Labor Across the Food System
by Alex Galimberti
When you go out with your friends to eat at a restaurant, do you think about the people who cooked your food? Cleaned your dishes? Set your table? When you buy ingredients at the store, do you think about the people who harvested your vegetables? Or about the person who safely packaged it for travel? Delivered it to your city? What about the cashier at your local store? When you cook a piece of animal protein, do you think about the person who slaughtered it? Fished it? Butchered it?
What do you know about the multiple hands that touched your food? Are the people who bring food to your plate well paid? Do they receive any benefits? Are they forced to go to work when they are sick? Are they oppressed? Abused? Raped? Displaced from their countries? Enslaved?
All of these questions are too big to be ignored by the food movement. They are too big to be ignored by food studies. This is the reason why on February 3 and 4, a group of researchers, professors, students, and activists, gathered at the University of California, Santa Cruz, for a day-long conference entitled Labor Across the Food the System.
The conference started with a keynote lecture by California historian Frank Bardacke who laid the tone for the conference by giving a compelling account of his experience as a farm worker in the Salinas Valley during the seventies. His vivid description of struggling to learn the complex craft of working the fields as a lechuguero (lettuce picker) and an apiero (celery picker) emphasized the historical undervalue given to the “keenness of the eye and cunning of the hand” required to work with the uneven and unpredictable nature of a living vegetable. Bardacke concluded by pointing that the problems with our agricultural system will not be fixed until the industry acknowledges that inexperienced and unskilled workers cannot maintain productivity and profitability. An example that proves his point is the fact that the state of Georgia lost several crops last year after strict anti-immigrant laws caused an exodus of skilled farm workers.
After such a poignant opening to the conference the following four panels that took place all day on Saturday showed specific examples of struggles and successes to achieve better work conditions throughout the food system. Noteworthy speakers included Lucas Benitez from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Mónica Ramírez from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Deborah Barndt from York University, Carolina Bank Muñoz from the Department of Sociology at Brooklyn College CUNY, Saru Jayaraman co-director of The Restaurant Opportunities Center United. These and all of the other speakers and organizations present at this conference are valuable sources for any Gastronomy student, especially if you are taking Dr. Counihan’s Food Activism or Dr. Messer’s Food Policy classes. Every panel was perfectly tied together and if anybody wants more details I can happily share notes.
The speaker for the wrap-up lecture was Eric Holt-Giménez, executive director of the Food First Institute for Food and Development Policy. His talk tried to break down the myth that the global food system is ‘broken’: regardless of the global food crises of 2008 and 2011 the major food corporations continue to report record food profits every year. This means that the system works perfectly fine to protect the interests of the corporate industrial food complex. Holt-Giménez observes that the food movement is stuck in a bubble; it ignores other movements, mainly the labor movement and social justice movements. His recently edited book Food Movements Unite! shows the idea that the diversity of different social movements should be used as a weapon to bring systematic change. This change must come through the re-politization of social movements. This call to action resonates with the previous speakers who emphasized the need to bridge the gap between academic research and activism.
Six Smashing Food Exhibits: No Tickets, Shoes, or Shirts Required
by Emily Contois
One of my favorite things on a weekend afternoon, a weekday evening—well, we can go ahead and say just about anytime—is to spend a few glorious hours of levity and escape at a museum. I'm lucky to live in Boston where world-class museums abound as plentifully as colleges and universities, but sometimes, I hear you, we get busy and don't make it out the door to enjoy the many intriguing exhibits on display. Here you'll find six smashing online food museum exhibits that you can visit anytime you like from your computer—and in your pajamas if you so desire. There are likely many more delightful virtual expos, but these six, listed in no particular order, can be a very filling place to start...
- Julia Child's Kitchen: Even if you aren't in Washington D.C. you can peek in the drawers and cupboards of Julia Child's kitchen, view selected culinary objects, and peruse an interactive timeline that chronicles her love with cooking. Exhibit by the Smithsonian, National Museum of American History.
- War-Era Food Posters: Check out dozens of posters from during and between the World Wars with food-focused messages, such as "Eat more cottage cheese," "Every garden a munition plant," and "Have you eaten your pound of potatoes today?" Exhibit by Cory Bernat from the Collection of the National Agricultural Library.
- What's Cooking Uncle Sam? Trace the Government's effect on how Americans eat, exploring the farm, factory, kitchen, and table. Exhibit by the National Archives.
- counter space: design + the modern kitchen: Explore the twentieth-century kitchen as a nexus of technology, design, culture, and aesthetics. Exhibit by the Museum of Modern Art.
- Key Ingredients: America by Food: Emphasizing regional traditions and international influences, this exhibit takes you coast to coast through 500 years of food in America. Exhibit by the Smithsonian Institute.
- Chosen Food: Click through this online exhibit dedicated to American Jewish identity, cuisine, and culture. Exhibit by the Jewish Museum of Maryland.
Emily is a current gastronomy student and graduate assistant, editing the Gastronomy at BU blog, January-August, 2012. Check out her research in food studies, nutrition, and public health on her blog, emilycontois.com.
A Dietitian’s Digestion of Gastronomy
by Emily Gelsomin
“Is this good for me?” As a dietitian, I get this question quite often. Yet, such simple sounding inquiries are never straightforward. Are you trying to lose weight? Improve your irritable bowel syndrome? Run a marathon? It all depends. Nutrition can easily become a complex science of food dissection. Red ripe tomatoes become a way to protect your eyesight (lycopene!). But not if you have heartburn. Aged blue cheese becomes a way to clog your arteries (saturated fat!). But not if you need more calcium. Things only get maddeningly more complicated from here once you remember that we are humans, not machines. Humans—no less—that eat food in social settings, not vacuums. It is also here where things get increasingly more interesting; and it is here where the gastronomy program picks up the crumbs of science and transforms food into language.
A fork and knife have never been, ahem, lonely in my presence. Similarly, foods like cheese—touted health perils and all—have always charmed me. But now I’ve become charmed by the likes of Elizabeth David and Emile Zola. I’ve also become a bit more cynical about the power of food thanks to Karl Marx and Pierre Bourdieu. As for Brillat-Savarin? Well, let’s just say he and his aphorisms have caused some renewed anxiety on the science of hosting dinner parties.
It is precisely here where gastronomy—and, debatably, Brillat-Savarin—shines, straddling the line between science and art. Gastronomy transforms food into a holistic language. A language for which there are many dialects. While cuisines can offer unique cultural expressions, we all use food to communicate. We use it to assert agency, apathy, love, and loneliness. It is here that gastronomy makes the very question of “good for me” insanely more complex.
The question of whether blue cheese is “good for” something is thus no longer a debate solely on its medical merits. Where did the cheese come from? What are its food miles? How were the cows treated? Were they soothed with jazz music? Were they given growth hormones? Did the dairy farmer receive a fair price for it? Are you feeding it to someone special (love!)? Are you eating your feelings (grad school is ruining my social life!)? Are you demonstrating your wine pairing savvy (Sauternes!)? Or your hip, counter-culture indifference (PBR!)? What makes this program so enriching is that it opens the oven door up to a banquet of questions. “Is this good for me?” becomes “is this good for my being, my trajectory, my gender, my planet?” What I’m learning is that such questions are not only good for dietitians: they are good for everyone. Which has made digesting gastronomy invaluable, each and every bite.
Emily Gelsomin is a registered dietitian, gastronomy student, and lover of all things food-related. She also writes a food blog called A Plum By Any Other Name, which touches on the joys of cooking and – with any luck – offers a little comfort when the pot of life boils over.
Food News Round Up-ing
As the news overflows with tasty morsels of food-related stories, it can be hard to stay up-to-date. In this edition of Food News Round Up you'll be served a satisfying plate of delectable tidbits from the world of food—all in piquant present participles.
Sensing Food
- Testing the food pairing hypothesis
- Researchers explore connections between music, smell, and taste
Reading Food
- Turns out, people read menus like books
- Female Texas inmates release cookbook: 'From The Big House To Your House'
Politicking Food
- Trader Joe's signs Fair Food Agreement on tomatoes with Immokalee workers
- Global food prices increase in January, ending 6-month downtrend
- Chinese inflation and food prices cause concern
Seeking Healthy Food
- Walmart to label healthy foods
- Trans fats declining in foods and bodies, study finds
- Students assesses Concord, Massachusetts for local food possibilities
Changing the Way We Eat Starts with a Party
by Erin Powell
It was a windy, snowy day in Boston for the BU viewing party of TEDx Manhattan 2012: Changing the Way We Eat, but a hearty group of brave souls made it to campus. Led by Visiting Professor Carole Counihan and Assistant Professor Rachel Black, students and fellow Bostonians alike discussed important issues surrounding our food system in between streaming video sessions.
Though we watched the opening performance by in-house band, ETHEL, in silence due to sound problems, volume returned for the first session addressing Issues. Urvashi Rangan of Consumer Reports proved to be one of the most interesting speakers of the session. Rangan discussed the controversy surrounding food labeling regulations, contending that consumers can hardly rely on labels like natural, free-range, and fresh. She argued that consumers must seek truth, transparency, and trust in how our food gets labeled so that we can know what we’re buying.
After lunch, we returned to what was arguably the most interesting of the three sessions: Impact. Jamie Oliver’s video started the session on a troubling, but inspirational note with the charge – school food has got to change! Notable speakers in this session included Fred Kirschenmann who talked about the importance of soil in our food system; Howard Hinterthuer who started a veteran’s garden therapy program to help those with post-war trauma; and Stephen Ritz, whose breathless story (literally!) of how his edible food walls have changed the lives of kids in the South Bronx left the crows inspired, amazed, and on its feet.
We ended the day with Innovation, hearing from leaders in the field who have embarked upon novel solutions to food problems. Cara Rosaen solved the problem of knowing where food comes from with her website, Real Time Farms, which tracks where restaurants source their local food. Through her grandmother’s inspiration, Kavita Shukla discovered natural food packaging paper, which keeps produce fresh longer, reducing food waste. The final speaker of the day, Gary Oppenheimer, ended on a humbling note. He shared the Ample Harvest program, where gardeners can donate excess produce to soup kitchens so that they can enjoy fresh foods, as well as non-perishables.
Despite the snow blowing outside, the energy of the TEDx Manhattan event left me feeling inspired as I returned to the cold. Hearing about the ways in which people are working to fix the kinks in the food system gives me hope, but I also realize there is much progress to be made.
Alumnus Profile: John Pladocostante
by Emily Contois
Family is not only a huge part of Gastronomy alumnus John Pladocostante’s life, but also a focal point of his career in food. Originally from Utica, New York, Pladocostante was first introduced to gastronomy at the elbows of his grandparents. “I grew up living in my grandparents’ apartment building. I learned how to care for a garden and make wine with my grandfather, and how to cook and bake with my grandmother,” he says.
Inspired to pursue a culinary career, he received his Bachelor of Culinary Arts degree from Paul Smith's College, and earned his Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University in 2011. One of his favorite courses was Food and Archaeology with Dr. Karen Metheny. He says, “A degree in gastronomy is so much more than food and cooking. The Food and Archaeology course is a great example of exploring food through thousands of years of history. Being able to explore the world of early humans and reconstruct their diet by learning about how plants were first harvested and domesticated helps you to be more of a well rounded culinarian.”
Pladocostante is currently a culinary instructor at Remington College’s Culinary Arts Degree program in Dallas, Texas. He is also well on his way to bringing his MLA thesis to life in Plano, a suburb of Dallas. For his thesis, he created a business proposal for a gourmet Italian foods company. Since graduating, he has started it, calling it Femia after his maternal grandparents. The central theme of family has already come full circle in Pladocostante’s life. With plans to expand Femia into an upscale Italian café in the future, he says, for now, it is satisfying to create a product that people appreciate. Dallas has long been known as a barbeque haven; and much of the young population in Plano tends to frequent chain restaurants and don’t yet demand good quality ingredients. But this means a growing and exciting market for Femia. Pladocostante says, “For people who have never been exposed to true Italian cuisine, or can’t cook, they love buying food that has a story, and that they can share with family and friends. That’s the essence of Italian food, it brings people together to enjoy life.”
John Pladocostante’s story is far from over and we are excited to see where life takes him as he brings sophisticated, high quality, Italian cuisine to the land of barbeque and Tex-Mex.
February Food Events
Can you believe that February is already upon us? Hopefully you've had time to settle into spring classes – and have left room in your schedule for some fabulous February food events. And the area is serving up more than just alliteration with events featuring bizarre food, raw milk, champagne, chili, and olive oil – just to name a few.
Also, make sure to register and mark your calendars for the Food and the City Conference, February 24-25.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Fireside Chat with Andrew Zimmern: Food Sol and Babson College will host TV personality, chef, and all-round food celebrity Andrew Zimmern – best known for his Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods – for a dynamic and interactive chat about the food entrepreneurs Andrew’s met around the world, and how they are positively impacting their communities.
2:30-4 pm, Babson College
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
Champagne: A Global History with Becky Sue Epstein. Explore the many sides of bubbly in this event from Lifelong Learning. Cost: $75.00, includes a copy of Epstein's book. Reservations are required. Gastronomy students may qualify for a discount by calling 617-353-9852.
6 pm, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Fuller Building, Demonstration Room
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
The Cookbook Conference, in the Roger Smith Hotel, New York City. Exploring cookbooks from various cultures, their meanings, and their future. Also featuring workshops for publishing, analysis and case studies. Two day conference fee, $299. Some panels will be webcast during the event; all recordings will be available on the conference website 1-2 weeks after the conference.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Pépin Lecture Series: Stop! Wait! What's in that bottle of extra-virgin? with Nancy Harmon Jenkins. This lecture explores explores the ancient world of olive oil fraud and what it means to modern consumers, explaining why you should know what’s in the bottle and, more importantly, how you can tell. Olive oil tasting follows the lecture. The lecture is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.
6 pm, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Fuller Building, Demonstration Room
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Harvard University Law School Raw Milk Debate: Join the Harvard Food Law Society as they present a debate covering the legal, health, and nutritional merits of raw milk from both sides of the issue.
7:15-8:45 pm, Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Langdell South Room
3rd Annual Chili Cup: Enjoy all you can eat chili from Boston restaurants and benefit Community Work Services at the same time. Stay tuned for a possible Gastronomy student discount...
6 - 10 pm, Ned Devine's Irish Pub, 1 Faneuil Hall Market Place, Boston
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Coppa's Stuzzichini with Jamie Bissonnette, winner of Food and Wine’s 2011 People’s Best New Chef. Enjoy a cooking demonstration and tasting through Lifelong Learning with one of Boston's most colorful culinary personalities. Cost: $60 and reservations are required. Gastronomy students may qualify for a discount by calling 617-353-9852.
6 pm, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Fuller Building, Demonstration Room
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Blue Ginger: East-West Cuisine with Ming Tsai: Attend the first in the Feasts of the World series through Lifelong Learning. Cost: $125 and reservations are required. Gastronomy students may qualify for a discount by calling 617-353-9852.
6 pm, Blue Ginger, 583 Washington Street ,Wellesley, Massachusetts
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
Food and the City Conference, co-sponsored by the BU Gastronomy program and History program. Explore the relationship between food systems and urban areas, using a variety of disciplines.
Boston University Photonics Center, Room 906
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29
Guest Lecture, Dr. Penny Van Esterik: Plan to attend a free guest lecture by Penny Van Esterik, Professor of Anthropology, York University, Toronto, Canada titled “The Place of Food Activism in Food Studies: a Case Study of Baby Food Advocacy.”
7:30 pm, CAS 325, 725 Commonwealth Avenue
Welcoming a New Crop: Spring Student Orientation
by Joyce Liao
My friends from California had warned me that moving to the East Coast in the middle of winter was a terrible idea. I, of course, booked a one-way ticket to Boston the very next day. I smartly packed my entire life into three suitcases, bidding farewell to my summer dresses 
and heeled pumps that would never last a day in the treacherous snow.
Despite the dreary rain that welcomed my arrival, I successfully survived my first day in Boston. Fortunately, the rain clouds cleared by the following afternoon just in time for the Gastronomy program new student orientation. After a short 20-minute walk battling the gusty winds, I was happy to step into the warm, cozy building. For the first portion of orientation, Rachel Black, assistant professor and academic coordinator of the Gastronomy program, provided an overview of the graduate program, in addition to some very helpful tips to prepare us for our first day of class. We also met several recent graduates, as well as current students, who shared with us their invaluable experiences in the program. Following the info session, we had a chance to introduce our fellow peers and share some of our favorite foods. From hearty soups to baked brie with garlic and cognac, this was the perfect segue into our dinner party.
We divided into four groups and made our way into the laboratory kitchen to get started on dinner preparation. With help from graduates of the Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts, we made a full menu set by Alex Galimberti that included a gorgeous salad using watermelon and black turnips, a creamy New England clam chowder, and buttery flaky tarts filled with fresh ingredients including goat cheese, mushrooms, kale and butternut squash. Over a family style dinner, we toasted to new friends and a new year filled with exciting and tasty adventures. As the evening came to an end, I couldn't be more certain that this was only the beginning to all of the inspiring and amazing things to come. Our meal ended with a warm apple crisp, just in time for us to brave the cold night ahead.
Joyce Liao is a Gastronomy student. Keep up with her on her blog: Hello, Good Bite.
Channeling the Chickpea: Experiencing the MIT Hummus Taste-Off
by Natalie Shmulik
There comes a day in every reporter’s life when he or she feels the need to comment on issues within the Middle East. Today is not that day.
So how does the Middle East factor in on a crisp, 25-degree morning in Cambridge? Why, in culinary form of course. Spread on nearly every pita, wrap, and crisp within the architecturally unique confines of the MIT campus, hummus, a Middle-Eastern staple, took center stage at The Fifth Annual Hummus Taste-Off, organized by MIT Hillel and MISTI Israel. The tasting event concluded the MIT Hummus Experience series, consisting of seminars, classes, and workshops, and drew a sizeable crowd of students, teachers, and chickpea enthusiasts.
Within a short, but effective, one-hour time period, attendees sampled each of the five competing hummus recipes (all were both vegan and kosher) and voted for their favorite batch. Contending groups endeavored to shake up the traditional hummus recipe (typically consisting of chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon, and garlic) by incorporating a variety of unique and unexpected ingredients, experimenting with pungent herbs, a variety of nuts and spices, and even citrus fruits. Each team was determined to outshine last year’s winning invention of Samurai Miso Hummus and for a chance to have their flavor combination recreated and packaged by Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods.
The tasting order put some entries at a slight disadvantage in the battle of the chickpea. As Gastronomy student, Sarah Morrow, pointed out, it perhaps was not the best idea to offer up an overwhelming palate hog like the Jalapeño Hummus prior to milder and subtler flavor contenders. Nevertheless, one group shone above the rest with their winning recipe of Grapefruit Black Tea Infusion hummus. It will surely be soon added to this collection of the most memorable hummus recipes of the series.
Following the tasting, attendees were ushered into a cozy room full of tables lined with coupons, recipe cards, and pocket-perfect hummus packets fit for the following day’s lunch. And if this was not enough, Rami’s, a restaurant situated in Coolidge Corner, supplied full-sized pitas stuffed with tangy pickles, crispy falafel fritters, lingering hot sauce, and of course a large slather of rich and creamy hummus. And the icing, or rather ice cream, on the cake: hummus flavored ice cream, courtesy of J.P. Licks. This cooling dessert ensured that hummus lingered on the mind and palate long after the event was complete.
Natalie Shmulik is a Gastronomy student. After successfully running her own restaurant for two years and working in one of the largest grocery chains in Toronto, Canada, Natalie ventured into the culinary world of New England. She is currently a member of the Gastronomy Students’ Association and is working on several food related projects.
Congratulating Our January Graduates
Please join us in congratulating our nine January graduates!
A perusal of their masters projects reveals the breadth, depth, and diversity of our student interests — from studies of cuisine and identity to food and art to sophisticated, yet practical, resources for food-focused teaching and business endeavors.
Lauren Bennett
"Baking in God's Kitchen: Confectionery Production from Sicilian Convents to a Massachusetts Abbey"
Lilly Jan
"Cuisine and Identity in Taiwan: Assimilation and Preservation Post 1949"
Megan Jones Wall
"Great Masters & Food Styling: Transforming Food Still Lifes Into Modern Photography"
Ashmi Patel
"A Taste of France in Boston: Business Plan and Analysis for French Patisserie"
Nicole Rose Petricca
"Berkshire Baby Food"
Avi Schlosburg
"The Theory and Practice of Food Studies at the High School Level: A Resource Guide"
Priya Shah
"From Mandaps to Huppahs: Ceremonial Procedures and Catering Approaches for an Interfaith Marriage"
Renee Sheppard
"Faith, Hope and Charity: An Operations Manual for the Roslindale Food Pantry"
Molly Elizabeth Siciliano
"Business Plan and Theoretical Framework for Fork in Hand Catering Company"