Film on Food for Extra Credit

I found one final extra credit opportunity.

It's off-campus, and it's not free, but I encourage you to go see this film at the High Falls Film Festival about industrially-produced food. Plus, attending the film festival is a way of participating in Rochester's rich cultural life, centered on imaging and film.

FOOD, INC
Friday, May 15, 2009 6:30 PM
Little Theatre - Little 5

Documentary, US, 2008, 93 minutes
Director/Producer: Robert Kenner
Producer: Elise Pearlstein
Featuring: Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser

The processing of the food we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous ten thousand. That’s a direct quote from FOOD INC., and if it doesn’t make you stop and think, the rest of this revealing and disturbing documentary will. Filmmaker Robert Kenner exposes how the food industry, controlled by a handful of corporations, and with the consent of regulatory agencies, often puts profits ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers, and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, and tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli, widespread childhood obesity, and an epidemic level of diabetes. Featuring interviews with experts like Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg, FOOD, INC. is the real “naked lunch,” the truth about what we do three times a day, told with elegance and verve.

Update: The schedule for the High Falls Film Festival also lists a movie called RIP: A Remix Manifesto showing at RIT on Friday, May 15 at 7:15. But I've been unable to find out more information about it. I would count attendance at this film for extra credit, provided that in your write-up you connect it to some of the themes in the course or in the book Deep Economy, such as support for local creative endeavors.

RIT Sustainability Conference

For more extra credit opportunities, there is a conference on philosophy and sustainability this Friday. Most of the presentations will consist of interviews with environmental philosophers or other academics who have taken a stand on the ethics of handling environmental problems. The conference runs all day, and attendance at any one of the presentations (plus a summary and critique) can be used for extra credit.

Friday, May 1st, Carlson Auditorium

8:45-9 Opening Remarks

9-10 Braden Allenby (Lincoln Professor of Engineering & Ethics, Arizona State University)

10-11 Bryan Norton (Distinguished Professor in Public Policy at Georgia Tech)

11-12 David Orr (Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics,
Oberlin College)

1-2 Paul Thompson (W. K. Kellog Chair in Agricultural, Food, & Community Ethics,
Michigan State University)

2-3 William Shutkin (Director, Initiative for Sustainable Development and Chair in
Sustainable Development, University of Colorado at Boulder)

3-4 Panel of Commentators, Moderator: Robert Ulin, Dean, Liberal Arts
Randall Curren (University of Rochester), Sarah Pralle (Syracuse University), and
Erin Taylor (Cornell University)

4-5:30 Panel of Presenters, Moderator, Jeremy Haefner, Provost
Braden Allenby, Bryan Norton, David Orr, Paul Thompson, & William Shutkin

These presentations are free and open to all.
Directors: Ryne Raffaelle, Wade Robison, Evan Selinger
For details go to http://www.rit.edu/cla/ethics/Sustainability.html

More extra credit opportunities

These are from SEAL (Student Environmental Action League), a campus organization.
This is Earth week, and Earth Day is Wednesday.
Either of the lectures could be used for extra credit in this course (see the syllabus).

Thursday 4/23:
Speaker - SEAL has brought in Jim Tappon from the Climate Project to speak in the library's Idea Factory from 6pm to about 7pm.
"Who Killed the Electric Car?" Showing - SEAL is co-sponsoring a showing of the film as part of CAB's Thursday Night Cinema Series. The movie starts at 10pm in the SAU Cafeteria.

Friday 4/24:
University of Rochester Speaker - Stephen Schneider from Stanford University will be talking at U of R on climate change and sustainability, starting at 3pm in Hutchison Hall Lander Auditorium. If you are interested in attending, please let us know (sealwww@rit.edu), and also if you would be willing to drive. We are currently planning on meeting by the Sentinel at 2:15pm and leaving shortly after that to attend the event.

Lectures and Extra Credit

In the syllabus, I note that

You may replace one missed commentary or add 10 points to an outline grade by attending a philosophy lecture or another relevant public lecture.

There is a lecture [tomorrow evening] next week that would be relevant:

Rochester Committee for Scientific Information Annual Meeting

Thursday, April 23, 2009,
7:00 PM

Rochester Institute of Technology
Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science
Building 76 – Room 1125

“Critical Issues In Climate Change Research”

Presented by Dr. Benjamin Laabs
Assistant Professor
Department of Geological Sciences
SUNY Geneseo

Dr. Laabs will discuss how new challenges in climate-change research will help to improve the understanding of the Earth climate system.

Co-sponsored by the RIT Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy

In addition, Shirag had a great idea. The Innovation Festival on May 2 will feature a number of sustainability exhibits. Anyone who visits the festival, searches out exhibits on environmental sustainability, and describes/evaluates them can also earn extra credit.

The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living

That's what Socrates says, and so presumably the examined life is worth living, and the film Examined Life ought to be worth seeing! It's a documentary about philosophers and despite its small opening has been receiving rave reviews.

At the Dryden Theater this Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 5pm. Eligible for extra credit!

Look out for Peter Singer mentioning the article we'll read during the last week of class, and Slavoj Zizek visiting a garbage dump to talk about environmental responsibility.

Upcoming Events

Here are two book discussion events that are coming up on the calendar. Reading a book and then contributing to a community discussion would be the foundation for a project. These events are open to the public.

Monday, April 13, 7-8:30 pm
Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Rd. in Rochester
— Sierra Club Book Club, a discussion of Van Jones' The Green Collar Economy.

Tuesday, April 14, 12-1 pm
Kate Gleason Auditorium in the Rochester Central Library, 115 South Ave.
— "Books Sandwiched In," a book discussion of Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded, led by RIT public policy professor Anne Howard


Another upcoming event is the "Food Forum" organized by the Sierra Club and involving other local environmental organizations. This might be something to attend, but I can also put you in touch with the organizer if you would like to volunteer, for example by handing out programs at the door.

Thursday, April 16, 5:30-9pm
Earth Day Forum: "Local and Sustainable—Local Food Choices"
Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Rd. in Rochester

The focus of the Environmental Forum is to educate our community that every aspect of environmental wellbeing is touched by how we eat and to help to provide a link to the local options that are available to everyone. Daily dietary choices are some of the most critical decisions that we make as a human population. In our lifetimes, we are directly responsible for what these daily choices do to our planet, our health, and our future generations. Because of this we strive to eat as healthy and environmentally sound as possible.

Philosophy Club

This Friday, March 20th will be
the grand reopening of the Philosophy Club at RIT
from 3-5
in the Idea Factory (first floor, Library).

Anyone is invited, including professors and people with no background.

The topic of discussion will be "What is philosophy?"

Everyone is encouraged to bring anything that they feel will shine a light on this question.

For further information, contact Max Herrera (mjh2455).