UC Berkeley – in collaboration with Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard Project – is offering a course entitled “Edible Education 101: The Rise and Future of the Food Movement.” While enrollment for credit is limited to UC Berkeley students, the entire course will be streamed live on the Edible Schoolyard Project’s YouTube channel, a great way for anyone to participate. The course is slated for Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. PST, beginning Jan. 18. There are a limited number of tickets available for the public, but the first week’s lecture is already “sold out.”
This year’s course leaders are Alice Waters and Will Rosenzweig.
Waters is a Cal alum and the founder of Chez Panisse and The Edible Schoolyard Project. She is regarded as one of the most influential people in the world of food in the past 50 years and is a recipient of many honors, including the 2014 National Humanities Medal, presented by President Obama.
Rosenzweig is a fellow at the Institute for Business and Social Impact at Berkeley Haas, where he has taught Social Entrepreneurship courses since 1999. He is the recipient of the 2010 Oslo Business for Peace Award and in 2016 was named one of seven people shaping the future of food by Bon Appetit magazine.
About the course
The Edible Education 101 course was originally created in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café in Berkeley, California. Alice Waters developed the course in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley. The course has been offered since 2011.
It’s a wide-ranging course that demonstrates the complexity and interlinked nature of the food system, via engaging talks by a diverse group of thought leaders. Past lecture topics have included organic agriculture, school lunch reform, food safety, hunger and food security, farm bill reform, farm-to-school efforts, urban agriculture, food sovereignty and local food economies.
Ann Thrupp, executive director of the UC Berkeley Food Institute, shared these thoughts about the Edible Education program:
“Edible Education is a uniquely Berkeley experience that attracts influential thought leaders in food and agriculture. It brings together students and community members with renowned activists, academics, entrepreneurs and other experts from diverse backgrounds to explore critical issues in food systems.”
To learn more about Edible Education 101 and for live stream information, visit the course website. To learn more about the UC Berkeley Food Institute, click here.