Speaker series to focus on food production, marketing and consumption

Four talks comprise the series “Food Production, Marketing and Consumption in the United States – Colonial Era to Present.” The first presentation, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Denny Building, Room 220, will feature Baldemar Velasquez, founder and president of the Ohio-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee.

Velasquez, a recipient of a “genius” grant from the MacArthur Foundation, earned a bachelor’s degree from Bluffton College; he has dedicated his life to improving the working and living conditions for migrant laborers and their families.

Gavin Gibbons, vice president of communications for the National Fisheries Institute, the trade group representing the U.S. fishing industry, will speak at 3:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, in Denny Building, Room 220. The institute is dedicated to education about seafood safety, sustainability and nutrition. Gibbons holds a bachelor’s degree from UNC Greensboro.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, Jeanine Davis, associate professor, North Carolina State University, will present on North Carolina organic agriculture at 3:30 p.m., in Denny Building, Room 220. Davis is an extension specialist at the Department of Horticultural Science, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, located near Asheville.

Robin Emmons, founder and executive director of Charlotte-based Sow Much Good Inc. and a UNC Charlotte alumna, will discuss urban food poverty at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, in Denny Building, Room 220. Sow Much Good is a nonprofit organization that is committed to growing healthy communities in underserved neighborhoods by providing direct access to fresh, affordable food.

The campus community is invited to these free presentations, sponsored by the History Department and the Dowd Foundation.