The Serious Side of Food: A Reading and Discussion Program

Join facilitator Lavada Nahon and staff from Shaker Heritage Society for a monthly book club all about food.

This is a six-part monthly book club all about food. We will meet at 6 pm at the Meeting House on  January 18th, February 15th, March 15th, April 19th, May 17th, and June 21st.

Together, we will explore the history, politics, economics, and social nuances of food in America. What do we eat and why? Who controls the production of food and at what cost? What do we mean when we talk about eating “responsibly”? Is our modern ideal of clean living just a mirror of 19th century trends?

Books:

• The Road to Wellville, T. Coraghessan Boyle
• In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
• The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
• Food Politics, Marion Nestle
• Diet for a Small Planet, Frances Moore Lappé
• The Third Plate, Dan Barber

Join the conversation! Please plan on attending all sessions. A limited number of copies of each book will be available on loan to registered participants.

About the facilitator:

A culinary historian, interpreter and editor, Lavada Nahon is currently the Interpreter of African American History for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Nahon’s scholarship encompasses Dutch, British, French and African culinary traditions in the Mid Atlantic spanning the 17th-19th centuries. Her work is focused in particular on the lives and work of enslaved cooks in the homes of the elite class.

Register via Eventbrite. Registration is free but limited to 20 people.

This program is made possible with funding from Humanities New York

Category: Lectures