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USF featured in food sustainability expo in Italy[06.22.2015]
MILAN, Italy -- The University of South Florida is one of four U.S. universities participating in the Expo Milano 2015, a global showcase for more than 140 countries to present their best products, technologies and ideas for guaranteeing a healthy, safe and sufficient food supply while respecting the environment. With the core theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” the expo runs through October in Milan, Italy.
“Faculty and students at USF have developed a strong emphasis on food sustainability as well as food security and food justice,” said Rebecca K. Zarger, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Anthropology. “This is a unique opportunity for the USF community to become involved in the Expo Milano and forge new collaborative projects with faculty and students from the U.S. universities and Italian institutions with a rich history of research and expertise in food studies.”
USF will join Florida International University, Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to collaborate on academic activities as part of an agreement with Comitato Scientifico Expo 2015, the scientific committee for the expo. The universities are teaming up with a consortium of Italian universities in Milan to help organize conferences, as well as research and training programs in food studies.
“I am particularly glad of this important achievement that involves four prestigious universities in the United States and the consortium of Italian universities in Milan,” said Adolfo Barattolo, consul general of Italy in Miami. “It is particularly significant that the combined endeavor of such prestigious universities, both in the United States and in the Milan area, will focus their joint efforts in a partnership which has an objective to enhance the theme of the Milan expo.”
A platform for the exchange of ideas and shared solutions on the theme of food, stimulating each country’s creativity and promoting innovation for a sustainable future, Expo Milano 2015 will give participants the opportunity to learn about and taste the world’s best dishes, while discovering the best of the agricultural and gastronomic traditions of each of the exhibitor countries.
USF’s participation in the expo is exemplary of the university’s commitment to sustainable food practices. According to Zarger, the opportunity links up with work that faculty in the Department of Anthropology carries out locally and around the globe on the issues of food security, nutrition, indigenous food systems and agricultural production, including the Sustainable Food “Research That Matters” Conference held at USF in January 2015.
Filed under:Arts and Sciences Anthropology CreditsAuthor:Thomas Augensen Contact: