September 23, 2010

UCSB Sustainability Champion Program to Present Symposium on Localizing Santa Barbara County Food System

George Foulsham

David Cleveland, a professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Barbara, will wrap up his inaugural term as UCSB's Sustainability Champion by presenting a symposium on localizing the Santa Barbara County food system.

The symposium, featuring Cleveland's speech titled "Sustainability: More Greenwash or the Key to Our Future? The Example of Localizing the Santa Barbara County Food System," will be held Oct. 5 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. in Corwin Pavilion on the UCSB campus. The session is free and open to the public.

The symposium is the culmination of the first year of the UCSB Sustainability Champion Program, which was created to recognize faculty innovation at UCSB and to encourage ongoing research and teaching in sustainability on campus and in the community.

Under Cleveland's direction, a team of UCSB undergraduate students spent the past year researching the Santa Barbara County food system. They learned that, while the county produces an abundance of fruits and vegetables, much of the produce consumed by residents of the county is imported, which contributes to food insecurity and global warming.

"We also found that many people are working to localize the system as a way to make it more sustainable," Cleveland added, "often successfully overcoming skepticism and institutional obstacles. But what effect will this localization have? How can the concept of sustainability be put to work for localization?"

Cleveland's speech will be followed by an edible demonstration of the local food system. The symposium will also include the introduction of the 2010-11 Sustainability Champion, Eric Matthys, professor of mechanical engineering, and an announcement of the inaugural year of the Chancellor's Sustainability Internship Program. The Sustainability Champion is sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and The Green Initiative Fund.

KCSB, the campus radio station (FM 91.9), will record the lecture and air it later as part of the station's Santa Barbara Lectures series.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.