The 2017 Lozano Long Conference
REVOLUCIONES ALIMENTARIAS
New Perspectives on the Contemporary Food System
in Latin America
Feb. 22–24, 2017
Texas Union
2400 Guadalupe St.
LLILAS BENSON Latin American Studies and Collections
The University of Texas at Austin
#FoodRevolutionsUT
Our global food system is broken. It is making us sick, it is undermining the environment and eroding workers’ rights. No region in the world serves as a better example of this broken system than Latin America.
Trade liberalization, political upheaval, population displacements, and environmental change have all played a role in shaping the food system in the region. Traditionally, the Latin American agricultural sector has grown by focusing on exports at the expense of producing fresh food for local communities. So even after a decade of economic growth, undernutrition overlaps (sometimes in the same population) with diets high in fat, sugar, and over-processed foods. In addition to these negative health outcomes, industrial agriculture produces enormous amounts of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
So what to do? Join us to find out!
There is an emerging global food movement that is reimaging how we can grow and distribute food in a more sustainable and fair way. In Latin America, social movements made up of farmers, agricultural workers, consumers, environmental groups, indigenous communities, and other experts have been pushing for greater food self-sufficiency, agro-ecological production and equitable nutrition policies. This conference will address the opportunities and obstacles to transforming the current food system in Latin America and what the rest of the world can learn from it.
Food studies is by nature multi-disciplinary. This event will bring together many innovative activists, researchers, and artists. The fields represented in the conference will be anthropology, ecology, geography, public health, law, history, sociology, political science, and film. Topics include agroecology and alternative farming styles; rights-oriented food movements; the land, work, and market struggles surrounding industrial agriculture; and nutrition and public health approaches to food policies.
Our panelists come from and/or are experts on different parts of the Americas, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru.
Follow us on Twitter using the hashtag #FoodRevolutionsUT.
Photo: José Guzmán
