Uplifting indigenous voices for a sustainable future in food

This article was written by William H. Walker VI, a sophomore in the School of Sustainability.  Modern consumers have lost touch with how food is more than a commodity and

To equitably transform our food systems and tackle climate change, we must include indigenous voices and decision-makers. That's why the 2020 Food Tank Summit, co-sponsored by ASU’s Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, focused on the wisdom of traditional knowledge systems.

What food policy decisions were made in the Situation Room in the Obama White House? What was the process like writing the National Organic Program standards? How do we solve climate change through agriculture? Can organic feed the world?

After years of advocacy, serving in the Obama Administration, and working in the private sector, I’ve witnessed one salient need rise to the top: trained human capital. We must invest in the leaders of tomorrow to ensure they have the skills and tools for their innovative ideas to survive. Which is why I’m thrilled to announce Arizona State University’s Food Policy & Sustainability Leadership 2019-2020 class. With a commitment to shaping food and farm policy in the public interest, the inaugural cohort of leaders hails from across the country including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.

We’re thrilled to share that on Wednesday, Dec, 4, the brand-new Whole Foods Market Tempe store’s 5% Community Giving Day will benefit the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems. The funds will support our inaugural food policy and sustainability leadership class tour across Arizona.

Read on for an interview with Mark Manfredo, director and professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Read on for an interview with Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, professor of Nutrition at the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion.

Read on for an interview with Ashok Mishra, Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation Chair in Food Management at the Morrison School of Agribusiness in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Read on for an interview with Bruce Rittman, director of Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology.

Read on for an interview with Roseanne Schuster, assistant research scientist at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Read on for an interview with Rimjhim Aggarwal, associate professor in the School of Sustainability.

Applications are being accepted for the new Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate graduate program, highlighted by Civil Eats in this article on food related fellowships.