The Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change is holding the Brown Bag Series "Food Systems and Field Experiences: Some reflections from the Gwayakosijigan (Compass) Project at Fond du Lac." It will be presented by Dr. Dave Wilsey on Friday, October 11, 2013 at 12:00pm in room 537 Heller Hall.
Food is an attractive issue in its own right but may be especially notable in Native American communities, where food and food systems are closely tied to struggles related to culture, sovereignty, wellness, history, and the future. Indian Country is just one of many contexts where the events of recent history seem to have triggered precipitous declines in wellness - manifest in obesity, diabetes - and increased desire for foods or food systems that find inspiration in the past. If today's food/food systems reflect the problem, then what steps need to be taken to move communities closer to their desired state? In 2013, Fond du Lac, UMN Extension, and a team from the masters of development practice (MDP) graduate program collaborated on a project to better understand the FDL food system as perceived by members of that community. The hope was that this enhanced understanding might suggest some steps forward for locally-driven food system interventions. This talk highlights some preliminary lessons from that experience and the methods employed.
