Food Citizens: How Food Movements Shape the Future of Food

The study of food and society is an exciting and complex field that emerged in the last quarter of the 20th century. Understanding our relationship to food and food systems can help us discover a lot about our culinary options and preferences as well as the larger sociohistorical context in which we live.

In this seminar, we will briefly trace the emergence of the global food system and how food movements—at many levels and originating in many sectors—have contributed to the evolution of food production, distribution and our diets since the early 20th century. We will investigate the food conservation movement, the local food initiatives, indigenous food movements, and the slow food movement. We will consider how these movements have co-evolved, converged, and influenced both our diets and food policies in the 21st century, shaping the choices available to us today and potentially the future of food.

Laura L. O’Toole is a sociologist who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware and has served both as an academic dean and a teaching professor at Salve Regina University prior to retiring from full-time teaching in 2022. Dr. O’Toole specializes in sociological theory, gender studies, food studies, and public sociology and has taught, published, and presented in these areas for over 30 years. She is also a certified Master Gardener with the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension service and has served on numerous community boards, most recently of Aquidneck Community Table and the New England Faculty Development Consortium.