There are those who see a plate of food as fuel and nothing more.  They might approach their meal with no questions or curiosity as to the path the food took to get on the plate or the people who made it possible. They might never reminisce about a meal made by their mother or grandmother and may barely taste any essence of the country from which the food originated.  Amanda Green is the polar opposite of this fictional person, and she has the dissertation to prove  why we should all care about every aspect of food, not just the taste.

 

After graduating from Davidson College with a degree in Anthropology and a Minor in International Studies, the 2001 Bridgeport High School Alumnus went on to get her Masters Degree in Social Sciences at the University of Chicago.  From there, she moved to Oregon, where she began and recently completed her PhD in Applied Anthropology, with a Minor in Food in Culture and Social Justice.  That minor would prove to be pivotal in her impact on international methods involving food justice.

 

Green’s parents, Hal Green and Ann Laretei Soderberg raised her in a home in which both Swedish and English were spoken regularly.  Her mother moved from Sweden to Bridgeport in 1979 and many of Green’s family traditions revolved around Swedish foods.  “We have special recipes for Christmas and birthdays and I have grown up with a love of both language and food,” said Green.

 

While studying at Davidson College, Green embraced the college’s strong emphasis on international study and service, allowing her to travel and volunteer extensively while doing research on the role language has on one’s identity.  In 2008, while living and working in France, she was able to begin to apply some of that research to the relationship of food and identity. 

 

This path eventually took her to the Slow Food Conference where she met individuals critical to her life’s work of building sustainable food systems.  She spent the next six years researching the Sami people and their food traditions.  Sami are an indigenous people living in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russian.  Their traditions are tied to their rights to land, the preservation of their language, and using the entire animal in the production of food and handiwork.

 

As an American Scandinavian Foundation Fellow to Sweden, Green worked with local food entrepreneurs, participating in their culture and interviewing them about potential threats to their traditions.  Currently, they compete with other industries, including mining and timber, and Green worked with them to find ways to sustainably confront these issues and remain in the place they want to be.

 

Contemporary food activism, the topic on which she wrote her doctorial dissertation, involves many forms. It can include individual decisions to purchase differently and change laws and production systems.  It can involve preserving culinary traditions and cuisines through artisans, chefs, organizations and cookbooks, and it can include everyone from the herder to the butcher to tourism entrepreneurs that increase the demand for the products. “ The end goal is to create a space in which food producers are treated fairly, food is grown sustainably and everyone is guaranteed fair access,” Green said.

 

Through her work, she has seen an increased interest in Sami food traditions.  Jokkmokk was selected as Sweden’ 2014 Food Capital, drawing attention to the area and the techniques used by the Sami.  Documentaries have now been made and a culinary education program introduced, as well as a focus on the school lunch program and articles in popular magazines.  The exposure has raised awareness of the importance of preserving the Sami food traditions.

 

Green participated in a collaborative study with the Food Capital project and has been involved with several international organizations committed to the economic, cultural and social value of the food system.  The area in which she researched was located near the Arctic Circle, with 5000 inhabitants and nearly 20,000 kilometers of land.  The group she studied included a diverse ethnic base of fishermen, reindeer herders, butchers, berry pickers and chefs.  The information gathered provides local decision makers with information that may influence development of new food sectors and make visible the value of cultural and familial practices that can contribute to the economy.  

 

The time spent on her dissertation not only had an impact on her professional endeavors, it also included a personal blessing:  she and her husband welcomed their first child.  As if getting her doctorate and becoming a new mother weren’t enough, the couple now plans to travel back across the country to their alma mater, Davidson College in North Carolina, where Green will begin her postdoctoral position for the next two years. 

 

While at Oregon State University, Green assisted in the implementation of the Real Food Challenge, which worked with the university to analyze food procurements to see if they could be made more sustainable.  In North Carolina, Green will apply those same skills as she teaches courses in sustainable food systems and supervises undergraduates on their student farm.  “We will be focusing on questions of environmental, social and financial sustainability when it comes to local food production,” Green said.

 

Can food that is grown by students be served in the dining halls and what  impact would that have on tuition and the natural environments?  Does growing food change the students’ perspective about the process? How can university strengthen access to sustainable food sources and make them a priority?  The key, according to Green, is to continue asking the questions.  The more research there is on the subject will lead to the visibility critically necessary to make changes around the world.