Nutrition, sustainable ag focus of UNK’s Morality of Capitalism event

Keynote speaker Marion Nestle is an award-winning author, whose books explore issues such as effects of food production on dietary intake, food safety, and access to food and nutrition. (Photo Courtesy of Lou Manna)
Keynote speaker Marion Nestle is an award-winning author, whose books explore issues such as effects of food production on dietary intake, food safety, and access to food and nutrition. (Photo Courtesy of Lou Manna)

What: Morality of Capitalism Symposium
Theme: Sustainable agriculture versus industrial agriculture
When: Wednesday, March 30
Where: University of Nebraska at Kearney Student Union, Ponderosa Room

Speakers and Schedule
10:10 a.m. – “GMOs and Food Production.” Holly Butka, Consumer Engagement Lead, Monsanto; Mary Hendrickson, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri.
11:15 a.m. – “Hemp:  That Ditch Weed You’ve Been Mowing Might Be Worth $1 Million.” Shane Davis, hemp grower; Deb Palm-Egle, hemp activist; Shadi Ramsey, hemp nutritionist; Allison Jenkins, hemp-based veterinarian services.
2 p.m. – “Sustainable Agriculture.” Informal forum to discuss legal, economic and production issues associated with sustainable agriculture, particularly hemp.
7 p.m. – Keynote address and book signing with Marion Nestle, consumer advocate, nutritionist, award-winning author and academic who specializes in the politics of food and dietary choice.

KEARNEY – Consumer advocate, nutritionist and award-winning author Marion Nestle is the keynote speaker at the Morality of Capitalism Symposium hosted by the University of Nebraska at Kearney Economics Department.

Nestle’s research examines scientific, economic and social influences on food choice and obesity, with an emphasis on the influence of food industry marketing.

Her presentation and book signing is at 7 p.m. March 30 at the Ponderosa Room inside the Nebraskan Student Union. The event is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is Sustainable Agriculture Versus Industrial Agriculture.

Nestle’s books explore issues such as effects of food production on dietary intake, food safety, and access to food and nutrition. She is currently working on a book about how to advocate for healthier food and food systems titled “Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning).”

She has authored and won numerous awards for her books, including “What to Eat,” which was named one of Amazon’s top 10 books of 2006. She also wrote a column for the San Francisco Chronicle from 2008-13.

In addition to writing, Nestle appears frequently in documentary films, and she won the Innovator of the Year Award from the United States Healthful Food Council in 2014.

Her career path also includes work as senior nutrition policy advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services and with the FDA Food Advisory Committee and Science Board.

Nestle is a professor of sociology and professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecular biology and Master of Public Health in public health nutrition, both from the University of California, Berkeley.

-30-

Writer: Todd Gottula, Director of Communications, 308.865.8454, gottulatm@unk.edu
Source: Bree Dority, Assistant Professor Economics, 308.865.8343, doritybl@unk.edu
Source: Frank Tenkorang, Chair Department of Economics, 308.865.8573, tenkorangf1@unk.edu