Anthropology Newsletter Columns: 2002
January 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Barrett Brenton, Contributing Editor
Please note that next month's column will have a complete rundown of all the CNA events that took place at the AAA Centennial Meetings in Washington, D.C. last year. I again remind everyone that from now on please send any and all items related to our broad and diverse field for this column to your new contributing editor, Janet A. Chrzan (Penn). Her contact information is listed below.
CNA-Sponsored Papers and Sessions for AAA
2002 Meetings in New Orleans, LA
If you would like to contribute a paper or help to organize a session for this year's meetings in New Orleans please contact CNA Program Chair, Leslie Carlin, Human Diabetes and Metabolism Research Centre, School of Clinical Medical Sciences, The Medical School, U of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, England; +44 (191) 222-5871; fax +44 (191) 222-0723; L.E.Carlin@newcastle.ac.uk. Potential sessions or papers could incorporate the continuing AAA centennial theme, including the 100th anniversary year of Margaret Mead's birth, December 16, 2001, providing us with an opportunity to reflect on her study of food habits. It is critical that all Invited Session proposals be sent to Leslie for consideration by March 1, 2002. I will update the status of all sessions in the February column.
Joint Meeting of the AFHV and ASFS Call for Papers
The joint annual meetings of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS) and the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) will take place June 13-16, 2002 in Chicago, Illinois. The meetings will bring together two multidisciplinary professional and scholarly societies for the purpose of broadly discussing contemporary issues relating to food, eating, dietary, and nutritional behaviors; food and agricultural practices; public policies toward food and agriculture, and the history, philosophy, social institutions and values which underlie them. The 2002 Chicago Meetings will focus around the theme "The City in a Garden: Producing and Consuming Food in the New Millenium." Proposals for papers (with abstracts), sessions, and panels are due February 12, 2002. For additional information contact: Program Chair Tracy Poe, Dept of History and the Humanities, Barat College of DePaul U, 700 E. Westleigh Rd., Lake Forest, IL 60045. Please direct questions regarding the conference program to: food@wppost.depaul.edu. Complete details on the meetings are available at:
www.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhaynes/afhvs/2002call.html.
Highlights from the Spring 2001 Issue of Nutritional Anthropology
I encourage everyone to read the Spring 2001 issue of Nutritional Anthropology. It contains articles by James Stansbury et al. on "After the Hurricane: Child Nutrition in Honduran Reconstruction; and by Carly Bridden and David Himmelgreen on " The Tragic Link of Poverty and Hunger: A Report on the Annual Food Day Teleconference." The issue also contains Book Reviews as well as important news and announcements. Highlights from the Fall 2001 issue will be forthcoming. To support this peer-reviewed journal please submit your articles, reports, book reviews, and announcements for the Spring 2002 issue of Nutritional Anthropology to Miriam Chaiken, Dept of Anthropology, G12 McElhaney Hall, 441 North Walk, Indiana U of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705; chaiken@grove.iup.edu.
Food Web Site of the Month
For anyone who does research on food history two digital libraries are making available full text scans of historic cookbooks. The Michigan State University Library and Museum has created a site called "Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project" at: digital.lib.msu.edu/cookbooks/index.html. For the more adventurous the University of Barcelona has an online digital collection of food-related books from the period 1530 - 1820. They are in Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, etc. and can be found at: www.bib.ub.es/grewe/grewe.htm.
February 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Barrett Brenton, Contributing Editor
After four enjoyable years this is my last column for CNA. I want to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to everyone who contributed materials to me during that time. I now urge you to send all items to your new contributing editor Janet Chrzan (Penn). Her contact information is listed below. The AAA Meetings last year were a wonderful success for CNA. See some reflections on the meetings by David Himmelgreen below, as well as additional coverage in future issues, and please make note of other important announcements below.
Reflections on CNA in Washington, D.C.
David Himmelgreen (South Florida), CNA President
Although the birds were chirping and the weather was bright and balmy, there were so many good sessions at this year's AAA meetings that I didn't have any time for sightseeing in the nation's capital. Not wanting to boast too much, CNA was certainly well represented at the meetings with two invited sessions, two sponsored sessions, the presentation of the Christine Wilson Award, and the Distinguished Speaker talk and reception! Congratulations to all the presenters, to George Luber (Wilson Award winner), and to our Distinguished Speaker, Dr. Sidney Mintz, for his wonderful talk: 'Heroes Sung and Unsung: Toward a History of Food Studies.' I for one learned from this talk and reflected on my own childhood growing up in a household full of Jewish foods from Eastern Europe. For those of you who weren't at the talk, the CNA hopes to publish Dr. Mintz' presentation in Nutritional Anthropology. I have received several compliments regarding this year's CNA events and want to express my sincere thanks to all the board members, past board members, and the CNA membership for making these meetings successful. We hope to make next year's meetings even better!
CNA-Sponsored Papers and Sessions for AAA
2002 Meetings in New Orleans, LA
The theme for this year's meetings is 'Future Worlds: Imaginable or Unimaginable.' Poster sessions and Workshops are being encouraged, too. For the first time submissions can be made and processed on-line. It is critical that all Invited Session proposals be sent to CNA Program Chair Leslie Carlin for consideration by March 1, 2002. If you would like to contribute a paper or help to organize a session for this year's meetings in New Orleans please contact Leslie at: Department of Diabetes Medicine and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, The Medical School, U of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, England; +44 (191) 222-5871; fax +44 (191) 222-0723; L.E.Carlin@newcastle.ac.uk.
Highlights from the Fall 2001 Issue of Nutritional Anthropology
I encourage everyone to read the Fall 2001 issue of Nutritional Anthropology. It contains articles on "Food Choice Among the Blackfeet" by Susan L. Johnston; "Diet and Mayan Market Women" by Robin O'Brian; and "School Lunch Programs" by Jennifer Pyles and Jennifer Lobick. The issue also contains Book Reviews as well as important news and announcements. To support this peer-reviewed journal please submit your articles, reports, book reviews, and announcements for the Spring 2002 issue of Nutritional Anthropology to Miriam Chaiken, Dept of Anthropology, G12 McElhaney Hall, 441 North Walk, Indiana U of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705; chaiken@grove.iup.edu.
Food Web Site of the Month
SEMDA (The Southeastern Michigan Dietetic Association) has a web-site that has links tono less than 17 different food pyramids based on global food traditions, and information on complementary nutrition. Take your starch base on over to: www.semda.org/info.
March 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
Since this is my first column for the CNA, I'd like to say hello, and encourage all members to contribute to the column. I will need your help with material! My thanks to Barry Brenton, who has been so very helpful in teaching the responsibilities of this position and has provided a superb example of editorial craft. We have an exciting year ahead - our 2002 theme is a perfect complement to food and nutrition studies as so much of what we do as scholars is concerned with nutrition education, food security, and (future) global food practices.
Food and Culture News
In Eat My Words: Reading Women's Lives Through the Cookbooks They Wrote
Janet Theophano (Penn) uses the cookbook and manuscript collections from the Aresty Collection (http://www.library.upenn.edu/special/gallery/aresty/aresty1.html) to explore culinary themes and issues relating to literacy, social history and political commentary in America during the 17th through the 20th centuries. These manuscripts, which are often family recipe collections, provide exciting clues to American women's perceptions of self and agency and of their relationships to the various processes of literacy ' from learning to read and write to self expression and political awareness. She describes her methods as an archaeology or anthropology of texts since many of the women who contributed to these cookbooks were anonymous or absent from other public, political and social records. These seemingly benign domestic documents are freighted by their authors with political and social import. Simply writing in these books served as autobiographical and genealogical acts, as quotes such as 'I Am' (in the childish writing of a young girl), 'My Book' and 'this book belonged to my grandmother and my mother and me' demonstrate. Similarly, the development and recording of recipes serves to locate women in culinary and social practice, and highlights ties to past female ancestors as recipes are attributed and modified. In this book Theophano demonstrates the interrelated practices of identity construction, food processing and culinary and social meaning-making in women's lives.
CNA-Sponsored Papers and Sessions for AAA
2002 Meetings in New Orleans, LA
The theme for this year's meetings is 'Future Worlds: Imaginable or Unimaginable'. It is critical that all session and paper proposals be sent by early March to CNA Program Chair Leslie Carlin at: Department of Diabetes Medicine and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, The Medical School, U of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, England; +44 (191) 222-5871; fax +44 (191) 222-0723; L.E.Carlin@newcastle.ac.uk.
Nutritional Anthropology
Nutritional Anthropology is the peer reviewed publication of the Council on Nutritional Anthropology. We invite submissions of articles, research reports, book reviews, or notices of member news to Miriam Chaiken, Editor. She can be reached by email at chaiken@iup.edu or by mail at: Dept. of Anthropology - G12 McElhaney Hall - 441 North Walk - IUP - Indiana PA 15705.
Food Web Site of the Month
The United Nations System's Forum on Nutrition, Sub-Committee on Nutrition has a web-site that has links to current food security, nutrition research, and UN publications. The quarterly newsletters provide wide-ranging educational opportunities. http://acc.unsystem.org/scn/
April 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
By CNA President David Himmelgreen (U of South Florida)
Hot soup on a campfire under a bridge. Shelter line stretchin' round the corner. Welcome to the new world order. Families sleepin' in their cars in the Southwest. No home, no job, no peace, no rest (Bruce Springsteen, 'The Ghost of Tom Joad,' 1995)
Even before the tragic events of September 11, hunger and food insecurity were on the rise in the US. Today, the attacks along with an economy in recession, cuts in government programs, rising housing costs, and low paying jobs are responsible for the spike in reported cases of hunger and homelessness. In New York City for example, 71% of the city's emergency food programs reported an increase in demand for meals since September 11 (New York City Coalition Against Hunger 2001). Working families, seniors, and immigrants make up large segment of those seeking emergency food assistance. Since October, 79,000 jobs have been lost in NYC and many of these were among low-wage workers. Of course, this phenomenon is not unique to NYC but is also spreading throughout the country, especially in areas dependent upon tourism. In Florida, where I live, hotel and theme park workers have been especially hard hit. In my own research among recent immigrants, I've heard stories of frustration over the loss of jobs, concern about not having enough money for food, and even talk of going back home because of uncertainty over job-security and fear of new terrorist attacks.
It's critically important for those of us that do research on hunger and food insecurity to carefully document the problem over the next few years and to make sure that our findings to not fall on deaf ears. As the economy tosses and turns and the nation's attention is focused on the battle against terrorism, there is a strong likelihood that more and more people will fall through the cracks. Our vigilance and visibility is critical in the fight against hunger and food insecurity.
New York City Coalition Against Hunger (2001) From Bad to Worse: World Trade Center Attack Further Accelerated NYC Hunger Growth, www.nyccah.org
Food and Culture News
Marion Nestle's new book Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health has just been published. Nestle vividly illustrates food politics and food competition in action: watered-down government dietary advice, schools pushing soft drinks, and diet supplements promoted as if they were First Amendment rights. It's destined to be a big hit in nutrition and food and culture classes.
Upcoming Food and Culture Meetings
The Association for the study of Food and Society ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS) are sponsoring 'The City in a Garden: Producing and Consuming Food in the New Millennium' Thursday, June 13 - Sunday, June 16, 2002 in Chicago
The joint annual meetings bring together two multidisciplinary professional and scholarly societies for the purpose of broadly discussing contemporary issues relating to food, eating, dietary, and nutritional behaviors; food and agricultural practices; public policies toward food and agriculture; and the history, philosophy, social institutions, and values which underlie
them. Please direct questions regarding the conference program to food@wppost.depaul.edu.
The 114th Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society will be held in Rochester, New York, from October 16-20, 2002. Image, Object, and Processes of Documentation is the theme. Papers on food are encouraged. The deadline for submissions of all proposal materials for the 2002 Annual Meeting is April 15, 2002. Submissions may be made online through the AFS website (www.afsnet.org/annualmeet), or by mail to the Society's business office (AFS 2002 Annual Meeting, 4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 640, Arlington, VA 22203).
Monthly Photo Contest
The theme for the AN photo contest for September 2002 is The Harvest. This is a topic that CNA members should be able to cover easily! Submissions to AN must be made by July 17, 2002. Photographs and other graphics may be submitted in print or slide format, and the AN will scan them. However, digital files are preferable and should be supplied in TIFF, EPS, or Photoshop format. Please send PC-compatible formats to Stacy Lathrop, slathrop@aaanet.org.
Food Web Site of the Month
Find out what's happening with food security in NYC after 9/11: www.nyccah.org
May 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
A Message from CNA President David Himmelgreen
(U of South Florida)
In March, the Society for Applied Anthropology held its 62nd Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The theme of the conference was 'Environment & Health in the New Millennium.' There were several interesting sessions on nutrition, including a CNA sponsored one on 'Contemporary Issues in Food Policy and Globalization' which was organized by Mirium Chaiken, CNA Vice-President. Talks were given by Dan Sellen (food security among refugees in the U.K.), Laura Kramer (food consumption patterns among university students), Miriam Chaiken (insights into dealing with under-nutrition), Lisa Markowitz (food security and small ruminant producers), and David Himmelgreen (the intersection of HIV/AIDS and food security). These presentations were well received and were followed by an interesting discussion with the audience.
Increasingly, CNA members are attending and presenting papers at other conferences within and outside of the discipline. In doing so, we are continuing to build bridges that will foster interdisciplinary collaborations. I believe that science in the new millennium will be marked by these efforts and that traditional barriers that hampered interdisciplinary research will come crashing down. Anthropology, with its holistic approach, is well positioned to take a major role in building these bridges. I encourage our members to organize CNA sessions at other meetings within and outside the discipline. I will do whatever I can to support those efforts. If you would like to discuss the ways in which the CNA can help you, please get in touch with me at dhimmelg@chuma1.cas.usf.edu. Hope you have a great summer!
Council News
The Executive Committee has appointed Dan Sellen to be the Chair of the Curriculum and Research Committee, 2001-2003. This is in keeping with the changes in the bylaws approved by the membership in 2001, which changed a number of positions from elected to appointed. Dr. Sellen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Emory University and is a biological anthropologist specializing in nutrition, patterns of fertility, and the evolution and current diversity of young child feeding and care-giving practices.
2002 Christine Wilson Awards
The Council on Nutritional Anthropology is seeking submissions for the Christine Wilson Awards. The awards, which are given to outstanding undergraduate and graduate papers in nutritional anthropology, will be presented at the CNA Business Meeting during the 2002 AAA Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Students will receive a year's membership in CNA including a year's subscription to Nutritional Anthropology. Papers must be submitted in triplicate, and are to be no longer than 20 pages text, double-spaced, standard margins and font size. Bibliography, tables and figures are additional to the 20-page limit. Submit to: Daniel W. Sellen, Ph.D.; Dept. Anthropology, Emory University, 1557 Pierce Dr. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Phone: 404 727 4777; Fax: 404 727 2860; dsellen@emory.edu
Monthly Photo Contest
The theme for the AN photo contest for September 2002 is The Harvest. This is a topic that CNA members should be able to cover easily! Submissions to AN must be made by July 17, 2002. Photographs and other graphics may be submitted in print or slide format, and the AN will scan them. However, digital files are preferable and should be supplied in TIFF, EPS, or Photoshop format. Please send PC-compatible formats to Stacy Lathrop, slathrop@aaanet.org.
Nutritional Anthropology
Nutritional Anthropology is the peer reviewed publication of the Council on Nutritional Anthropology. We invite submissions of articles, research reports, book reviews, or notices of member news to Miriam Chaiken, Editor. She can be reached by email at chaiken@iup.edu or by mail at: Dept. of Anthropology - G12 McElhaney Hall - 441 North Walk - IUP - Indiana PA 15705.
Food Web Site of the Month
Slow Food International is an organization dedicated to the preservation of local foodways, enjoyment of food, food production education, and ecological farming. Organized into local groups, or convivia, members explore food history, systems of taste, and support and utilize locally grown produce and farm products. The website includes tips on regional markets, products, and restaurants all over Europe and the USA. Just in time for your summer vacation...... www.slowfood.com
September 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
By CNA President David Himmelgreen
(U of South Florida)
Hot soup on a campfire under a bridge. Shelter line stretchin' round the corner. Welcome to the new world order. Families sleepin' in their cars in the Southwest. No home, no job, no peace, no rest (Bruce Springsteen, 'The Ghost of Tom Joad,' 1995)
Even before the tragic events of September 11, hunger and food insecurity were on the rise in the US. Today, the attacks along with an economy in recession, cuts in government programs, rising housing costs, and low paying jobs are responsible for the spike in reported cases of hunger and homelessness. In New York City for example, 71% of the city's emergency food programs reported an increase in demand for meals since September 11 (New York City Coalition Against Hunger 2001). Working families, seniors, and immigrants make up large segment of those seeking emergency food assistance. Since October, 79,000 jobs have been lost in NYC and many of these were among low-wage workers. Of course, this phenomenon is not unique to NYC but is also spreading throughout the country, especially in areas dependent upon tourism. In Florida, where I live, hotel and theme park workers have been especially hard hit. In my own research among recent immigrants, I've heard stories of frustration over the loss of jobs, concern about not having enough money for food, and even talk of going back home because of uncertainty over job-security and fear of new terrorist attacks.
It's critically important for those of us that do research on hunger and food insecurity to carefully document the problem over the next few years and to make sure that our findings to not fall on deaf ears. As the economy tosses and turns and the nation's attention is focused on the battle against terrorism, there is a strong likelihood that more and more people will fall through the cracks. Our vigilance and visibility is critical in the fight against hunger and food insecurity.
New York City Coalition Against Hunger (2001) From Bad to Worse: World Trade Center Attack Further Accelerated NYC Hunger Growth, www.nyccah.org
Food and Culture News
Marion Nestle's new book Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health has just been published. Nestle reveals how food competition really works and how it affects our health, because making food is very big business. Nestle vividly illustrates food politics in action: watered-down government dietary advice, schools pushing soft drinks, diet supplements promoted as if they were First Amendment rights. It's destined to be a big hit in nutrition and food and culture classes.
Upcoming Food and Culture Meetings
The Association for the study of Food and Society ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS) are sponsoring 'The City in a Garden: Producing and Consuming Food in the New Millennium' Thursday, June 13 - Sunday, June 16, 2002 in Chicago
The joint annual meetings bring together two multidisciplinary professional and scholarly societies for the purpose of broadly discussing contemporary issues relating to food, eating, dietary, and nutritional behaviors; food and agricultural practices; public policies toward food and agriculture; and the history, philosophy, social institutions, and values which underlie
them. Please direct questions regarding the conference program to food@wppost.depaul.edu.
The 114th Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society will be held in Rochester, New York, from October 16-20, 2002. Image, Object, and Processes of Documentation is the theme. Papers on food are encouraged. The deadline for submissions of all proposal materials for the 2002 Annual Meeting is April 15, 2002. Submissions may be made online through the AFS website (www.afsnet.org/annualmeet), or by mail to the Society's business office (AFS 2002 Annual Meeting, 4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 640, Arlington, VA 22203).
Monthly Photo Contest
The theme for the AN photo contest for September 2002 is The Harvest. This is a topic that CNA members should be able to cover easily! Submissions to AN must be made by July 17, 2002. Photographs and other graphics may be submitted in print or slide format, and the AN will scan them. However, digital files are preferable and should be supplied in TIFF, EPS, or Photoshop format. Please send PC-compatible formats to Stacy Lathrop, slathrop@aaanet.org.
Food Web Site of the Month
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science. http://nccam.nih.gov/
October 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
A Message from CNA President David Himmelgreen
(U of South Florida)
Welcome back everyone! I hope that you had a good summer and that the new semester is going smoothly. During this past summer, I had the opportunity participate in the 'Community Health in a Global Context' field school in beautiful Monteverde, Costa Rica. Working together with the Monteverde Institute, faculty from the University of Chicago-Illinois and the University of South Florida, trained 24 upper-level undergraduate and graduate students to conduct community-based research with a focus on the effects of globalization on health. Students conducted research on topics ranging from occupational health to food security and nutritional status. Overall, it was a very rewarding experience and I look forward to reporting more on what our student found in future issues of AN.
Since last spring the CNA officers have been very busy putting together a new budget, the program for the AAA annual meeting, working on growing the membership, and further enhancing the reputation of Nutritional Anthropology, the official peer-reviewed journal of the CNA which is published bi-annually. Here are some of the highlights from the last few months as well as upcoming events.
_ CNA membership has grown to 217 since last December when it was 200
_ the spring Nutritional Anthropology had the most pages (43) ever
_ the CNA brochures are being reprinted and we are working on a portable display to
showcase the CNA and its members
_ Exciting sessions are planned for the 2002 including one on 'The Future of Food
Studies in Anthropology'
_ The distinguished speaker for the 2002 AAA will be Katherine Dettwyler and a
catered reception will follow Dr. Dettwyler's talk
These are just a few of the highlights and activities from the CNA. I want to thank all of our officers for their hard work over the last months and look forward to your participation in the CNA during the upcoming year!
2002 Christine Wilson Awards
The Council on Nutritional Anthropology is seeking submissions for the Christine Wilson Awards. The awards, which are given to outstanding undergraduate and graduate papers in nutritional anthropology, will be presented at the CNA Business Meeting during the 2002 AAA Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Students will receive a year's membership in CNA including a year's subscription to Nutritional Anthropology. Papers must be submitted in triplicate, and are to be no longer than 20 pages text, double-spaced, standard margins and font size. Bibliography, tables and figures are additional to the 20-page limit. Submit to: Daniel W. Sellen, Ph.D.; Dept. Anthropology, Emory University, 1557 Pierce Dr. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Phone: 404 727 4777; Fax: 404 727 2860; dsellen@emory.edu
Nutritional Anthropology
Nutritional Anthropology is the peer reviewed publication of the Council on Nutritional Anthropology. We invite submissions of articles, research reports, book reviews, or notices of member news to Miriam Chaiken, Editor. She can be reached by email at chaiken@iup.edu or by mail at: Dept. of Anthropology - G12 McElhaney Hall - 441 North Walk - IUP - Indiana PA 15705.
Food Web Site of the Month
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit North American organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all people. CFSC seeks to develop self-reliance among communities in obtaining food and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available, and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy, and sustainability.
http://www.foodsecurity.org/index.html
November 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
A Message from CNA President David Himmelgreen
Well, it's that time of the year again, the AAA Annual Meeting is just around the corner and the CNA is dishing-up a delicious jambalaya of sessions and events for all of the anthropology food and nutrition junkies visiting 'The Big Easy'. Whether you like food studies or micronutrients, there is something for everyone at this year's meeting. In addition to a healthy portion of papers, we will hold our Business Meeting on Wednesday night from 6:15 to 7:30. This will be followed by the 2002 CNA Distinguished Speaker talk which will be given by Katherine Dettwyler, which promises to be intellectually satisfying. A reception in honor of Dr. Dettwyler will be held after the talk and all CNA members are invited to nourish themselves on assorted tasty delights including Creole antipasti. Looking forward to seeing you in New Orleans!
Distinguished Speaker Talk
The Distinguished Speaker talk and reception will take place in room Burgundy D on the fourth floor of the conference hotel from 7:30 until 8:45 PM Thursday, November 21st. Katherine Dettwyler's talk is titled "Bogin's Concept of "Childhood" as a New and Unique Stage of Human Life History: Biological Reality, Secular Trend, or Cultural Artifact?" and the author has provided the following abstract: Barry Bogin has been saying for a while that humans have this new stage of pre-adult growth, which he calls 'childhood' that is unique to humans, and comes from humans weaning at age 3, but needing supplemental food until age 6-7 from adults -- but not necessarily their mother. Many people have used his ideas to support the Grandmother hypothesis, and his views have found their way into most introductory physical anthropology textbooks. The problem is that there isn't any evidence to suggest that humans would naturally wean at age 3 -- I'll talk about my own work that suggests 6-7 is still the 'normal/natural' age of weaning for modern humans, and that 'childhood' -- where it exists -- is a cultural artifact, not a biological change in humans compared to other primates.
AAA 2002 Meeting News: CNA-Sponsored Sessions
CNA is sponsoring one invited session and three volunteered sessions this year. The invited session is NUTRITION AND HEALTH CHALLENGES FOR THE NEW CENTURY: ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO MICRONUTRIENT RESEARCH AMONG HUMAN POPULATIONS, organized by Kristen Borre and Margaret Bentley, and the volunteered sessions include THE FUTURE OF FOOD STUDIES IN ANTHROPOLOGY, organized by Barrett Brenton and Solomon Katz, INFLUENCES ON FOOD CHOICE, FEEDING AND DIET IN THE 21ST CENTURY, organized by Daniel Sellen and NEW IDEAS AND PRACTICES IN NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY, organized by Susan Johnston. Please check the AAA meeting schedule for times and locations.
Kristen Borre and Margaret Bentley would like others who have interests in micronutrient research and/or applied nutrition problems and interventions concerning micronutrients to join for an open discussion at the end of their session. They would like this scheduled time to involve discussion from other anthropologists to help stimulate creative projects and build relationships among participants.
Discussion on Nutrition and Food Education
Your CNA contributing editor invites those with an interest in community and/or school-based food and nutrition education to meet for an informal gathering at the meetings. If you're interested please contact me at the address below.
Funding Announcement
David Himmelgreen has received funding for the community outreach and health project 'New Life, Good Health.' Partnering with the Center for Family Health and the Hispanic Services Council, the project holds farmers markets and offers nutrition education and health and social services to the Tampa, FL community, including economically disadvantaged Hispanic families and recent immigrants. One of the major goals of this project is to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables and community services. This project will be running through 2004 and is being funded by the Allegany Franciscan Foundation, the Area Health Education Center at the University of South Florida, and the Children's Board of Hillsborough County.
December 2002
COUNCIL ON NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Janet Chrzan, Contributing Editor
A Message from CNA President David Himmelgreen
(U of South Florida)
The percentage of U.S. households living in poverty has increased between 2000 and 2001, according to the Census Bureau. Today, 11.7% of households or 32.9 million people live below the poverty threshold and 13.4 million Americans (4.8%) are living in extreme poverty (FRAC 2002). Interestingly, the increase in poverty is mostly affecting the South and white households. Considering the current state of the economy and the emphasis on war with Iraq, this situation is likely to worsen before getting any better. Associated with these somber statistics are an increasing number of requests for food assistance. For example, there has been a high demand for food from Colorado food banks, yet the supplies are dwindling in the face of the down-turned economy (Denver Post 2002). Not only are unemployed workers facing food insecurity and hunger but so are the working poor. Households are finding it more difficult to make ends meet as incomes flatten and the cost of living increases. The choice over whether there is enough money to pay rent or buy food is very real, and this problem is felt in many places throughout the country such as New York and Tampa, where I live and work. Although the concerns over terrorism are considerable, so is the problem of hunger. As I have mentioned before, anthropologists have a role to play in monitoring the plight of the poor and advocating on their behalf through our research.
Since this is my last column as president of the CNA, I want to thank all of the members for giving me the opportunity to work for such a dynamic and vital section unit of the AAA. I want to thank our board members, which include Barry Brenton, Miriam Chaiken, Denise Lewis, Leslie Carlin, Thoric Cederstrom, Janet Chrzan, Dan Sellen, and Susan Johnston. In particular, I want to congratulate Miriam for doing an excellent job as editor of Nutritional Anthropology. Our journal is much bigger now and includes more cutting edge research articles and book reviews. The journal is an important vehicle through which section information is disseminated. Congratulations also to Leslie for her work as chair of the program committee. Not only do we have record number of sponsored sessions and papers at the AAA meetings in New Orleans, but also a talk by Katherine Dettwyler (part of the distinguished speakers series) and reception. My best wishes to Barry Brenton, incoming CNA president, and to the new board members that will be taking over the reigns next year. I am certain that our small but vital group will continue to make great strides in advancing nutritional anthropology.
What our members are doing
Denise C. Lewis (University of Kentucky), through funding from a Thomas P. Rogers Endowment, conducted research over the summer on the relationship between diet and diabetes as understood by a group of Khmer refugee elders who reside in the United States. She found that elders tend to avoid 'sugar' but often do not recognize the influence of high carbohydrate foods (e.g., sweetened beverages, fruit juice, rice, noodles, etc.) on blood glucose levels. She is in the process of translating information regarding diet and diabetes into Khmer and constructing a Khmer food pyramid for distribution within the community in which she conducts her research.
Food Web Site of the Month
The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger (www.hungercoalition.org) is a not-for-profit agency that brings together community-based emergency food providers, public health and social service professionals, faith-based volunteers, students, and other concerned individuals to address hunger and food insecurity in Southeastern Pennsylvania. I highlight them this month because, in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania's Fox Leadership Program, they have just begun a unique food stamp outreach program using community volunteers and students to pre-screen potential recipients in the Philadelphia neighborhoods that have the greatest numbers of food-insecure households. It's a program that could be replicated in other cities and rural areas where people are hungry yet have difficulties gaining access to food stamp offices, or need help with the necessary paperwork.
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