(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-03-01)
Allen, Sumayya; Ayres, Jennifer R.; Crane, Jonathan K.; Parajuli, Pramod; Smith, Jenny Leigh; Winders, William P.; Wright, Jacob L.
Sumayya Allen - TITLE: "Connecting Food and Stewardship in Islam". This presentation will focus on the Islamic concept of
stewardship (khalifa) and how it pertains to caring for our environment and all of creation. Connecting to our place is
where we begin to understand how this principle translates to our own lives. One way in which we can better connect to
our place is by learning where our food comes from, how to grow our own, and the blessings that come from cultivating
the land and feeding others. Community agriculture projects are perfect sites for not only bringing people together (of
all faiths, cultures, and generations), but also serve to remind us of our human tie and dependency on the earth. Such
projects can be catalysts for helping us to recognize and reestablish our roles as earth stewards.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-03-01)
Crane, Jonathan K.; Royster, Jacqueline J.; Love, Jan
In this age of maladaptive eating, deprivation,
malnutrition and excess are common experiences. In profound ways, we are eating ourselves to death. Some point to
structural issues or certain industries as the culprit, while others identify manufactured foodstuffs as the ultimate cause. Others focus more on our wallets, encouraging us to consider labor, environmental or animal welfare issues, for example, when purchasing food; or they urge us to buy into a diet that is backed by smiling celebrities and supposed scientific claims. Such efforts orient our attention to laws, foodstuffs and brand allegiance, that is, to things external to
us. While helpful, a different approach that reclaims persons as eaters and attends to internal cues may be more
beneficial. Resources for this counter‐cultural perspective are as old and as sophisticated as our religions and
philosophies, and as intimate as our bodies. Appreciating ourselves as eaters of the world may very well be a powerful start to learning how to eat and eat—just—enough.