Ruth D. Ewing Lecture Presents: Dr. Molly Anderson

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Dr. Molly Anderson is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Food Studies & Academic Director of Food Studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. She teaches about hunger and food security, fixing food systems, and sustainability.

Abstract
The global food system, and the US food system which is deeply interconnected with it, fails in its primary function of providing everyone with healthy food. According to the latest UN report on global food insecurity, one-quarter of the world’s people suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity; this has been increasing for the past six years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated it. In addition, the global food system is responsible for declining soil fertility, overuse and contamination of freshwater, exploitation of workers, at least one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, critical losses of biodiversity, and dramatic increases in obesity and diet-related diseases. Although there is wide agreement and solid documentation of food system problems, much less consensus exists about solutions and pathways toward them. Narrative, or the stories we tell about how change happens, is a powerful facilitator and barrier to effective solutions. This presentation will address dominant narratives of food system transformation and the theories of change behind them. Who is promoting each narrative and why? Which narratives are worthy of greater support? What enabling factors will allow these narratives to gain strength and prominence? How can these enabling factors be put in place so that solutions to global food system problems can be found?

About the Ruth D. Ewing Lecture Series
Alumna Ruth Ewing '37 (1915-2014), whose studies concentrated on social sciences while at Bennington, was also a parent of an alumnus, as well as a distinguished trustee from 1979 to 1982. In 1997, the College's trustees named the Social Science Lecture Series for Mrs. Ewing in recognition of her unstinting generosity and esteemed service to Bennington. We are deeply grateful that Mrs. Ewing and her husband James Ewing went on to support the endowed Ruth D. Ewing '37 Social Science Lecture Series throughout the rest of their lives, bringing special guest lecturers in the social sciences to Bennington College today and in perpetuity. 

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Bennington College requires that all guests be vaccinated and have the appropriate vaccine booster. To enter into a building on campus, guests are asked to complete a visitor form—ideally 24 hours before their arrival. Visitors who have not completed this form will be asked to show their vaccination card before entering any campus buildings. Masking indoors is required in any shared spaces.