SES seminar series Food
SES Launches Seminar Series
First Seminar to Focus on Just, Equitable, and Circular Food Systems
This fall, the School of Environmental Sustainability (SES) will launch a new seminar series with a presentation on just, equitable, and circular food systems. Over the academic year, SES will host five seminars, with one on each of the school's five focus areas: biodiversity, environment and society, environmental health and toxicology, sustainable food systems, and climate and energy.
The first seminar takes place on Wednesday, September 11. There will be refreshments in the SES lobby at 3:30 p.m., and the presentation will be in SES room 124 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The September SES seminar will feature Weslynne Ashton, PhD, professor of environmental management and sustainability at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
The inaugural seminar will feature a leading expert in the field, Weslynne Ashton, PhD. Ashton is a professor of environmental management and sustainability at the Illinois Institute of Technology, with joint appointments at the Stuart School of Business and the Institute of Design. Ashton is a sustainable systems scientist whose research, teaching, and practice focus on transitioning our socio-ecological systems towards sustainability and equity. She studies the adoption of socially and environmentally responsible business strategies and the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in addressing social and environmental challenges.
Ashton will discuss strategies for developing just and sustainable food systems. In describing her talk, she noted that across the United States, millions of people struggle with food insecurity, while billions of pounds of food go to waste every year. Both issues are symptoms of a larger problem--a food system built around goals of profitability and efficiency, mindsets of scarcity, and values that entrench the exploitation of both people and the planet.
Since 2020, there has been a concerted rise in initiatives to support justice and equity alongside sustainability and circularity in food supply chains. At the Institute of Design Food Systems Action Lab at Illinois Tech, researchers take a systems approach grounded in building and strengthening relationships with community-based food system stakeholders. They work to understand people's diverse needs, use data to tell compelling stories, and co-design systemic interventions to help create a thriving food economy. Ashton will discuss this work and answer questions from SES students and faculty.
Future seminars will take place October 16, November 13, February 12, and April 9. Check back for details about these events.
The inaugural seminar will feature a leading expert in the field, Weslynne Ashton, PhD. Ashton is a professor of environmental management and sustainability at the Illinois Institute of Technology, with joint appointments at the Stuart School of Business and the Institute of Design. Ashton is a sustainable systems scientist whose research, teaching, and practice focus on transitioning our socio-ecological systems towards sustainability and equity. She studies the adoption of socially and environmentally responsible business strategies and the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in addressing social and environmental challenges.
Ashton will discuss strategies for developing just and sustainable food systems. In describing her talk, she noted that across the United States, millions of people struggle with food insecurity, while billions of pounds of food go to waste every year. Both issues are symptoms of a larger problem--a food system built around goals of profitability and efficiency, mindsets of scarcity, and values that entrench the exploitation of both people and the planet.
Since 2020, there has been a concerted rise in initiatives to support justice and equity alongside sustainability and circularity in food supply chains. At the Institute of Design Food Systems Action Lab at Illinois Tech, researchers take a systems approach grounded in building and strengthening relationships with community-based food system stakeholders. They work to understand people's diverse needs, use data to tell compelling stories, and co-design systemic interventions to help create a thriving food economy. Ashton will discuss this work and answer questions from SES students and faculty.
Future seminars will take place October 16, November 13, February 12, and April 9. Check back for details about these events.