Participants will discover how campus food systems are and can be utilized as a laboratory to enhance students understanding of the importance of sustainable production and the complexity of local, regional, and global food systems.

In the tradition of SAEA’s four previous conferences, this event will focus on networking and providing participants with opportunities to develop tools to take home to their campuses and communities. They would like folks to come individually or in groups to use the time to revolutionize sustainable agriculture education in your community.

http://sustainableaged.org/

Contact Michelle Wander mwander@illinois.edu

“We are engaging programs interested in exploring different approaches to sustainable agriculture and we believe your students would benefit from learning about Natural Agriculture.”

Located just 2.5 hours outside of New York City, the Catskill Mountain Foundation farm is one of the only farms in the United States implementing Shumei Natural Agriculture. This farming method was developed in Japan by Mokichi Okada, a philosopher and naturalist, to produce wholesome food without the use of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides or additives of any kind. The primary principle of Natural Agriculture is the overriding respect for nature, which applies to both producers and consumers. Today, Natural Agriculture is practiced in countries around the world, including Japan, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Brazil, Italy, England, Germany, United States, Turkey and Zambia.

Shumei is a Japanese-based organization with an ongoing partnership with international and US-based environmental and agricultural organizations, such as the Rodale Institute. Shumei’s Natural Agriculture program in Zambia has been recognized by the United Nations for its impact on empowering rural women farmers by teaching them to no longer rely on expensive hybrid seeds, fertilizers and pesticides through this cost-effective and environmentally-friendly approach to farming. Natural Agriculture supports and promotes biodiversity and traditional/indigenous seed-saving is a core component of this practice. Natural Agriculture farmers respect and trust the inherent wisdom of nature and seed-saving promotes crops’ natural ability to adapt to changing climates and severe weather patterns.

The Natural Agriculture fellowship program in the US offers students a hands-on opportunity to learn this philosophical approach to sustainable agriculture and sustainable living in harmony with nature. All participants are provided with free housing during their stay, while gaining valuable knowledge and experience in farming and Natural Agriculture. We also aim to create an opportunity for cross-cultural exchange between our Japanese farmers and interns and US students from around the country.

They hope that some U of I  students will join them for this year’s summer program beginning any time between now and September.

About the Fellowship: The Natural Agriculture Fellowship at the Catskill Mountain
Foundation provides hands-on learning and a philosophical and artistic
approach to agriculture and sustainable living. Fellows will be involved in all
aspects of Natural Agriculture as a way of food production and a way of living
in harmony with nature.
They are currently accepting applications to participate in the “Art of
Agriculture” fellowship program from May 1st thru September 30th. We offer
two types of fellowship opportunities: a long-term fellowship and a shortterm
fellowship. Long-term fellows stay for at least 2 months and will take on
a larger role in assisting the Fellowship Coordinator and Farm Manager in
daily farm operations and organizing special events. Short-term fellows stay
for 3-5 weeks.
Responsibilities: General farm work, planting, seeding, weeding, hoeing,
harvesting, post-harvest vegetable handling, CSA support and distribution,
cleanup, building and grounds projects, and special farm projects. Fellows
will write a weekly reflection on their experiences and submit a final
reflection on their overall farm experience. Fellows will also be expected to
participate in a farm beautification project. There will be a selection of
possible projects that fellows can consider and complete within the duration
of their stay on the farm.
Work Schedule: Fellows are expected to work 30 hours per week on the
farm. Time must also be devoted to other program activities, group
discussions and work on the final art project. Individual schedules will be
determined with Farm Manager Kenji Ban.
Compensation: This is an unpaid fellowship. CMF will provide free housing,
free Sugar Maples art classes if available (material fees not included), free
vegetables from the farm and staff discounts for CMF activities.
Housing: CMF will provide each fellow with a private room in a shared house
within close proximity to the farm. All utilities and access to laundry facilities
included. Fellows are expected to maintain regular cleanliness of the house.
Training: No previous farming experience necessary. They will provide farm
training, gardening guidelines, access to videos and books on Natural
Agriculture, sustainable living, food, environment, agriculture and climate
change, as well as group discussions.
Time off: Fellows will receive 2 days off per week. 2 personal days; sick time
as needed and negotiated with the farm manager.

For more information on the program and how to apply, please contact Akemi Imai at (518) 263-2000 / email: imai.akemi@gmail.com or Brianne Chai-Onn at 212-715-1526 / email: chaionnb@shumei-international.org.

We are still hiring students for summer jobs with us, and were hoping that you could forward this email along to any students who might be interested.

Theyhave paid positions open on our campaign staff in each of our locations. We require that interested candidates are hard workers and have excellent communication skills. Interested students should call our office directly at 312-559-4700.

As a member of their staff, you will fundraise, build membership for our partner groups, educating and activating citizens on pressing issues. You will also have the opportunity to organize press conferences and organize coalitions with other non-profit organizations. While on staff, you gain knowledge of pressing concerns our country is facing, learn how to effectively generate public support, and obtain a firm understanding of the political process. Students could expect to make on average $4000-$6000 this summer, working on issues they believe in.

The Weekly Harvest newsletter includes news gleaned by NCAT experts that is relevant to sustainable agriculture from sources around the country for the ATTRA – National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website. In addition to keeping you abreast of the news, Weekly Harvest offers a roundup of grants and other funding opportunities as well as a calendar of events around the country.

Each issue also features one of ATTRA’s more than 300 sustainable-agriculture publications, ATTRA webinars, a Question of the Week, and “Ask a Sustainable Agriculture Expert,” your chance to submit a question to our staff online.

Hablamos espanol is a Spanish-language email newsletter, Cosecha Mensual, that offers many of the same features each month.

Six times each year, ATTRAnews brings you up to date on the latest developments in sustainable agriculture, what’s happening at the USDA and with Sustainable Agriculture Working Groups around the country. ATTRAnews features events and opportunities in sustainable agriculture, information on funding and financing, and it keeps you current on programs and policies such as Farm Bill implementations as well as production practices and the National Organic Standards.

NCAT is interested in helping communities increase their food security by producing their own healthy food.  They are trying to help communities do this with their Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training (SIFT) program and are developing a working, sustainably managed, demonstration farm on five acres at their Butte, Montana, headquarters. This farm will serve as the backdrop for an intensive, hands-on training program that will teach farmers and future farmers, urban food producers, community leaders, and citizens how to commercially produce high-value, nutrient-rich food on small parcels of land. Their email newsletter, SIFT news, can keep you up-to-date on the lessons learned as this venture matures.

It’s easy to sign up for any of NCAT’s newsletters with one visit to www.thedatabank.com/dpg/427/personal2.asp?formid=signup. Be sure to check out ATTRA’s more than 300 publications (most of which are free to download), databases, webinars, and other resources at www.attra.ncat.org.

The OIT outreach programming will include but is not limited to 1) working with outside partners/contractors to conduct an OIT needs assessment, develop a logo for OIT outreach, and develop a cell-phone OIT application; 2) assisting Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) staff with the installation of and outreach regarding the CBG AIS-free water garden, 3) developing two OIT publications, 4) assisting the University of Illinois extension staff with media messaging, 5) staffing booths at relevant shows and 6) giving presentations to relevant audiences.

Qualifications & Requirements: MS by date of hire in environmental biology, ecology, zoology, or related field with coursework and/or experience in aquatic systems. Strong interpersonal and organizational skills to work and communicate well with diverse groups. Ability to prepare and conduct presentations and workshops on AIS. Strong written and electronic communication skills. Ability to work independently and complete projects in a timely manner. Willingness to occasionally work irregular hours and to travel overnight. Preferred: Familiarity with AIS. Field experience. Experience in presenting scientific information to non-scientific audiences.

Salary: $20,000 – $22,000 (half time) per year commensurate with experience and education. This is a regular, academic professional, 50% time, grant-supported, 12-month position. The estimated starting date is June 1, 2012 (negotiable).

Benefits: Generous vacation and sick leave. State Universities Retirement System. Group health, dental, vision and life insurance; cost prorated to percentage of employment.

Further information can be found at https://jobs.illinois.edu/default.cfm?page=job&jobID=18680&returnPage=searchResults

Applications must be received by May 11, 2012. To apply, all candidates must submit an online profile through https://jobs.illinois.edu by the close of the posting period. Qualified candidates must upload a letter of which details qualifications noted above, curriculum vitae or resume, working e-mail address, and the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three professional references. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered. Incomplete information will not be reviewed. Applications may be reviewed prior to closing.

For further information please contact Erica Hanson, Human Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, 217-333-6897, elhanson@inhs.illinois.edu. For technical questions, please contact: Pat Charlebois, Search Committee Member, charlebo@illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. The administration, faculty, and staff embrace diversity and are committed to attracting qualified candidates who also embrace and value diversity and inclusivity. Visit www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu.

AP #11‐15
BACKGROUND:
Ventura County is one of the most geographically diverse counties in California. Its approximately 1,800 square miles feature snow‐capped mountains within view of the sparkling Pacific ocean and a chain of Channel Islands, vast areas of forestland, rugged hillsides and canyon areas, and a coastal plain ideal for cultivating fruit, vegetable and nursery crops year round. In an agricultural sense, Ventura County’s unique blend of soils, microclimates and physical attributes makes it one of the most agriculturally productive places on Earth. The county’s population is currently around 823,000. Unlike many other southern California counties, Ventura County has been able to sustain its agricultural industry despite pressures to urbanize, largely because of its innovative public policies regarding agriculture and open spaces.
The Hansen Research and Extension Center is located in Southern California 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Hansen REC is comprised of 27 acres 100 feet above sea level. It is one of nine agricultural research and extension centers operated by UC ANR. It provides land, labor, facilities and management for agricultural research and a location for public education efforts in agricultural matters relating to water, land use, pests, science literacy or economics and a variety of youth education and ecological concerns.
The UC Cooperative Extension Ventura County office (UCCE Ventura County), currently housed in a county‐owned facility, houses academic, program, research and administrative staff. Together, Hansen REC and UCCE Ventura County (in conjunction with extramural funding) comprise a single administrative, research and programmatic unit (within ANR referred to as a “multi‐entity partnership” or “MEP”). The Director will provide leadership for the MEP.

NATURE AND PURPOSE: Cooperative Extension and the Hansen REC are moving towards a single administrative, research and programmatic unit. Cooperative Extension provides staff who are responsible for providing opportunities for collaboration, integration and delivery of research and extension programs relevant to Ventura County and California. Hansen REC provides a location and support for this work. The Hansen Fund provides funding for some Cooperative Extension staff and for Hansen REC operations, as well as research and education programs. The Director position is a combined administrative and programmatic assignment in a discipline related to any of the following areas: water use, land use, agricultural pests, science literacy or economics, and horticulture. It is the intent of the position to develop, nurture and lead this new single unit into the future.
The Director will help allocate, develop and/or manage resources to the University of California researchers and educators to conduct quality research and extension programs on County and statewide issues related to the sustainability of agricultural, natural and human resources. As Director, the incumbent will administer personnel, staff development, budget, liaison activities, and physical facilities. The incumbent will maintain relationships with outside agencies, governing bodies and community organizations and clientele; provide and promote coordination and collaboration with University campus‐based and County‐based researchers to facilitate the successful delivery of research and educational programs.
As with all UC ANR Academics, the CE Advisor is expected to maintain academic program activities of research and extension relevant to the issues of the region, and to the overall goals of ANR’s strategic vision and the Hansen Fund. In a leadership capacity, the incumbent has responsibility to further develop the role and impact of Hansen REC and UC Cooperative Extension to benefit the citizens of the County and the State.
MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The successful candidate will provide leadership for research and extension in one of California’s most important agricultural regions. Specific aspects of duties include:

•  Develop and conduct a Cooperative Extension education and research program that meets critical needs and builds the knowledge base in one of the disciplines represented.
• Provide managerial leadership, expertise and direction including prioritization and
  exercising ultimate authority for allocation and approval of financial and human resources, long‐range facility planning and development, and space planning and allocation.
•  Exercise hiring, disciplinary and termination authority of human resources.
• Serve as an ex‐officio member of the Thelma Hansen Fund (Endowment) Advisory Board providing the ANR Vice President with advice, consultation, information, and
  recommendations on the use of the funds available annually to fulfill the purpose of the
  Thelma Hansen Fund.
•  Advocate for Hansen REC and UCCE Ventura County, promoting research and collaboration of projects. Develop research funding for research projects and overall ANR and Hansen Fund mission and goals.
• With input from the Hansen Advisory Board, efficiently utilize the income from the Hansen Fund for the purpose and goals of the endowment. This includes managing the Hansen Grant program and on‐site Research Projects Program.
• Participate in regional and statewide ANR committees, program teams, workgroups and meetings to ensure strong linkages and effective communications between the REC system, ANR administration and appropriate UC campus departments.
• Represent the University as a resource and contact person to industry leaders, producers, non‐University of California researchers and the general public. Maintain liaison and respond to regulatory, state and federal agencies, external groups, industry organizations and the mass media on issues related to research and education projects.

The successful candidate will be expected to develop an extramurally‐funded research and education program; forge strong interactions with local County partners and clientele, as
well as UC colleagues; contribute to core research and extension goals established within
ANR; and assist in establishing an innovative multi‐disciplinary program in their field of
expertise.

Evaluate clientele problems and needs for Extension programs. Clientele include all public and private land decision‐makers, farmers, growers, horticulturists, etc., professional service providers, private organizations, and public agencies associated with natural
resources management.
RELATIONSHIPS: The Director/Advisor reports to the ANR Director of the Research and
Extension Center System and Associate Director of Cooperative Extension and the Agriculture
Experiment Station. The incumbent will maintain communication and working relationships with CE Specialists and Advisors, Agricultural Experimental Station faculty and researchers, ANR Strategic Initiative Leaders and other colleagues.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: An understanding of and commitment to UCANR affirmative action goals is expected of all advisors.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A minimum of a Master’s degree is required though other advanced degrees are encouraged, with a background in a discipline related to water, land use, pests, science literacy or economics or a closely related field. Experience in conducting applied research and education programs is required. It is preferred that the incumbent has a current education/extension/research program consistent with ANR, UCCE and Hansen REC’s research and outreach emphasis. Excellent written and oral communication skills are required. Experience effectively managing and resolving conflict is highly desirable. Extension experience is desirable.
SALARY: Beginning salary will be in the Cooperative Extension Advisor series, commensurate with applicable experience and professional qualifications.
If the successful candidate is currently an ANR academic, the candidate will be offered the position as a lateral transfer, retaining their current rank, step, salary, and definite or indefinite status and receive an administrative stipend.
A background investigation will be required for the successful candidate, including fingerprinting and a criminal history clearance by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

BENEFITS: The University of California offers comprehensive benefits including two days per month paid vacation, one day per month paid sick leave, and approximately thirteen paid holidays per year. ANR is part of UC’s Family‐Friendly Policies. A variety of health and dental insurance plans are available, with employer contributions to the premiums. In addition, the University provides basic life and disability insurance, which may be supplemented at group rates. Workers’ Compensation Insurance is provided. An excellent UC Retirement System is coordinated with social security, and optional annuity plans may supplement retirement. Automobile insurance is available. Sabbatical and study leaves are available. For more information, refer to the UC Benefits website at: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu.

INTERVIEWS: A search committee will ask Candidates to come to Ventura County, California for an interview and seminar presentation. Travel expenses for interviews will be reimbursed according to University of California policy.

HOW TO APPLY: To be considered, applicants must submit the following four components of the Application Packet:
1. Cover Letter
2. ANR Academic Application Form— from the ANR website at:

http://ucanr.org/academicapplication

Please include a list of potential references. If you are selected for an interview, the
search committee will contact the references you listed on the UC ANR application form
(a minimum of four (4) and a maximum of six (6) names, current addresses, phone
numbers and email addresses). Please do not send letters of reference.
3. Curriculum Vitae or Resume
4. College Level Transcripts: Original transcripts preferred, however, legible photocopies
of original transcripts will be accepted. Application and associated materials will not be returned to the applicant. A Search Committee will review all applications, interview candidates, and recommend individuals most suitable for the position.

To submit your applicant packet or to request a UC ANR Academic Application form, contact:
Academic Recruiter
University of California
Agriculture and Natural Resources
225 Hopkins Road, DANR Building
Davis, CA 95616
Voice: (530) 752‐7532 FAX: (530) 752‐7785
E‐mail application Address: anracademicsearch@ucop.edu
Internet: http://www.ucanr.org/jobs
PLEASE REFER TO POSITION NUMBER AP #11‐15 IN ANY CORRESPONDENCE

The University of California prohibits discrimination or harassment of any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy (including childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer‐related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran (covered veterans are special disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, Vietnam era veterans, or any other veterans who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized) in any of its programs or activities. University policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of applicable State and Federal laws. Inquiries regarding the University’s nondiscrimination policies may be directed to the Affirmative Action/Academic Personnel Executive Director, University of California, Agriculture and Natural
Resources, One Shields Avenue, DANR Building, 225 Hopkins Road, Davis, CA 95616.

Published: April 13, 2012

THE study of food has had a home in higher education for generations. Agriculture was a founding mission of the land-grant university system started in the 1860s. Nutrition programs are commonplace. Culinary schools were around long before Julia Child turned Le Cordon Bleu on its butter-sauced ear.

But in an era of widespread interest, if not downright concern, about how that ear of corn, destined for a pot of boiling water on a perfect summer evening is grown, processed, marketed, distributed and used — and what it means for health, commerce, the economy and even the ecological state of the planet — colleges and universities have come to realize that the classic food disciplines simply will not do anymore.

And so food studies was born.

This new academic field, taking shape in an expanding number of colleges and universities, coordinates the food-related instruction sprinkled throughout academia in recognition that food is not just relevant, but critical to dozens of disciplines. It’s agriculture; it’s business; it’s health; it’s the economy; it’s the environment; it’s international relations; it’s war and peace.

Food studies is being embraced by students interested in new careers in food safety reform, local-food businesses and anti-obesity, equity and climate efforts, as well as those seeking broader contexts for traditional disciplines like culinary arts and farming.

For Sarah Jacobson, the food studies program at the University of New Hampshire, called EcoGastronomy, was a way to bring more relevance to her interests in nutrition and sustainable food systems. The program — started in 2008, and with more than 60 enrolled last fall already past its five-year goal of 50 students — is a dual major that includes electives from a dozen different departments and a required semester studying at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy.

Ms. Jacobson already has a degree in animal sciences but is doing this second bachelor’s to add context and information to what she feels is often outdated dietetics training (consider the well-worn mantra that there is no “good food” or “bad food,” just moderation).

“Most nutrition majors think about the food and not the system that’s producing food,” she says. “I did not want to simply navigate through what I call a broken food supply. By bridging dietetics and sustainable food systems, I can help change the food system.”

That means instead of working in a traditional clinical setting, she will take her training to so-called food deserts, where low-income people cannot get fresh food, let alone afford it. Ms. Jacobson has already brought food stamps to a farmers market in New Hampshire.

“People are working with food and working with agriculture in ways you never thought of before,” she says. “It’s not just the traditional jobs anymore.” (Good Food Jobs, a Web site started in 2010 to dovetail with the field, has postings for hundreds of jobs, among them sustainable farming internships, nonprofit business management and community garden advising.)

The first food studies programs began in the mid-1990s at New York University and Boston University. While there is more published scholarship and better-trained faculty today, there have been growing pains as schools try to stitch together a field of study across departments that have not always communicated, through bureaucracies that often move slowly, and against old notions that certain aspects of food are not worthy of serious study. One result has been an array of program and degree structures, based on different goals and what programs are in place.

Indiana University, for example, houses its food Ph.D. and undergraduate minor in the anthropology department, because using an existing framework made them easier to set up. That is a lesson the University of California, Davis, learned the hard way. It took 10 years before it finally got its major in sustainable agriculture and food systems up and running last fall.

Schools also are tailoring programs to their geographic areas and demographics. The University of Vermont, given its land-grant status, takes an agricultural angle. It established a minor in 2007 and will begin a master’s program in the fall, spurred by the observation that issues around food had become too complex to view through a single academic lens.

At the New School, which started a food studies program in 2008, classes have urban bents (“Food and Migration,” “Urban Agriculture”) that accommodate three core areas: culture and communications; policy and politics; and nutrition, public health and environment.

Andrew F. Smith teaches contemporary food controversies at the New School — think additives, genetically modified food and one of the newest concerns, cloned food — as well as food history.

“Historically you’ve had nutrition programs,” he says. “Historically you’ve had anthropologists looking at food. You might have some historian come along and look at sugar and how sugar has impacted things. But you don’t have a place in a university where everybody gets together and talks about food in itself with all of its different dimensions.”

For example, the rise of canned and frozen foods allowed more women to enter the workforce around World War II. In a traditional history class, that would be one sentence. But a look at history through food would explore the changing roles of women, increased leisure time, the invention of refrigerated trucking (and thus a better ability to transport food), and what that did to the labor force, as well as the need for new quality control.

Sara Minard has seen the before and after of the food studies trend. As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin considering a thesis on African-American customs and practices, she was told that there was no faculty to support her and that she was on her own. She opted for an existing major. In 2009, when she heard about Indiana’s food anthropology Ph.D. program, “I was in there in a week.”

Ms. Minard’s specialty is food waste — a growing concern over the vast quantities of usable food that is jamming landfills and producing contamination while many go hungry. She has begun photographing lunch plates at fraternities and sororities, before and after, to monitor waste patterns. One discovery: “Young ladies in sororities do not like to eat egg yolks,” she says. “But they will eat ice cream.”

“People laugh when I talk about what I’m studying. You get that smirky look. ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ But when I explain it, the smirk goes away.”

Jan Ellen Spiegel is a frequent contributor to the Connecticut pages of The Times.

Source link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/education/edlife/truly-food-for-thought.html?_r=1

Abstract: Mark Shepard farms and teaches in south western Wisconsin where he has been building a 106 acre permaculture paradise for over 15 years.  The farm is a diversified venture that is growing ideas and community culture along with a polyculture of plants, animals and enterprises.  Over 250,000 trees have been planted by the keyline technique in the beautiful coulee district of Wisconsin. Trees and market garden patches are planted on contour to retain water via a network of small pocket ponds and spreader swales that slow and spread rain water and protect the land from erosion.  His farm embodies the radical idea of managing a perennial food ECOLOGY, which means that all of the rules of ecology apply.  According to Mark “When conventional disturbance ceases, (stop the plow and herbicides) a site begins to aggrade… soil fertility increases, organic matter increases, soil life diversity increases, nutrient cycling improves, plant and animal populations and diversity increase.   Pests and diseases come into their “natural” population cycles and levels.  What ends up happening is that input costs (tillage, herbicide, fertilizer, pest control, disease control ) DECLINE and approach zero. When your input costs approach zero, your net profitability increases”.  Mark is encouraging young farmers to contribute to this vision and he backs this up by supporting ‘collaborative enterprisers’.  Aspiring permaculture entrepreneurs learn through doing as they design and implement projects on the ground. In his talk, Mark will explain how and why his permaculture paradise differs from traditional permaculture, how it is a force for good and, explain how he is spreading this dangerous idea through collaborative enterprisers.   Attend this event to learn about his edible woody crops nursery, and how growing trees shrubs, vines, and canes to produce food, medicines, fuels and fiber is revolutionizing agriculture in nature’s image while simultaneously revitalizing culture, stabilizing the economy, and restoring the environment.

More details to come! Forward questions to rsrevord@comcast.net

Follow the link for the Calendar of events: http://sustainability.illinois.edu/2ndAnnualSummit.html