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Everyone needs to eat, but what we eat and how we prepare it is driven by culture and availability. The National Agricultural Library is hosting a three-part webinar series to explore the intersection between food and culture, as a bridge to learning about world cultures. Along the way, we hope to inspire the audience to try new flavors and rice recipes.
Reading Lists: Wild Rice | Cookbooks and Recipes | Rice Production
The events were live-stream captioned. They were not recorded.
Friday, July 24, 2020 – Rice in Global Cuisines (Webinar #1)
1:30 to 3:00 pm ET
Program
Paul Wester, Director of the National Agricultural Library, with a welcome and series introduction
Dr. David Shields, University of South Carolina, prominent food historian and author of Southern Provisions; the Creation and Revival of a Cuisine
Panel of chefs will share how rice and food are used to express culture and cultural exchange:
- Chefs Iman Alshehab, and Aishah Alfadhalah, of the Mera Kitchen Collective – a worker-owned cooperative that empowers refugee and immigrant women through food – hosting cooking classes and pop-up events
- Chef Jocelyn from the Washington, D.C. restaurant Thamee – pioneering the next generation of Burmese culinary traditions
- Chef Hannah Noltemeyer – a personal chef who traces her roots to the bayous of Mobile, Alabama and the ancient traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains
A Gift to You from the Collections of the National Agricultural Library
University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “Cowboy Beans and Rice.” Edu. University of Maine Cooperative Extension, n.d. https://extension.umaine.edu/food-health/recipes/cowboy-beans-rice.
Friday, July 31, 2020 – Exploring Black America Food Culture and Historical Legacies (Webinar #2)
1:30 to 2:30 pm ET
Program
Paul Wester, Director of the National Agricultural Library, with a welcome and session introduction
Dr. Ezra Kahn, Technical Information Specialist, a leading expert in managing open data projects, informatics, metadata workflows and community building in the life cycle assessment arena. Dr. Kahn presents a report on the Edward Ball book, “Slaves in the Family”
Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, presenting the keynote, Dr. Forson is from the University of Maryland, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of American Studies; affiliate faculty member of the Theatre, Dance, and Performing Studies; the Departments of Anthropology, African American Studies, Women’s Studies and the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity. Her research explores the ways in which Black people engage their material worlds, especially with food and food cultures.
A Gift to You from the Collections of the National Agricultural Library
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Almond Rice Pilaf.” Unl.edu. University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension, USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP and Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). 2020. https://food.unl.edu/recipe/almond-rice-pilaf
Friday, August 7, 2020 – Rice How it Evolved Through International Collaborations (Webinar #3)
1:30 to 2:30 pm ET
Program
Paul Wester, Director of the National Agricultural Library (NAL) with a welcome and session introduction
Marcia Greenblum, MS, RDN Technical Information Specialist with the Food and Nutrition Information Center, NAL. As a registered dietitian, Marcia will discuss why this series chose rice as its focal point.
Susan McCouch, Cornell University, Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2018 elected to the National Academies of Science. Dr. McCouch spent five years at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines prior to joining the faculty at Cornell. She published the first molecular map of the rice genome in 1988. Her research interests center on understanding the process of rice domestication and examining how rice diversity is partitioned genetically and distributed geographically with an eye to enhance plant performance in agriculture. Dr. McCouch will explore how rice breeding works around the world, she will help to debunk myths about rice and its production, with a peek at issues related to poverty, and environmental impacts of rice production.
Psyche Williams-Forson, University of Maryland, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of American Studies; affiliate faculty member of the Theatre, Dance, and Performing Studies; the Departments of Anthropology, African American Studies, Women’s Studies and the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity. Her research explores the ways in which Black people engage their material worlds, especially with food and food cultures. Dr. Williams-Forson provides an encore of her tour de force presentation on Black American foodways related to rice.
A Gift to You from the Collections of the National Agricultural Library
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Brown Rice Pancakes.” Edu. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, n.d. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/brown-rice-pancakes/ .