New series on natural history of food showcases University faculty

A new series of lectures, programs, and workshops on the natural history of food is being launched this semester by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The series will explore how physical and biological processes affect the way people eat, and how people’s relationship to food shapes population distribution, technologies, politics, social interaction, and aesthetic expression.

“This series is an exciting opportunity to bring together many talented experts from the University of Connecticut and beyond,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“From the biological to the cultural, the multidisciplinary approach of the Natural History of Food series will showcase the University’s scholarship and research.”

Margaret Bruchac, assistant professor of anthropology and coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at the Avery Point campus, will talk about the wide-ranging impact the foods of the Americas have had since the first interactions between European explorers and Native American communities. Her program, Algonkian Indian Influences on Yankee Foodways, will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m.

Alexia Smith, assistant professor of anthropology and a specialist in ecological anthropology, climate, and land use history, and the development of agriculture in the Near East, will discuss the beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East.

Her lecture, Seeds, Glorious Seeds! Examining Food Use in Antiquity, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m.

The University’s ecology and evolutionary biology greenhouses have one of the most diverse teaching plant collections in the United States, including many connected to the food and medical industries.

For the Natural History of Food series, a special guided greenhouse tour will provide the uncommon opportunity to see many foods, spices, and medicines in their pre-harvested and unprocessed forms as plants. The tour, Sugar and Spice and Chocolate, will be led by greenhouse staff on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Cameron Faustman, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will share and answer many of the meat-related questions his students have asked over the years including: What is head cheese? Why is it possible to buy summer sausage in the winter? and What makes American bacon so different from Canadian bacon? His presentation will provide insights into the world of meat and meat products. His lecture, Why is There a Bag in My Turkey? – Meat 101, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m.