Global Food Institute Student Newsletter

GFI recently welcomed full time faculty member Dr. Mya Price to our team! Dr. Price is excited to support students and teach three of our foundational undergraduate courses this Fall semester:

• Introduction to Food Systems

• Global Food Institute First Year Seminar

• World on a Plate

GFI is offering three new undergraduate courses this semester! Spots are still open, and students are able to register for these courses on GWeb.

GFI 1001: Introduction to Food Systems

Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:20-3:45pm (3 credits)

Explore how food is grown, how it gets on your plate, and what happens when you are done. Examine human health and well-being, our impact on the environment, and economic drivers of food production. Gain a glimpse into the complex global food system. Required course for the Food Leadership Minor.

GFI 1002: Global Food Institute First Year Seminar

Mondays, 5:10-6pm (1 credit)

Journey through the complex world of the U.S. food industry. Explore how your dinner plate is connected to commercial farms, bustling food hubs, and global supply chains. Craft innovative solutions to weather economic storms and adapt to climate change. Students may have the opportunity to publish their work from this course. Course counts toward the Humanity pillar of the Food Leadership Minor. Alternatively can count toward the Policy pillar after discussion with Minor advisor.

GFI 3003: Stakeholder Perspectives on Federal Food Policymaking in the U.S.

Wednesdays, 9:35am-12:05pm (3 credits)

Introduction to national level food policymaking emphasizing actors and actions shaping food policies. Includes exploration of timely issues and experiential learning, such as guest speakers, case studies, internships, and advocacy engagement. Fulfills the Policy pillar of the Food Leadership Minor.

The Global Food Institute is seeking a part-time PR and Communication Graduate Assistant to help build our online presence and outreach content. If interested, please apply here by 11:59pm this Wednesday, August 21. Feel free to reach out to globalfoodinstitute@gwu.edu with any questions. 

The Graduate Assistant will work with GFI leadership and our Office of Communications lead to promote GFI activities, faculty and brand to the GW community and broader public. This will include:

• developing engaging informative content for our social media accounts on X, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook

• promoting GFI events on the GW campus to faculty, staff and students through a variety of high impact channels

• supporting our efforts to build a strong GFI community through innovative and engaging communications and activities with our affiliate faculty and students.

Tuesday, August 27, 2024 12-1:30pm

1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 546 (Zoom option available)

Please join the GW Global Food Institute (GFI) for the third of four seminars in the Building System Dynamics Connections (BSDC) Seminar Series! The seminar will take place on Tuesday, August 27th from 12:30-1:30pm (with lunch beforehand from 12-12:30) in 1919 Pennsylvania Ave NW (Rm 546) and virtually. The seminar will cover Foundations of Quantitative Modeling and Analysis.

Please complete this RSVP form for the third seminar by 5pm on Thursday 8/22. We look forward to another engaging session!

Reach out to sydneypryor@gwu.edu with any questions.

Overview of the BSDC Seminar Series: 

The 4 seminars will be held monthly from June to September and serve as an introduction to the foundational concepts of systems thinking and modeling, with applications to food and agricultural systems research. The seminars will be offered in-person at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW with lunch available beforehand, as well as virtually. They will also be recorded for students who cannot attend to access later. Daniel Chen, Caitlin Grady, and Sydney Pryor will lead the sessions. If you missed the previous seminars, you can watch recordings of the first seminar (Intro to Systems Thinking and Causal Loop Diagrams) and the second seminar (Group Model Building and Stakeholder Engagement).

Resources discussed during the seminars can be found in this document. The topics are as follows: 

1) Intro to Systems Thinking and Causal Loop Diagrams (Wed. June 12th recording, slides)

2) Group Model Building and Stakeholder Engagement (Wed. July 24th recording, slides)

3) Foundations of Quantitative Modeling and Analysis (Tues. August 27th; 12-1:30pm)

4) Applications of Systems Modeling to Policy Analysis and Development (September TBD)

Esperanza Ortega-Tapia, GFI Research Assistant, was highlighted in Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s blog! The blog discusses creating a climate-smart and climate-just Farm Bill. 

Have events or information you would like to share with other students? Email us at globalfoodinstitute@gwu.edu and we will consolidate these opportunities to share out with the group. 

If you are new to the Student Newsletter, you can view our previous student newsletter. 

Thank you all for your interest in the Global Food Institute. We look forward to your continued engagement with GFI!

The Global Food Institute Team