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Food Studies

  • Two students working in the E&H garden

Grow the food needed for a sustainable, better world.

With the Food Studies minor, students learn about the production of food and sustainable agriculture. Students take a hands-on approach at the Emory & Henry Learning Garden where various vegetables and flowers are grown.

The Food Studies program is under the Department of Geography and Earth and Environmental Sciences. The minor incorporates disciplines in environmental sciences, civic innovation and sociology.

Faculty Spotlight

  • <h4 class="lw_blurbs_title"></h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><h2><picture class="lw_image lw_image6049 lw_align_left"><source type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 3x" data-origin="preserved"/><source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 501px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 3x" data-origin="preserved"/><source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 3x" data-origin="preserved"/><source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 501px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 3x" data-origin="preserved"/><source media="(max-width: 500px)" type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(max-width: 500px)" type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/500/height/336/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(min-width: 501px)" type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(min-width: 501px)" type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img alt="Shelley Koch" data-alt="" data-caption="Shelley Koch" src="/live/image/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg" title="Shelley Koch-2" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/38/width/600/height/403/crop/1/src_region/0,640,2136,2073/6049_Shelley_Koch-2.rev.1552061534.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2136" data-max-h="1433" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture>Koch Uncovers the Inequalities of Food</h2><p><strong>Dr. Shelley Koch</strong> has released her third book, Gender and Food: A Critical Look at the Food System. The book looks at different aspects of food and how it is affected by gender inequalities.</p><p><a class="btn-small-blue has-arrow" href="/live/news/735-koch-uncovers-the-inequalities-of-food">Keep reading</a></p></div>

Meet Our Alumni

  • <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1840-adam-taylor"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/535,58,1256,781/3315_Adam_Taylor.rev.1519072284.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/535,58,1256,781/3315_Adam_Taylor.rev.1519072284.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/535,58,1256,781/3315_Adam_Taylor.rev.1519072284.jpg" alt="Adam Taylor" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/535,58,1256,781/3315_Adam_Taylor.rev.1519072284.jpg 2x" data-max-w="721" data-max-h="723" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1840-adam-taylor"><p> Adam Taylor is director of the Catawba Sustainability Center.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Adam Taylor is the manager of the <a href="http://vtrc.vt.edu/Catawba_Sustainability_Center0.html">Catawba Sustainability Center</a>, which is situated on a 377-acre property in the Catawba Valley and is devoted to environmental education activities.</p><p> The center is a collaboration between Outreach and International Affairs, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Roanoke County.</p><p> Adam previously worked at the West Virginia Farmers Market Association, a statewide organization in West Virginia, where he worked to support and grow West Virginia’s local food economy through project development and management, stakeholder outreach, and policy change.</p><p> Adam also carried out a two-year assignment with the Peace Corps as a forestry Extension agent in Zambia and a yearlong internship on the 100-plus-acre organic farm owned by Dr. Stephen Hopp, Environmental Studies instructor at Emory & Henry, and author Barbara Kingsolver. The farm is highlighted in the book <strong><em>Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.</em></strong></p><p> A native of Tazewell, Virginia, Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Emory & Henry College in 2008 and a master’s degree in agriculture from Oklahoma State in 2014.</p><p> One of the projects that Taylor oversees at the Catawba Sustainability Center is a wetlands restoration project, which received a $15,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation.</p><p> The center, in collaboration with Virginia Tech and <a href="http://www.wetlandrestorationandtraining.com/">Wetland Restoration and Training</a>, plans to do three things:</p><ul><li>restore at least three wetlands in an effort to enhance a biologically diverse habitat for sensitive and endangered plant and animal species </li><li>improve water quality of Catawba Creek </li><li>train professionals in wetland design and restoration using techniques that can be replicated to restore wetlands in diverse environments. </li></ul></div><a href="/live/profiles/1840-adam-taylor" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>