NCCROW Summer Institute on Gender, Disasters, and Development

Food is a basic need, but its place in health and culture is complex, multidimensional and constantly evolving. Food production and preparation also have consistently been associated with gender role differentiation in history. These practices historically have cemented family and community cohesion.

Food centrality to health and culture is undeniable, yet in the world of globalization and rapidly transforming gender roles, the bio-social importance of food has been overlooked, giving rise to nutritional problems and the decline of cultural practices around food.

The purpose of this course is to explore the complex relations among recent change in food systems, evolving gender roles, food security in developed as well as in developing countries, and to analyze the sustainability of key patterns of current models of development in relations with food.

More specifically, the course objectives include:
*Review current highlights and controversies in food and nutrition science
*Understand how globalization affects food systems locally and impacts on food security
*Review the history of food in culture and its relationship to gender roles
*Explore modern initiatives to strengthen healthy eating and food-culture
*Develop practical skills in food production and preparation, as well as in media communication