Novel Foods: A technological pathway to food system transformation? 14 Feb. 2025

This event will be held in person in Rome and online via Zoom.

For in-person attendance, there is a 30 euro fee to cover lunch & refreshments. 
The fee is discounted to 15 euros for non-AUR students and AUR alumni. Current AUR students do not pay a fee.

For virtual attendance, there is no fee.

Register to attend at the foot of this page.

This symposium is organized

with the patronage of the Research Committee on Sociology of Agriculture and Food (RC40) of the International Sociological Association (ISA) and the International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food (IJSAF) and in collaboration with the Department of Political science of the University of Teramo within the project funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU, Mission 4, Component 1, under the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) National Innovation Ecosystem grant ECS00000041 - VITALITY -  CUP: C43C22000380007

Friday, 14 February 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CET)

The Center for Food Studies of The American University of Rome is hosting a Symposium to continue to explore and showcase research initially presented at the Conference held in Rome in 2023 on “Novel Foods and Novel Food Production: A solution to food systems sustainability?”    A selection of articles is being published as a Special Issue of the International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food. 

Novel foods are understood here as foods created as alternatives to conventional meat, dairy, and fish products, derived from plant tissue, cellular agriculture, and microorganisms. These food product innovations, increasingly independent of their original raw materials, are being promoted by a new generation of food start-ups backed by venture capital, as well as by public investments. The central focus is on producing substitutes for the animal protein food/feed chains since these are seen as the principal source of greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity depletion. In addition, they are increasingly identified with public and private health concerns. These innovations depend heavily on the so-called disruptive technologies of big data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence for the identification of new molecules with precise physical and functional characteristics. They also draw on advances in biotechnology for gene editing, precision fermentation, and cellular cultivation.   

Food security and food sustainability as the key global challenges of a world that combines continued population growth with accelerating urbanization and rapid depletion of natural resources, are claimed as high on the list of motives of food start-ups. To these, heightened sensibilities around animal welfare and the rise of vegetarianism/veganism can be added. The dominant players in the food systems are themselves now investing and exploring these new lines of products. Initially led by U.S. firms and finance capital, the phenomenon has become global with a proliferation of high-tech food hubs, often stimulated through public policies and funding, especially in countries with abundant capital but limited natural resources. 

Early expectations for an exponential growth of these alternative protein markets have been tempered as the various scale-up challenges have become more apparent. Opposition from traditional farming interests, uncertainties on consumer demand, and a mixed reception from the academic world have further nuanced appreciation of the role alternative proteins might play in the consolidation of a sustainable global food system. At the same time, these innovations have become more diffused, and public financing and enabling regulatory frameworks are ensuring continued process and product advances.

Based on the articles of the Special Issue, the Symposium speakers will explore different aspects of this more complex scenario, providing an ideal environment for refining our understanding of the position which alternative proteins might occupy in the global food system as the varied threats to traditional sources of food supply increase and as food demand shifts to regions where these resources are in scarce supply.

Themes and speakers/authors (tbc)

Organizing and Scientific Team

Food Studies Team Members  
Maria Fonte, MA Food Studies Faculty, The American University of Rome, former Associate Professor of Agricultural  Economics, University of Naples Federico II – Naples
Maria Grazia Quieti, Program Director, Master in Food Studies and Coordinator of the Center for Food Studies, The American University of  Rome  
Colin Sage, Independent Research Scholar based in Portugal
Rita Salvatore, Senior Researcher, Teramo University and The American University of Rome
John Wilkinson, Full Professor, Federal Rural University of Rio De Janeiro .

Speakers

Maurizio Balistreri is Associate Professor in Moral Philosophy and Bioethics at the Department of Linguistic and Literary, Historical, Philosophical and Legal Studies (DISTU) at the Tuscia University (Viterbo). He was Chair of the Turin Bioethics Lab and is Editor of the Icaro book series (Fandango). His main research interests include bioethics, applied ethics, robot ethics, and ethics of artificial intelligence. He has published on a variety of topics within bioethics, applied ethics, moral philosophy, and space travel.   His latest books include Il Bambino migliore? Che cosa significa essere genitori responsabili al tempo del genome editing(Fandango, 2022), Superumani. Etica e potenziamento (Espress 2011; 2020), Sex Robot. Love in the Age of Machines (Fandango 2018; Malpaso 2021; Trivent 2022), Il futuro della riproduzione umana (Fandango 2016), and La clonazione umana prima di Dolly(Mimesis 2015). He is also the co-author of Biotecnologie e organismi modificati. Scienza, etica e diritto (Il Mulino 2020).

Amy Bentley (PhD in American Civilization, University of Pennsylvania) is Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University. A 2024-25 NYU Humanities Fellow and 2024 NYU Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, she is a historian with interests in the social, historical, and cultural contexts of food. Books include Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet (2014), (James Beard Award finalist, and ASFS Best Book Award); Eating for Victory: Food Rationing and the Politics of Domesticity (1998); and the co-edited volume Practicing Food Studies (2024). Current projects include a history of food in US hospitals, the cultural contexts of food waste, the role of flavor in human and planetary health, and an assessment of how historians write about food. The former Editor-in-Chief of Food, Culture, and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (2013-2019), Bentley is co-editor of the book series Food in Modern History: Traditions and Innovations (Bloomsbury).

Nancy Chen (Ph.D. Medical Anthropology, UC Berkeley and San Francisco)  teaches on the anthropology of food and medicine at the University of Santa Cruz, California.  Her recent research examines the rise of functional foods across Asia.  She is the author of Food, Medicine, and the Quest for Health as well as Breathing Spaces:  Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China in addition to four co-edited book volumes.  

Louise Manning  is Professor of Sustainable Agri-food Systems at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology, University of Lincoln, UK.   Louise has worked for over 40 years informing strategy, policy, business productivity and efficiency and personal development in the agri-food sector. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers and written/edited multiple books and book chapters. Her recent work focuses specifically on multiple socio-technical aspects of food system transition  

Marina Mefleh, (PhD in Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Sassari and MSc in Clinical Nutrition, American University of Beirut, ). Her work focuses on developing nutritious, sustainable plant-based foods using local protein sources and fermentation techniques. She has also explored ancient and heritage wheats, assessing their biodiversity and suitability for sustainable bread production. Marina has published over 25 scientific articles on topics such as food fermentation, plant-based dairy alternatives, and grain quality under low-input farming systems. She has also worked as a nutritionist in Beirut and currently advises the bakery and farming industries. She is a member of the Italian Society for Food Science and Technology and serves on the Cereals & Grains Association’s Book Acquisitions Committee. 

Donald (Diego) Rose (PhD, Agricultural Economics and MPH, Public health nutrition, University of California, Berkeley) is Professor and Director of Nutrition at Tulane University, New Orleans, USA.  His  research explores the social and economic side of nutrition problems, with a focus on nutrition assistance programs, food security, and the food environment. He has studied disparities in access to healthy food in New Orleans and has developed a framework for how the neighborhood retail food environment influences dietary choices. His latest research projects examine the environmental and health impacts of U.S. dietary choices.  Dr. Rose has served as a consultant to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme. He teaches graduate-level courses in population nutrition assessment and food and nutrition policy. Prior to joining the faculty at Tulane, he worked for USDA’s Economic Research Service on domestic food assistance policy and in Mozambique and South Africa on food security and nutrition.  

Colin Sage, independent research scholar, previously at University College Cork and Wye College, University of London and founding Chair of the Cork Food Policy Council.  Visiting research positions at the University of Tasmania and Bergamo,  currently Affiliated Professor with the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto and Visiting Professor at the University of Gastronomic Sciences and The American University of Rome.  He is the author of Environment and Food (Routledge, 2012); editor of A Research Agenda for Food Systems (Elgar, 2022),co-editor of Metaphor, Sustainability, Transformation(Routledge, 2021);  Special Issue on Sustainable Diets of the International Journal of Sociology of Food and Agriculture, , Food System Transformation (Routledge, 2021),  Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Transitions to Sustainability (Routledge, 2017) and Food Transgressions:  Making Sense of Contemporary Food Politics (Routledge, 2016).

Rita Salvatore, (Ph.D.  in Social policies and local development), University of Teramo),  is a Senior researcher with more than 20 years of experience in rural development.   She has been doing research on the role of tourism within Italian protected areas and rural contexts, with special attention to regional products and food.    She has developed a particular interest in the analysis and social planning of sustainable tourism paths, with a particular focus on participative processes and community development. Her most recent research project concerns “new generation agritourism” and the requalification of abandoned villages in fragile areas by young entrepreneurs. 

Domagoj Vrbos currently works for the CGIAR’s Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service (IAES) in Rome, where he holds the position of Senior Manager for Operations and Events. He has a Graduate Degree in Economics from the University of Zagreb (Croatia) and a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the University of Rome La Sapienza (Italy).   Following 15 years of work with international organizations in the agrifood space, Domagoj brings experience from humanitarian, science-based and cooperation standpoints.  Prior to joining CGIAR (and at the time of submission of the paper on novel foods), he was a team leader in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Parma, providing advice on the design, planning and monitoring of EFSA’s communication activities from a social science viewpoint. His recent publications focus on research in areas within the remit of the EU food safety system and the science of risk communication. Before EFSA, Domagoj spent 10 years with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), working as a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and performance and risk management officer in Rome and Bangkok.

John Wilkinson,  (Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Liverpool),  is Full Professor at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His research focuses on the major transformations in the global agrifood system and their impacts for small farming and rural development. He has been a consultant to the OECD, FAO, BID, CEPAL, the European Commission, together with Ministries and Financial Institutions in Brazil and the Southern Cone, and has also carried out research for international ONGs, OXFAM and ACTIONAID among others. His latest book  The Agri-Food System in Question. Innovation, Contestation and New Players has just been published by Bristol University Press.  He is the (co)author of several books, From Farming to Biotechnology; Fair Trade: the challenges of transforming globalization; and O Sabor da Origem, (The Taste of Origin), and many articles in internationally recognised Journals. He has spent periods as invited researcher to the National Institute for Agricultural Research, (INRA) in  Paris, to the University of Santa Cruz, California and to the European Commission. He was the coordinator of the FAO/CFS Report, Biofuels and Food Security in 2013. 

Symposium Coordinator
Susan Kaesz, Graduate Studies Coordinator

Assistant Coordinators
Nina Adams, Graduate Student Assistant, Master in Food Studies
Zach Stock, Graduate Student Assistant, Master in Food Studies