Duke University
SD-2: Food Education

Many courses at Duke that address food choices, including the following: AAAS 352 Pigging out: the Cultural Politics of Food CHEM 89S – 01 Science of Cooking CULANTH 309S-01 Food and the Body DOCST 167S-01 Politics of Food ENVIRON 218-01 Food and Energy ENVIRON 624 Agriculture and Sustainability GLHLTH 220S-01 Global Nutrition LAW 338-01 Animal Law LAW 636-01 Food and Agricultural Law and Policy PARISH 760-01 Food, Eating and the Life of Faith PHYSEDU 180 Intro to Outdoor Adventure PHYSEDU 203-01 Diet and Nutrition PUBPOL 590S-05 / GLHLTH 590S-05 Food Policy WRITING 101-66, 67 The Science of Food Choice AAAS 890S Food Race and You BIOLOGY 158 Plants and Human Use BIOLOGY 228 How Plants Feed and Fuel the World (Cross listed with ENVIRON 228) COMMFAM 221C-23 Practical Clinical Nutrition CULANTH 258S Our Culinary Cultures (Cross listed with DOCST 344S) ENVIRON 590-10 Intro to Sustainable Food Systems EVANTH 355 Food for Thought MEDREN 390-05 Medieval Appetites: Sex & Food See more at: http://sites.duke.edu/food/academics/ Students can also get connected with researchers and professors, who are actively involved in conducting food research or teaching food classes. http://sites.duke.edu/farm/research/ Additionally, Duke is in the process of creating a "Sustainable Food Systems Studies Certificate" at the graduate level. The hope is that in coming years the certificate will also be made available at the undergraduate level.

Bon Appetit, Duke's main food service provider has a variety of educational and outreach materials in their eateries to inform students about sustainable food choices. Examples include their Farm to Fork program, where students can easily find local and organic options for their meals. Bon Appetit hosts special events that draw additional attention to sustainability in their eateries, such as Low Carbon Diet day, where customers can calculate the carbon footprint of their meal. Additionally, Duke has a reusable to-go container program where students can use an eco-friendly clamshell rather than a disposable plastic container. Duke also has pre-consumer composting in nearly every eatery on campus and some eateries offer post-consumer composting as well. Finally, the Students for Sustainable Living run an annual Green Dining Award for which they meet with the managers of each campus eatery to perform an environmental audit of food served and eatery operations. After determining winners, they promote these sustainable eateries to the Duke community to help them make eco-positive food choices.

Duke’s Office of Sustainability and Duke Recycles collaborate to host a zero-waste picnic featuring local and organic food, in which all materials distributed are either recyclable or compostable. At the picnic, volunteers educate students about the importance of waste reduction and Duke’s efforts to compost dining waste on campus. In fall of 2011, the incoming first year class read the book "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer, which explores issues of sustainable food production and animal welfare. A slideshow at the summer reading event for all students during orientation highlighted Duke's sustainable dining efforts and ways to get involved, like the Duke Campus Farm. Orientation also features a trip during welcome week led by a faculty member to volunteer and share at meal at the Duke Campus Farm, as well as another faculty-led trip to the local farmers' market.

Students at Duke learn about eco-positive food choices in food studies classes, through educational materials in campus eateries, and in many other venues, such as the student-run Duke Community Garden. At the garden, students and community members come together to learn and grow their own food. Students can also volunteer or intern at the Duke Campus Farm, which supplies all of its produce directly to eateries on campus. Additional venues such as a workshop series hosted by the Duke Campus Farm include information on vegetarian eating, canning and preserving, container gardening and more.

At the Duke Community Garden, students and community members come together to learn and grow their own food. Students can also volunteer or intern at the Duke Campus Farm, which supplies all of its produce directly to eateries on campus. Additional venues for learning about growing food include a workshop series hosted by the Duke Campus Farm with sessions on canning and preserving, container gardening, growing mushrooms, making cheese, brewing beer, and more.