Food Day 'Teach-In' at JHSPH

November 9, 2011

To celebrate  Food Day on October 24, the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future hosted a Food Day "Teach-In" that addressed a wide range of food systems-related issues such as famine, the Farm Bill, and the environmental and public health impacts of industrial food animal production.

The day-long event, modeled after teach-ins that became popular on college campuses in the 1960s, was composed of six presentations by faculty and staff of the Center for the Livable Future (CLF), as well as other members of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The presentations by CLF staff were as follows: "Eleven Things You Probably Didn't Know about Food Animal Production;" "The Farm Bill and a More Sustainable and Healthy Food System;" "Meatless Monday;" and "Where Do You Get Your Food?" Other talks were given on famine the Horn of Africa and humanitarian response to famine.

Food Day is a nationwide, coordinated grassroots effort, much like Earth Day, that works with people in schools, farmers' markets, faith-based organizations, and government offices to push for healthy, affordable food produced sustainably and humanely. On Food Day, thousands of Americans sponsored events aimed at improving food systems. Honorary co-chairs include Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). This was its inaugural year. CLF Director Robert Lawrence, MD, served as a member of the National Food Day Advisory Board.

For the event, the Center joined forces with the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, the Center for Human Nutrition, the JB Grant International Health Society, and the Anna Baetjer Society for Public Health Practice, all based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Teach-In took place in the Bloomberg School and was open to the public.