"Eating in the Midst of the Anthropocene"
Abstract
This seminar examines the complex interactions between food systems, diets, and the environment, and the ethical issues relevant to forthcoming changes in these areas. We will discuss the challenges facing the food system as a result of environmental degradation and climate change. We will also review the state of current diets and their effects on human health outcomes. As we consider paths forward, we examine holistic solutions that align nutrition, health, and environmental goals. Finally, we identify ethical questions relevant to the changing global food system. We consider our moral obligations to other people – both now and in the future – and the planet, and we posit that eating is an ethical act requiring reflection at all scales.
Bio
Jessica Fanzo, PhD is the Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy and Ethics at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University in the USA. She also serves as the Director of Hopkins’ Global Food Policy and Ethics Program. From 2017 to 2019, Jessica served as the Co-Chair of the Global Nutrition Report and the UN High Level Panel of Experts on Food Systems and Nutrition. Before coming to Hopkins, she has also held positions at Columbia University, the Earth Institute, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, Bioversity International, and the Millennium Development Goal Centre at the World Agroforestry Center in Kenya. Jessica has a PhD in nutrition from the University of Arizona.