Food Day

Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report on Food Day 2011 activities today. The report captures stories and photographs from how communities across the country marked Food Day. Take a look!

Food Day webinars archived.

Catch up with any Wisconsin's Food Day webinars that you missed at this link.

From October 10

What you need to know about the farm bill – Important updates and information related to community and regional food systems

From October 24

Finding a common ground – How can agriculture and public health work together? Ideas from the CDC and USDA

From November 7

Where do we go from here in Wisconsin? – Coordinating activities to promote public health through food system innovations

Students and campus food workers unite for Food Day.

This Food Day story illuminates our national food conversation from several angles, from fresh food preparation to food insecurity and food justice:

"They took our knives and gave us scissors to open bags of frozen food. I want my knives back so I can cook again." That's what a kitchen worker at a prominent university told me recently at one of a dozen of gatherings around the country convened by our union, Unite Here. The idea was to bring food service workers and college students together to discuss the intersection of food and work in anticipation of Food Day, a national day designed to "bring together Americans from all walks of life to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way."

. . .

"Food is love," said one cook at a university in Chicago. "Bringing in packaged food ... is sort of an insult. We actually want to chop, we want to make sauces and make our own stocks, we want to make food with our hands."

But this widely felt sentiment is only one reason we're drawing attention to food service workers on Food Day. After spending so much time in campus kitchens, we know that workers are important allies in transforming our food system and we want to bring that to the foreground of this important national event. They're allies in part because they have so much at stake: Food workers are among those most affected by the food crisis. They are frequently underpaid and they suffer from food insecurity and diet-related illnesses at alarming rates.

Read more at Grist.org.

To mark the first-ever Food Day, we’ll take a look at food insecurity in the United States; the potential impact of cuts to nutrition programs, food safety programs and support for farmers producing fruits and vegetables in the federal budget; thoughts on Denmark’s “fat tax” from Marion Nestle; smartphone apps for foodies; spray-painted commentary on fast-food menu offerings; and a laugh brought to you by The Colbert Report.

Good: Empty Pantry: The scary truth about food insecurity (infographic)

SlowFoodUSA: Budget cuts could be a recipe for change or disaster

Food Politics: Marion Nestle on Denmark’s “fat tax”

Eating Rules: Foodie Smartphone Apps
- Profiles 27 smartphone apps that will enable you to do everything from scan barcodes to receive complete information on nutrition, pesticide exposure and food additives to where to find seasonal produce in your area to searchable recipe databases you can access from the grocery aisle.

Burger King Billboard Bombed with Diabetes Graffiti:

Stephen Colbert objects to MyPlate: “Americans don’t use plates anymore!”

And don’t forget to check out today’s installment in Wisconsin FOOD DAY 2011 webinar series at 3:00PM CST!

Update on Food Day

You can read a column written by Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest at The Atlantic.

The way our food is grown, transported, processed, marketed, and ultimately eaten is not sustainable -- for the environment or our health. Diet, together with a sedentary lifestyle, cause obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and cancers that result in several hundred thousand deaths each year. Raising livestock uses enormous amounts of energy to grow and transport feed; cattle feedlots stink up vast areas; and the animal manure often pollutes waterways. The animals generally endure miserable conditions, as do the packinghouse workers.

My organization, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has long fought for consumer protections -- food labeling, vigilant food safety programs, and more-healthful foods. I have to admit that we, like most advocacy organizations, are usually toiling within our "health" silo. But because reforming America's food system is such a daunting task, organizations need to climb out of their silos and start collaborating with one another to make faster progress. Health groups should work with farm-animal welfare groups. Anti-hunger activists should work with sustainable agriculture advocates. Nutrition advocates should work with environmentalists. While those disparate groups don't see eye to eye on everything, there are countless opportunities where they can build on each other's strengths...

Keep adding any events you have planned for Food Day to the Food Day map!

Wisconsin FOOD DAY 2011 Webinar Series

SAVE THE DATE(S)!

All webinars start at 3:00 PM CST. Registration and login information will be sent prior to each webinar. Contact fooddaywi@gmail.com with questions or to request webinar registration information.

Monday, October 10
What you need to know about the farm bill – Important updates and information related to community and regional food systems

Monday, October 24
Finding a common ground – How can agriculture and public health work together? Ideas from the CDC and USDA

Monday, November 7
Where do we go from here in Wisconsin? – Coordinating activities to promote public health through food system innovations