If we could start all over again, what would our food system look like? What would we want it to look like? And can we make that dream a reality? 

These are some of the questions the Thinking Food at the Intersections: Justice and Critical Food Studies seeks to explore in "Imagining and Enacting Just Food Futures” on May 30 – 31. The third and final installment of the seminar series, supported by a $225,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will bring scholars, activists, artists and chefs together with students and community members for a sensory rich, immersive experience imagining the future of food.  

“It starts with imagining,” said Charlotte Biltekoff, UC Davis professor of American Studies and Food Science & Technology, and co-organizer of the spring colloquium. “How have our imaginations potentially been constrained by the world we live in and the visions of food in the future that come from those in power? And how can we activate alternative imaginaries? How is that already being done?” 

Since the fall, the ‘Thinking Food’ series has grappled with how we engage with, produce, distribute, cook and share food. It has hosted numerous events, in addition to the colloquia, to stimulate thinking and conversation around food justice, bringing history and context to light by bringing people together for non-traditional yet scholarly gatherings.  

Past events included a Mezcal tasting, author discussions, film screenings, a sourdough workshop paired with a poetry reading as well as culinary performances. There was even a recipe book exhibit at Shields Library, available online, called “Cooking Against the Grain.” 

While the first two colloquia focused on “Reimagining the Past Through Food Justice” and “Reclaiming Our Food Narratives as a Social Justice Practice,” the spring colloquium will focus on where we’re headed in the future. 

“One of the tensions we’re looking at is a more human-centered and grassroots approach to looking at food futures compared to a top-down, tech-oriented big industry vision of a utopian manufactured food future — and putting those in tension with one another,” said Erica Kohl-Arenas, a UC Davis associate professor of American studies and co-curator with Biltekoff. 

The upcoming event will feature Black food futurist and artist Nia Lee; Julie Guthman, author of The Problem With Solutions: Why Silicon Valley Can’t Hack the Future of Food; and Carlton Turner, co-director of the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production (Sipp Culture). Of course there will be food, wine and beer. And it is free and open to the public.  

“We're inviting our participants to be a part of the story,” Kohl-Arenas said. “How is food a part of your personal archive? How is food culture? How do certain smells and tastes remind you of home? And, so, throughout will be an invitation for people to tell their stories and for them to put themselves into their own ideal, just food future.” 

Kohl-Arenas and Turner will lead groups through the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Musuem of Art in what they’re calling “story circles,” meant to elicit responses to these types of questions, during Friday’s programming. These conversations, as well as time for reflection, will continue throughout the two-day event.  

Saturday’s festivities will be held at the Robert Mondavi Institute Sensory Building. In addition to the art, food, conversation and storytelling, Saturday’s program will include experiential workshops centered on fermentation, stingless honey, wheat milling and “Playing With Food Futures,” a role playing game. 

There will also be plenty of tasty delights, including a beer collaboration between Nia Lee and a Bay Area microbrewery, Oaxacan food made by a Central Valley collective of Indigenous women, and a fusion of Palestinian and Mexican flavors.  

View the full agenda and register for "Imagining and Enacting Just Food Futures” here.  

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