*Call For Abstracts: Food, the City, and Innovation*

February 1 & 2, 2013

The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX



The University of Texas at Austin and Boston University is pleased to
announce the second annual Food and the City Conference, to be held on *February
1st and 2nd, 2013*. The theme of the conference is food innovation and
provisioning cities in the past, present, and future.

We invite scholars, industry professionals, architects, policy makers,
urban planners, farmers, and innovators to contribute ideas about the
re-invention of food systems to feed urban centers.



This conference brings together a community of expertise to explore the
relationship between food systems and cities throughout history. We will
investigate the historical context of urban provisioning and new
opportunities for innovations. The conference seeks to facilitate
solutions to the problems facing the global food system currently and in
the future.



Conference themes include: How have innovators responded to the global
market? Does food system technology improve sustainability, increase
nutrition, reduce cost, and promote accessibility? How should technology
and innovations work to reconnect consumers to the food system?



Our keynote speaker is David Edwards, innovator, engineer, and founder of
Le Laboratoire. Edwards recently designed Wikicells, an edible packaging
for food and drink delivery. He also has developed several variations of
inhalable food, including Aeroshot and Le Whif.



The conference is organized around panels that represent various components
of the food system. The panels are as follows:



1) The Food System

This panel will explore the nature of the current food system, including
its problems and potential solutions. It will delineate fundamental
barriers – political, social, technological, economic – that prevent significant
improvement. This panel will investigate how current food trends contribute
or detract from meaningful advancements in food production. Importantly, it
will also pose potential solutions to these issues. How did innovators in
the past view their improvements within the context of their specific food
systems? How can technology better account for climate changes, natural
disasters, and other variables affecting food production? What role can
technology play in improving supply chains?

2) Sowing the Seeds: Food at its Genesis

How has the history of agricultural technology changed the way farmers
cultivate crops and raise animals for food? How did transportation
technology transform the food system? What are the social benefits to the
application of technology to food and food systems? Can food be grown
inside a city with a great enough yield to sustain an entire urban
population?

3) Harvesting

Eli Whitney’s cotton gin revolutionized the way cotton was harvested and
saved thousands of laborers from the tedious, backbreaking work of
separating cotton fiber from its seed. What other inventions have or will
revolutionize the way we gather crops or process animals? How will these
inventions affect other areas of food production?

4) Food Miles

What is the meaning of space, distance, time, and identity in the context
of the food system? Why did society reject food production from the city
and why is urban agriculture making a comeback? How do we move food from
its harvesting and processing locations to consumers? How did the food hub
model develop throughout history? What new models might emerge to
challenge the food hub model?

5) Processing & Packaging

Michael Pollan recommends consumers shop on the outskirts of the grocery
store to avoid “processed” foods. But what does “processed” mean in
relationship to food production and is it inherently bad? How has the
processing of food evolved historically and what is its future? From
Clarence Birdseye’s frozen food innovation to Ferran Adrià’s molecular
gastronomy, how does technology transform our conception of food?

6) Water and Energy

As the essential elements of the food system, water and energy are
inextricably linked to food production and its success. Irrigation, solar
energy, biofuel, and energy loss from food waste are possible topics of
discussion for this panel.

7) Storage and Preservation

Developments from salt to walk-in freezers are essential parts of the food
storage process. What former preservation techniques were popular in the
past and how has food preservation evolved? How can we improve the shelf
life of packaged food, while maintaining quality and nutrition? Edible
packaging is one emerging solution. What are others?

8) Markets/Retail

This panel will discuss the sale of food – in markets, grocery stores and
farm stands – and the consumer culture surrounding these places of
exchange. How does the modern day supermarket compare to the increasingly
popular outdoor farmer’s market? What will food retail in cities look like
in twenty years? How did the location and marketing methods affect consumer
behavior historically? How might future technologies alter these
practices?



While we expect many scholarly papers, we also welcome demonstrations,
video lectures, and other nontraditional presentations. Please submit your
proposal as a 300-500 word abstract. All submissions should include a CV.
Please send all materials to James McWilliams, jm71@txstate.edu, by *September
1, 2012.* Proposals will be evaluated based on their adherence to the above
listed panels, their content, originality, and relevance.



Contacts:

Dr. Robyn Metcalfe, University of Texas at Austin, Conference Chair
Robyn.Metcalfe@austin.utexas.edu

Dr. James McWilliams, Texas State University at San Marcos,
jm71@txstate.edu

This message has been forwarded by the SOAS Food Studies Centre, located in the Department of Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. The Centre is chaired by Harry G. West, Professor of Anthropology.