Tomorrow (Thursday, January 29th), members of the UC community and the public are invited to join Sustainability@UC Week for a series of events bringing together students, researchers, community partners, and keynote speaker Dr. Teresa Mares.
From 5:00-6:30pm, join us in Clifton Court Hall (University of Cincinnati, 2800 Clifton Ave) for a Sustainability Showcase, featuring student research, community partners from around Cincinnati, and various UC sustainability organizations and clubs. Learn about sustainability efforts in Cincinnati, network with passionate people, and find out how to get involved! This event will be catered.
Afterwards, from 6:30-7:15pm, celebrate members of the UC community who are advancing academic excellence, urban impact, and innovation in sustainability with the Sustainability Awards, sponsored by the Office of Sustainability.
Finally, from 7:30-9:00pm, Sustainability@UC Week is proud to present our public keynote, Biting the Hands that Feed US: Labor and Social Sustainability in the Food System, by Dr. Teresa Mares. This keynote is sponsored by the School of Environment and Sustainability (SEaS) and the Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS). All are welcome!
Talk Description: Consumers are increasingly concerned with what goes into their food and are demanding a healthier and more ecologically focused food system. However, labor is rarely part of the so-called sustainable food discussion. This talk examines the legal, social, and political contexts of labor in the food system, highlighting themes of migration, agrarian exceptionalism, and racial and gendered inequality. Stretching from dairy farms in Vermont to superstores around the country, today’s food and farmworkers are on the frontlines. Given that their work is essential to a sustainable food system, what will it take to bring dignity to their lives and labor?
Bio: Teresa Mares is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, where she has been a faculty member since 2011. She is also affiliated faculty with the Graduate Program in Food Systems. For the past two decades, Dr. Mares has been conducting ethnographic research on topics related to food security, immigration, labor, and food justice, both in the Pacific Northwest and in New England. She is the author of Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont (UC Press 2019) and co-author of Will Work for Food: Labor Across the Food Chain (UC Press 2025).Â
All of these events will take place in Clifton Court Hall (University of Cincinnati, 2800 Clifton Ave) on Thursday, January 29th. All are welcome to attend – please spread the word, and register here!
Questions? Email engagingscience@uc.edu.
