Calendar of Events on Food, Agriculture, and Sustainability
Stay up to date with events and news from the Yale Sustainable Food Project by signing up for our weekly email newsletter. We are happy to post other campus events on food, agriculture, and the environment; please send your listings to sustainablefoodproject@yale.edu.
All of our events are free and open to the public; unless otherwise specified, they do not require an RSVP.
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Chewing the Fat Spring 2013
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Master's Tea with Tanya Fields
Monday, January 21, 4:00 pm
Pierson Master's House, 231 Park Street
Celebrate Martin Luther King's legacy of social justice with Tanya Fields, creator and Executive Director of the BLK ProjeK. Come learn how the BLK ProjeK seeks to empower and enrich the lives of underserved women through education, beautification of public spaces, urban gardening, and community programming.
Co-sponored by Pierson College.
The Future of Sustainable Food in the Farm Bill
Friday, February 1, 12:00 pm
Kroon Hall, Burke Auditorium, 195 Prospect Street
Ariane Lotti, Assistant Policy Director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and FES 'o7, will be speaking about issues related to food policy and the farm bill.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale.
Don't Go Baking My Heart
Wednesday, February 6, 12:00 pm
Morse Master's House, 302 York Street
This Valentine’s Day, show how much you care and surprise your sweetie with a decadent flourless chocolate cake. Chefs from SoNo Bakeries teach the secrets of a perfect cake and make enough for everyone to have a slice (or two!); participants go home with the recipe. Space is limited; please RSVP to kathryn.oshaughnessy@yale.edu. Co-sponsored by Morse College.
Eating Invaders: A Panel Discussion on Invasive Species
Wednesday, February 13, 6:00 pm
Yale Law School room 120, 127 Wall Street
Should we be fighting the threat of invasive species by eating them? Join experts Daniel Simberloff, a biologist, ecologist, and professor at the University of Tennessee, Jackson Landers, a hunter, freelance writer and activist, and Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi for a talk moderated by James Gorman, science writer for the New York Times, that deals with this interesting question. Panelists will discuss the ecological impacts of invasive species and whether or not eating these tasty creatures is the best strategy for managing them.
Co-sponsored by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
Good Food Jobs: Finding your Place in the Food Movement this Summer and Beyond
Friday, February 15, 2:30 pm
Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, 55 Whitney Avenue, 2nd Floor
Join Taylor Cocalis Suarez of Good Food Jobs, the Yale Sustainable Food Project, and Undergraduate Career Services as we explore the various opportunities available in the exciting and expanding sector of food and agriculture.
We'll be talking about volunteer opportunities, fellowship funding, internships, summer jobs, and careers. There will also be a small panel of local food business owners and entrepreneurs, with time afterwards to network, seek advice, and enjoy some delicious refreshments.
Rob Wilder, CEO and Co-Founder of ThinkFoodGroup
Monday, February 25, 12:30 pm and 4:00 pm
Pierson College Master's House, 231 Park Street
Rob Wilder and his longtime business partner, celebrity chef José Andrés, formerly of Spain’s El Bulli, own and operate some of Washington, D.C.’s landmark restaurants, including Café Atlántico, minibar by josé andrés, Zaytinya, Oyamel and Jaleo. Hear about Rob’s experience as an entrepreneur in the food world, and also about the idea driving Thinkfoodgroup’s business practices: food has the power to change people’s lives. There are a few spots available for graduate students to have lunch with Rob at 12:30pm; please contact kathryn.oshaughnessy@yale.edu for more information. Rob will also participate in a Master's Tea at Pierson College at 4pm, which is free and open to the public.
Co-sponsored by SOM Food and Wine and Pierson College.
Chipotle: Marketing, Sourcing, and Transparency at Scale in the New Food Movement
Friday, March 1, 12:30 pm
Kroon Hall, Burke Auditorium, 195 Prospect Street
For most fast food companies, the less the consumer knows, the better. However, Chipotle Mexican Grill isn't most companies: Chief Marketing Officer Mark Crumpacker wants you to know what's in your burrito. Learn about Chipotle's sustainability initiatives as well as their unorthodox marketing campigns built on the idea that our food production should be healthier and more ethical.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale.
Calhoun Master's Tea with Bren Smith of Thimble Island Oyster Co.
Thursday, March 28, 4:30 pm
Calhoun College Master's House, 189 Elm Street
Bren is an commercial fisherman, environmentalist, activist and the creator of a sustainable shellfish and seaweed farm-turned-incubator for economic development, mitigating climate change and sustainable food production. Join Bren to hear how his range of experiences - from working on fishing boats for McDonald's in Alaska to studying environmental law at Cornell - has led him to create one of the first sustainable 3-D ocean farms in the country.
Co-sponsored by Calhoun College.
Greek Gastronomy with Diane Kochilas
Monday, April 1, 4:00 pm
Saybrook College Master's House, 242 Elm Street
Join Diane Kochilas, internationally renowned food writer and consultant, for a discussion about Greek cuisine, healthy eating and the benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
Co-sponsored by the Hellenic Studies Program.
Bet the Farm: Talking Corporate Greed with Author Frederick Kaufman
Wednesday, April 10, 4:00 pm
William L. Harkness Hall, room 120, 100 Wall Street
We overproduce an astonishing surplus of food every year, and yet over a billion people in the world are still going hungry every day. Join Frederick Kaufman, journalist and author of Bet the Farm: How Food Stopped Being Food, to explore the effects that globalization, commoditization, and corporate greed have on our food system and the way that food is produced.
Dean Cycon, Founder of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company
Thursday, April 11, 12:00 pm
School of Management, room A30, 135 Prospect Street
Join Dean Cycon, founder of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company, for a lunch time discussion at the Yale School of Management. Dean's Beans is a fair trade pioneer in the coffee industry, with a highly progressive system framework from the farmer to the consumer. Lunch and free coffee samples will be provided.
Co-sponsored by Net Impact, SOM Food & Wine Club, and the Coalition on Agriculture, Food, and the Environment.
Foraging Tour with Justin Freiberg
Wednesday, April 17, 12:00 pm
Yale Farm, 345 Edwards Street
Does the thought of pine needle tea, a salad of dandelion greens, or sumac lemonade whet your appetite? If so, join the Sustainable Food Project’s Justin Freiberg on a foraging tour of New Haven to learn about a variety of delicious wild edibles growing around New Haven.
Space is limited; please RSVP to kathryn.oshaughnessy@yale.edu.
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Chewing the Fat Fall 2012
Fall 2012 was packed with fun events, panels, and workshops despite rain, a hurricane, and an early blizzard! We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather in September and early October with dinners and workshops on the Farm, including a honey tasting and two fermentation workshops: one with Jeremy Oldfield, our very own farm manager, and the other with pickle guru Sandor Katz. Mitchell Davis, VP of the James Beard Foundation, came to speak, as John Edel, founder of The Plant in Chicago. Michael Anthony, executive chef of NYC’s Gramercy Tavern, joined us for a master’s tea and then cooked a 4-course meal for 15 lucky students. Our Scaling Sustainability series dealt with institutional food purchasers that go above and beyond the status quo, from Whole Foods to hospitals. You can see pictures of these events and many more on our Flickr and Facebook page, and read students’ thoughts on food and agriculture on our blog.
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Chewing the Fat Spring 2012
This spring saw early thaws and plenty in bloom as soon as April, which was probably a blessing for everyone who'd attended our largest-ever Farming 101 in hopes of planting their own backyard gardens and mini urban farms. The class swelled from our usual size of 50 to 60 participants to well over 120! We also welcomed food writers Tamar Adler, author of An Everlasting Meal, and Peter Meehan, former New York Times $25 and Under Columnist and co-founder of Lucky Peach magazine. Peter brought along a special guest: David Chang, chef and founder of the Momofuku restaurant empire. We kept it local with a screening of the documentary Cafeteria Man and conversation about public school food in New Haven and also looked out globally to a talk on international agricultural equity and land grabs from Jun Borras. C.R. Lawn JD '71 discussed the business and the business model of his cooperatively-owned seed company, FedCo. On the rare occasions when it was actually too cold to even think about the out of doors, we baked: first a Valentine's Day-appropriate flourless chocolate cake with SoNo Bakery's John Baricelli and then a Shakespearean-era recipe for fried fig tarts, which we put on in partnership with Shakespeare at Yale. The year ended as it always does with our Annual Last Day of Classes Jack Hitt Pig Roast: slow-roasted pork, a mess of vegetarian sides, homemade barbecue sauce, sunshine, music and pickled carrots for all.
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Chewing the Fat Fall 2011
Fall is always a busy time for the YSFP and this year was no exception, with gorgeous Farm workdays and a fascinating line up of talks, teas, screenings and workshops keeping us occupied all season long. We welcomed Rene Redzepi of Noma, the best restaurant in the world, who told us about his journey as a chef and falling in love with food. Adam Gopnik taught us about the history of taste; we learned a little bit about our own history from YSFP Founding Director and current Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel. Visitors from the Greenhorns screened their documentary and inspired students to join their peers as the next wave of this country's farmers. We also partnered with folks from the School of Forestry on a number of events, including our three part Food and Justice speaker series and bringing Wes Jackson to campus to talk about grassland ecology. In the midst of all this excitement we got a brand-new Director, Mark Bomford, who we were thrilled welcome into our community with a very special Meet Mark event during a Friday workday at the Farm. For more on these events and off-Farm happenings, check out our Tumblr, which features photographs of the fun plus student writing on a variety of subjects; you can also read more about the YSFP and what we're up to over at JamieOliver.com!
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Chewing the Fat Spring 2011
Spring semester kicked off with James Piett of Urbane Development speaking on how getting good, fresh food into inner cities makes ethical as well as financial sense and finished up with the YSFP's first-ever collaboration with the School of Management: two talks by D.C. entrepreneurs Michael Curtin and Michael Babin. It wasn't all serious though: Jon Baricelli of SoNo Bakery taught us how to make flourless chocolate cake, and of course we closed the year with our Fourth Annual Last Day of Classes Jack Hitt Pig Roast, an all day celebration of the end of the school year and the coming abundance of summer. In between we had Barton Seaver talk sustainable seafood, a panel discussion about women's possibilites and place in the food movement, and a special world premier screening of a rough cut of Deborah Koons Garcia's gorgeous film Symphony of the Soil. As always, there are photographs of the fun on our Facebook page!
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Chewing the Fat Fall 2010
This fall saw one of our busiest line-ups in Chewing the Fat history! The weather was consistently beautiful, and we took advantage with tons of events on the Farm, including an apple galette making workshop and a cheese tasting with Jason Sobocinski of Caseus. Carlo Petrini, found of Slow Food International, came to speak, as did Eliot Coleman, four-season farmer and winter growing guru. Allen Katz taught us about the theory and practice of fancy cocktails and Bun Lai, of Miya's Sushi, gave a hands-on demonstration of his process and technique. You can see pictures of these events and many more on our Facebook page, and read students' thoughts on food and agriculture at our blog or as featured on the Atlantic Monthly's Food Channel.
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Chewing the Fat Spring 2010
What a spring! This semester the YSFP welcomed author and activist Bryant Terry, butcher Tom Mylan, and sustainable designer Christina Kim, among many others. We also hosted a dinner with local Connecticut farmers, taught a farming 101 seminar, learned how to make flourless chocolate cake, and collaborated on the first Colloquium on Food, Agriculture, and the Environment. If you missed out, or want to relive the good times, you can view images from our third annual Jack Hitt Last Day of Classes Pig Roast—a celebration that brought more than 500 folks together over a sustainable meal!
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Chewing the Fat Fall 2009
During our fall 2009 series, we learned to bake apple galette with the chefs from SoNo Bakeries, we watched films about cooking food (Julie and Julia, Babette's Feast) and learned to cook with Jacques Pepin at our Food and Film Festival, we tasted cheese with Liz Thorpe, we painted flowers with the Yale Center for British Art, and so much more. View a slide show of highlights, taken by YSFP photographer Sean Fraga '10, here.
Check the Yale Calendar of Events for lectures cosponsored by the YSFP with the Rudd Center Seminar Series and the Agrarian Studies Colloquium Series.
