During each of the first two years of The Ethics of Food & the Environment series we sponsored large public presentations by well-known speakers, small focused workshops by accomplished academics, and groundbreaking films with talkbacks by faculty experts. 


During the 2007-2008 academic year, we focused on the ethical issues surrounding food production in the United States and around the globe and during the 2008-2009 academic year, we focused on the role of institutions in managing resources, averting famines and natural disasters, and addressing inequities.

2008-2009 | 2007-2008


2008-2009 The Ethics of Food & the Environment

"Bringing Healthy Foods to Schools: The Consequences of Childhood Eating and Activity Habits"
Kirsten Tobey (Founder and COO of Revolution Foods)  [website]
Tom Robinson (Lucile Packard Children's Hospital & Stanford Prevention Research Center)


(film) Black Gold: A Film About Coffee and Trade [website]
Post Film Discussion led by Judith Goldstein (Stanford, Political Science) and Yotam Margalit (Stanford, Program on Global Justice)
As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry, Black Gold traces one man's fight for a fair price.


"Bottomfeeding: The Ethics of Eating Down the Food Chain in an Era of Industrialized Seafood"
Taras Grescoe (author of "Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood")  [website]


"The Threat to the Planet: Global Warming and Intergenerational Inequities"
Jim Hansen / Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies [website]


"Every Last Drop: Managing Our Way Out of the Water Crisis"
Frank Rijsberman / Google.org director of water and climate adaptation issues


(film) Silent Killer: The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger  [website]
Post Film Discussion led by David Lobell (Stanford, Program on Food Security and the Environment)
There are 1 billion hungry people in the world and each day, 15,000 children die of hunger. It doesn't have to be this way. SILENT KILLER shows how we can end hunger if we make a commitment to doing so.


(film) The Garden (Best Documentary 2009) [website]
Post Film Discussion led by Sarah Wiederkehr (Stanford, Farm Educator) and Erin Gaines (Stanford, Sustainable Foods Coordinator)
Immigrant workers have been farming a 14-acre community garden in South Central L.A. since 1982 -- but change is underway. This film tells an intricate story that involves backroom deals, land developers, money, poverty, and racial discord and in the process it raises challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the most vulnerable.


"Local Food to the Rescue"
Joel Salatin / Owner Polyface, Inc (a family owned, multi-generational, organic farm) [website]
Salatin and his 3rd generation, organic farm (Polyface Inc.) recently achieved iconic status when both were featured in Michael Pollan’s bestseller Omnivore’s Dilemma. Salatin is a passionate defender of small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm.


"From Silent Spring to Silent Night: What Have We Learned?"
Tyrone Hayes / Biology, UC Berkeley [website]


(film) Who Killed the Electric Car? [website]
Post Film Discussion led by Deepak Ahuja, CFO Tesla Motors


"Coming Back to Our Senses: Relearning the Story and Values of Real Food"
Katrina Heron / Director, Chez Panissee Foundation and Chair, Slow Food Nation 2008


(film) Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water[website]
Post Film Discussion led by Jenna Davis (Stanford, Civil and Environmental Engineering) [website]


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2007-2008 The Ethics of Food & the Environment

(film) The Real Dirt on Farmer John [website]
Post show discussion led by Gretchen Daily - Biological Sciences / Woods Institute for the Environment


(film) King Corn [website]
Post show discussion led by Aaron Woolf (Director of King Corn) and Ian Cheney (Producer of King Corn)
(Co-sponsored by Stanford in Government.)


(film) Our Daily Bread [website]
Post show discussion led by Scotty McLennan  (Dean for Religious Life)


(film) Super Size Me
Post show discussion led by Christopher Gardner (School of Medicine / Stanford Prevention Research Center)


"What's Happening on the Stanford Campus?"
Eric Montell (Stanford, Acting Executive Director, Stanford Dining) and Erin Gaines (Stanford, Sustainable Foods Coordinator, Stanford Dining) join Michael Pollan to discuss the many challenges large institutions encounter when they try to provide healthy, locally produced food to their constituents. They will talk about specific challenges that Stanford has faced, how they have been solved and what the future holds for Stanford Dining Services.

"In Defense of Food: The Omnivore's Solution"
Michael Pollan - Pollan teaches at UC Berkeley in The Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. He is the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, 2006 and his latest book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto was published this past January. (Co-sponsored by The Program in Human Biology.)


"What to Eat: Personal Responsibility vs. Social Responsibility"
Marion Nestle - Nestle teaches at NYU in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health. She is the author of numerous books, including What to Eat, which was released in 2006.

Breakfast with Marion Nestle
A small breakfast with Marion Nestle will be held before the discussion seminar. Due to space constraints, you must register in advance for the breakfast.

Discussion Seminar with Marion Nestle
Christopher Gardner and David Magnus (both from Stanford's School of Medicine) join Nestle in an exploration of the foods we eat.


Darwin's Nightmare [website]
Post show discussion led by Rosamond Naylor (Stanford, Economics / Food Security and the Environment)


"All Animals Are Equal - But in What Sense of Equality?"
Peter Singer - In Animal Liberation, a book sometimes credited with starting the modern animal rights movement, Peter Singer argued that "all animals are equal." The claim is often misunderstood, and sometimes used to caricature the animal movement. In this lecture Singer will explain what he means by the claim, why it is something that we all ought to accept, and what its implications are for our everyday life.

Singer holds a joint appointment at Princeton's University Center for Human Values and at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter, 2006.
(Co-sponsored by the Center on Ethics.)


March 2-6, 2008
Eat Local Celebration Week at Stanford Dining
Each night this week, different dining halls will be serving locally-grown, seasonal food. Come taste the fresh food and meet different farmers each night who will be on hand to talk about their farms and their farming practices. Community members are welcome to attend. The all-you-care-to-eat dinner may be purchased for $10.

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