Gary Nabhan lecture: Food, Genes & Culture

Join us for a special lecture by internationally-celebrated nature writer, agricultural ecologist, ethnobotanist, and proponent of conserving the links between biodiversity and cultural diversity.

Lecture starts at 5 PM. Come at least 20 minutes early to secure your reserved seat. IMPORTANT: At 4:55 PM, any remaining open seats in the room will be given to standby guests (those without prior registration).

Parking is available at the Peavine Visitor lot: http://arts.emory.edu/plan-your-visit/parking/peavine.html

Dr. Nabhan's books will be available for purchase. Reception and book signing to follow at 6pm.

This visit is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors at Emory University!

• Center for the Study of Human Health
• Dining Services
• Office of Sustainability
• Turner Environmental Law Clinic
• Department of Anthropology
• Development Studies Program
• Department of Environmental Sciences

Lecture Title

Food, Genes and Culture: Why Silver Bullet Diets and Quick Genetic Fixes Won’t Reduce the Prevalence of Nutrition-Related Diseases

Description

This lecture will provide insights into the widely-publicized diabetes epidemic among the Pima Indians and other indigenous cultures. It will explore why the HIH/HIS 30 year focus on finding “the thrifty gene” among the Pima failed the reduce the incidence and prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in their communities, and how current integrated “one health”/”culinary medicine” approaches involving native foods and traditional exercise revivals are faring. It will use case studies from Nabhan’s Island Press book Food, Genes and Culture, (formerly Why Some Like It Hot), along with NSF-funded technical research published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, and elsewhere.

Bio

Gary Paul Nabhan is an internationally-celebrated nature writer, agricultural ecologist, ethnobotanist, and proponent of conserving the links between biodiversity and cultural diversity. He holds the Kellogg Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Arizona and works with students, faculty and non-profits to build a more just, nutritious, and climate-resilient foodshed spanning the U.S./Mexico border. Professor Nabhan was among the earliest researchers to promote the use of native foods in preventing diabetes, and he has been honored as a pioneer and creative force in the “local food movement” and seed saving community by New York Times, Bioneers, Utne Reader, Mother Earth News, and Time magazine. As an Arab-American essayist and poet, Professor Nahban is author or editor of twenty-four books and has played key roles in establishing the Ironwood Forest National Monument, community-based seed banks, land reserves for conserving wild crop relatives, and restored habitats for migratory pollinators throughout the West. Agricultural historian Peter Hatch of Monticello has called Nabhan “the lyrical scholar of genetic diversity.” He is also personally engaged as an orchard-keeper, wild foods forager, and pollinator habitat restorationist working from his small farm in Patagonia, Arizona. He has been honored with a MacArthur “genius” award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, and the John Burroughs Medal for nature writing. He is also an ecumenical Franciscan brother.