team

Food Studies Team Members听听
Maria Fonte, MA Food Studies Faculty, 91吃瓜, former Associate Professor of Agricultural听听Economics, University of Naples Federico II 鈥� Naples
Maria Grazia Quieti, Program Director, Master in Food Studies and Coordinator of the Center for Food Studies, The American University of听 Rome听听
Colin Sage, Independent Research Scholar听based in Portugal
Rita Salvatore, Senior Researcher, Teramo University and 91吃瓜
John Wilkinson, Full Professor, Federal Rural University of Rio De Janeiro听.

Speakers

Maurizio Balistreri听is Associate Professor in Moral Philosophy and Bioethics at the Department of Linguistic and Literary, Historical, Philosophical and Legal Studies (DISTU) at the Tuscia University (Viterbo). He was Chair of the Turin Bioethics Lab and is Editor of the Icaro book series (Fandango). His main research interests include bioethics, applied ethics, robot ethics, and ethics of artificial intelligence. He has published on a variety of topics within bioethics, applied ethics, moral philosophy, and space travel.听听听His latest books include听Il Bambino migliore? Che cosa significa essere genitori responsabili al tempo del genome editing(Fandango, 2022),听Superumani. Etica e potenziamento听(Espress 2011; 2020),听Sex Robot. Love in the Age of Machines听(Fandango 2018; Malpaso 2021; Trivent 2022),听Il futuro della riproduzione umana听(Fandango 2016), and听La clonazione umana prima di Dolly(Mimesis 2015).听He is also the co-author of听Biotecnologie e organismi modificati. Scienza, etica e diritto听(Il Mulino 2020).

Amy Bentley听(PhD in American Civilization, University of Pennsylvania) is Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University. A 2024-25 NYU Humanities Fellow and 2024 NYU Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, she is a historian with interests in the social, historical, and cultural contexts of food. Books include听Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet听(2014), (James Beard Award finalist, and ASFS Best Book Award);听Eating for Victory: Food Rationing and the Politics of Domesticity听(1998); and the co-edited volume听Practicing Food Studies听(2024). Current projects include a history of food in US hospitals, the cultural contexts of food waste, the role of flavor in human and planetary health, and an assessment of how historians write about food. The former Editor-in-Chief of听Food, Culture, and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research听(2013-2019), Bentley is co-editor of the book series听Food in Modern History: Traditions and Innovations听(Bloomsbury).

Nancy Chen听(Ph.D. Medical Anthropology, UC Berkeley and San Francisco) 听teaches on the anthropology of food and medicine at the University of Santa Cruz, California.听 Her recent research examines the rise of functional foods across Asia.听 She is the author of听Food, Medicine, and the Quest for Health听as well as听Breathing Spaces:听 Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China听in addition to four co-edited book volumes.听听

Louise Manning听听is Professor of Sustainable Agri-food Systems at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology, University of Lincoln, UK.听听听Louise has worked for over 40 years informing strategy, policy, business productivity and efficiency and personal development in the agri-food sector. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers and written/edited multiple books and book chapters. Her recent work focuses specifically on multiple socio-technical aspects of food system transition听听

Marina Mefleh,听(PhD in Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sassari and MSc in Clinical Nutrition, American University of Beirut, ). Her work focuses on developing nutritious, sustainable plant-based foods using local protein sources and fermentation techniques. She has also explored ancient and heritage wheats, assessing their biodiversity and suitability for sustainable bread production. Marina has published over 25 scientific articles on topics such as food fermentation, plant-based dairy alternatives, and grain quality under low-input farming systems. She has also worked as a nutritionist in Beirut and currently advises the bakery and farming industries. She is a member of the Italian Society for Food Science and Technology and serves on the Cereals & Grains Association鈥檚 Book Acquisitions Committee.听

Donald (Diego) Rose听(PhD, Agricultural Economics and MPH, Public health nutrition, University of California, Berkeley) is Professor and Director of Nutrition at Tulane University, New Orleans, USA.听 His 听research explores the social and economic side of nutrition problems, with a focus on nutrition assistance programs, food security, and the food environment. He has studied disparities in access to healthy food in New Orleans and has developed a framework for how the neighborhood retail food environment influences dietary choices. His latest research projects examine听the environmental and health impacts of U.S. dietary choices.听 Dr. Rose has served as a consultant to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme.听He teaches graduate-level courses in population nutrition assessment and food and nutrition policy. Prior to joining the faculty at Tulane, he worked for USDA鈥檚 Economic Research Service on domestic food assistance policy and in Mozambique and South Africa on food security and nutrition.听听

Colin Sage, independent research scholar, previously at University College Cork and Wye College, University of London and founding Chair of the Cork Food Policy Council.听听Visiting research positions at the University of Tasmania and Bergamo,听听currently Affiliated Professor with the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto and Visiting Professor at the University of Gastronomic Sciences and 91吃瓜.听听He is the author of Environment and Food (Routledge, 2012); editor of听A Research Agenda for Food Systems听(Elgar, 2022),co-editor of听Metaphor, Sustainability, Transformation(Routledge, 2021);听听Special Issue on Sustainable Diets of the听International Journal of Sociology of Food and Agriculture, ,听Food System Transformation听(Routledge, 2021),听听Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Transitions to Sustainability听(Routledge, 2017) and听Food Transgressions:听听Making Sense of Contemporary Food Politics听(Routledge, 2016).

Rita Salvatore, (Ph.D.听听in Social policies and local development), University of Teramo), 听is a Senior researcher with more than 20 years of experience in rural development.听听听She has been doing research on the role of tourism within Italian protected areas and rural contexts, with special attention to regional products and food.听听听听She has developed a particular interest in the analysis and social planning of sustainable tourism paths, with a particular focus on participative processes and community development. Her most recent research project concerns 鈥渘ew generation agritourism鈥� and the requalification of abandoned villages in fragile areas by young entrepreneurs.听

Domagoj Vrbos听currently works for the听CGIAR鈥檚 Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service (IAES)鈥痠n Rome, where he holds the position of听Senior Manager for Operations and Events. He has a Graduate Degree in Economics from the University of Zagreb (Croatia) and a Master鈥檚 Degree in Development Studies from the University of Rome La Sapienza (Italy).听听听Following 15 years of work with international organizations in the agrifood space, Domagoj brings experience from humanitarian, science-based and cooperation standpoints.听 Prior to joining CGIAR (and at the time of submission of the paper on novel foods), he was a team leader in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Parma, providing advice on the design, planning and monitoring of EFSA鈥檚 communication activities from a social science viewpoint. His recent publications focus on research in areas within the remit of the EU food safety system and the science of risk communication. Before EFSA, Domagoj spent 10 years with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), working as a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and performance and risk management officer in Rome and Bangkok.

John Wilkinson,听 (Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Liverpool), 听is Full Professor at听the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His research focuses on the major transformations in the global agrifood system and their impacts for small farming and rural development. He has been a consultant to the OECD, FAO, BID, CEPAL, the European Commission, together with Ministries and Financial Institutions in Brazil and the Southern Cone, and has also carried out research for international ONGs, OXFAM and ACTIONAID among others.听His latest book听听The Agri-Food System in Question. Innovation, Contestation and New Players听has just been published by Bristol University Press.听听He is the (co)author of several books,听From Farming to Biotechnology;听Fair Trade: the challenges of transforming globalization; and听O Sabor da Origem, (The Taste of Origin), and many articles in internationally recognised Journals. He has spent periods as invited researcher to the National Institute for Agricultural Research, (INRA) in听 Paris, to the University of Santa Cruz, California and to the European Commission. He was the coordinator of the FAO/CFS Report,听Biofuels and Food Security听in 2013.听

Symposium Coordinator
Susan Kaesz, Graduate Studies Coordinator

Assistant Coordinators
Nina Adams, Graduate Student Assistant, Master in Food Studies
Zach Stock, Graduate Student Assistant, Master in Food Studies