The second of a two-part series brings together culinary leaders and writers to examine the practicalities of how food happens in America, and what can be done to reconnect us to a healthy way of living

“How Would Julia Child Vote on the 2012 Farm Bill: Culinarian Interests & Obligations” a Panel Discussion, Part Two, May 31st at NYU’s Fales Library

The second of a two-part series brings together culinary leaders and writers to examine the practicalities of how food happens in America, and what can be done to reconnect us to a healthy way of living

New York University’s Fales Library, the home of one of the nation’s largest and prestigious collection in food studies, will host a panel discussion entitled “How Would Julia Child Vote on the 2012 Farm Bill: Culinarian Interests & Obligations” on Thursday, May 31, 2012 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Fales Library, third floor, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, (at LaGuardia Place). [Subways A,C,E, B,D,M to West 4th Street; 6 line to Astor Place; R train to 8th Street.].

The Farm Bill, which has had such a huge impact on much of America’s eating life, is up for reauthorization in 2012.  “The Critical Topics in Food Series” will attempt to digest the implications of this far-reaching legislation in two discussions this May—first panel discussion’s re-cap below.

Part two, “How Would Julia Child Vote on the 2012 Farm Bill” asks, “Exactly how would a beloved and opinionated culinarian like Julia Child – who believed in good tasting and diverse foods in appropriate moderation but with delicious results – have, on this her 100th Birthday year – looked at this legislative ‘pot of stew’?  And how should or might we?

This second of two conversations, moderated by Clark Wolf, host of the Fales Library’s “Critical Topics in Food Series,” turns to some culinary leaders and writers digging in to the hands on practicalities of how food happens in American and how the major chunks of what ends up being American food policy connects – or doesn’t – with how we actually work and live.

The part two panelists include:

  • Traci McMillan, author of the recently published The American Way of Eating;
  • Marion Nestle Author of the recently published, Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics, and Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies & Public Health at NYU;
  • Eddie Gehman Kohan founder, obamafoodorama.com;
  • Adam Rappoport Editor, Bon Appetit;
  • Ginevra Iverson New York restaurant chef (and periodic farmer)
  • Host: Clark Wolf, food and restaurant consultant.  Wolf has more than thirty years of experience in the food industry and is founder and President of Clark Wolf Company, a New York-based food and restaurant consulting firm.

McMillan and Nestle will be signing copies of their books at the post-discussion reception.  Both works will be available for purchase, along with Dan Imhoff’s book, Food Fight! The Citizen's Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill.

MEDIA ONLY:  Reporters interested in covering or attending the event must contact Christopher James at 212-998-6876 or email christopher.james@nyu.edu.

Suggested donation: $10; RSVP to: rsvp.bobst@nyu.edu with your name and title/date of the event.  For more information the public may call Elizabeth Wiest, 212 992 9744 or email liz.wiest@nyu.edu.

Part one re-cap as told by Clark Wolf:

At our part one gathering on May 3rd Marion Nestle laid out the realities and political “log rolling” challenges to a bill – 600 plus or 900 plus pages – that Dan Imhoff explained had been developed as a result of the Great Depression as loans (!! –repayable ones !!) that were tightly tied to land conservation.  It really was a social contract for affordable and sustainable food and farming practices for generations to come, not a place to stash food stamps as a substitution for other safety nets or a way to reward individual politicians and their constituencies (sometimes, of one…) for a vote on a pork filled bill.  Subsidies for cotton seed to feed factory animals and corn to feed gas tanks and fuel cheap unhealthy so called food products are just some of the most visible lunacies now seemingly writ in stone.

Abby Youngblood from Just Food talked about targeted programs right here in New York and in other big cities designed to deal with the opportunities and move the needle.  Ned Porter talked about dynamic programs across the country that Wholesome Wave is now actively directing and everyone was encouraged to make their voices heard. We all took a good look at the My Plate template of how we’re all advised to eat in a healthful way, and just how different it is from what actually gets government support.  Everyone agreed that something can and must be done.

How Would Julia Child Vote on the 2012 Farm Bill: Culinarian Interests & Obligations is part of Fales Library’s “Critical Topics in Food Series,” is sponsored by New York University Fales Library; Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health; and Clark Wolf.

About Fales Library and Special Collections:

The Fales Library, comprising nearly 255,000 volumes, and over 12,000 linear feet of archive and manuscript materials, houses the Fales Collection of rare books and manuscripts in English and American literature, the Downtown Collection, the Food and Cookery Collection and the general Special Collections of the NYU Libraries. The Fales Collection was given to NYU in 1957 by DeCoursey Fales in memory of his father, Haliburton Fales. It is especially strong in English literature from the middle of the 18th century to the present, documenting developments in the novel. The Downtown Collection documents the downtown New York art, performance, and literary scenes from 1975 to the present and is extremely rich in archival holdings, including extensive film and video objects. The Food and Cookery Collection is a vast, and rapidly expanding collection of books and manuscripts documenting food and foodways with particular emphasis on New York City. Other strengths of the collection include the Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll Materials, the Robert Frost Library, the Kaplan and Rosenthal Collections of Judaica and Hebraica and the manuscript collections of Elizabeth Robins and Erich Maria Remarque. The Fales Library preserves manuscripts and original editions of books that are rare or important not only because of their texts, but also because of their value as artifacts.

Press Contact

Christopher James
Christopher James
(212) 998-6876