FoodSecurity

An Interdisciplinary Approachto the World Hunger Challenge

MonmouthCOLLEGE®

Food for ThoughtWill the Midwest Hold the Key to Solving Hunger?

Established in 2013, Monmouth College’s Food Security program is the first multidisciplinary academic

venture to emerge from the college’s innovative Triads for Excellence initiative, under which a team of three faculty members from different disciplines is hired to teach, conduct research and raise awareness about an important topical issue of regional, national or international interest.

Consistent with Monmouth’s liberal arts focus, the program takes a “big-picture” view of issues concerning the production and distribution of food, which is quickly emerging as one of the most critical and often controversial topics of our generation.

Food security, which was defined by the 1996 World Food Summit as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life,” will require expertise and resources from a broad range of academic disciplines if it is to be achieved.

Interdisciplinary Faculty Support

The Food Security program is being led by a trio of new faculty members from the disciplines of Economics, Biology and Anthropology/Sociology and augmented by existing faculty from a variety of departments. Examples of multidisciplinary study associated with food security include:

• Economics—Logistical issues with food distribution; impact of government subsidies on farming and biofuels; role of commodity markets on food production.

• Biology—Optimizing the conversion of sunlight into food energy; the nature and implications of genetic modifications of plants; advantages and hazards associated with agrichemicals.

• Anthropology/Sociology—Food as an expression of culture; examination of demographic shifts, changing social mores and practices, and social movements.

Food security has emerged as one of the most critical and often controversial topics of our generation.

Food Security issues, because

of their complexity, do not conform to traditional academic categories. Real progress requires a new level of collaboration among faculty and students in the full range of disciplines on campus.

While the proportion of undernourished people globally decreased from 23.2 percent in 1990-92 to 14.9 percent in 2010-12, this still leaves 870 million people—one in eight worldwide—going hungry.

Students cultivate a row of squash in the Monmouth College

research farm, under development just east of campus.

Monmouth is uniquely suited geographically for discussions of food production and distribution.

Select Food Security CoursesAnthropology 288 – Anthropology of FoodBiochemistry 201 – NutritionBiology 155 – Ecology, Evolution, and DiversityBiology 201 – Field BotanyBiology 307 – EcologyBiology 315 – Conservation BiologyChemistry 101 – Nutrition and Food ChemistryEconomics 360 – International Trade and FinanceEconomics 380 – Environmental EconomicsEnvironmental Science 103 – Intro to Environmental ScienceHistory 120 – Culture and Cuisine: A Social History of TasteHistory 220 – From Apple Pie to Zabaglione: A World History of FoodIntegrated Studies 203 – FoodIntegrated Studies 414 – Land, Food, and Sustainable Agriculture

The Mississippi River, located 15 miles

west of Monmouth, is a primary conduit

for U.S. grain exports, conveyed by barges

to export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico.

Food Security CareersAgribusinessAnthropologistBiotechnologistChemistConservationistEconomistEducatorGenetic ResearcherHealth and MedicineNGOsNutritionistRenewable Energy EngineerTranslatorTransportation Specialist

Monmouth College’s geographic location is uniquely suited for discussions of food production

and distribution. Surrounded by prime farmland—its rich soil deposited millennia ago by glaciers—Monmouth lies in the heart of a productive agricultural region. Local food-related industries include a pork processing plant that ships 780 million pounds annually and a 480-acre Monsanto research farm. Nearby transportation hubs include the massive Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad

classification yard at Galesburg and the Mississippi River, upon which 60 percent of U.S. grain exports travel by barge.

The Monsanto Learning Center near Monmouth

showcases new developments in the sometimes

controversial field of genetic plant engineering.

Facilities

Serving as the intellectual hub for the Food Security program is Monmouth

College’s newly completed $40 million Center for Science and Business. Designed to encourage collaboration among students and faculty from traditionally separate disciplines in the configuration of the offices, classrooms, and laboratories, the 138,000-square foot building features state-of-the-art educational technology in all classrooms, a nutrition laboratory, an herbarium and greenhouse, an

active learning-enhanced room in the Accounting Department, and a Moot Board Room.

The Monmouth College Educational Garden and Theme House, located on

the eastern perimeter of campus, uses sustainable gardening techniques to produce a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, as well as honey. Originally developed through an EPA grant, the garden seeks to address the environmental issue of the impact of agricultural practices upon the

Program Goals• Conduct and publish original

research and scholarship that

responds to the global challenge

of hunger.

• Utilize the most current

knowledge and most powerful

research approaches in each of

the participating disciplines while

crossing disciplinary boundaries

and mixing disciplinary knowledge

and approaches.

• Develop passion and skill within

Monmouth students who take

courses within the Food Security

program and work with faculty

members on original research,

analysis, and scholarship.

Potential Areas of Research• Economic Analysis • Agricultural Sustainability • Genetic Modification• Historical/Cultural Significance of Food• Ethics of Herbicide/Pesticide

Application

Participation EligibilityAll students are eligible to participate in the Food Security Initiative, regardless of their major or year at Monmouth. Students will complete a major in any of our 35 majors adding Food Security Courses and Research Experiences as a focal point of their studies. Students participating will take a series of courses in the sciences, social sciences, or humanities worked out in consultation with their academic adviser to fit their academic program.

environment, with focus upon sustainable, small and medium-scale farming methods and garden cultivation, the environmental benefits of local production and consumption of food stuffs, and the connection between sustainable, environmentally-friendly, locally-consumed produce and good nutrition.

Under ongoing development is a 6-acre Research Farm near campus that will allow

students to study such concepts as crop rotation, income, work force, conservation and infrastructure.

The LeSuer Nature Preserve, a short 15-minute walk from campus, is used

for field studies, course projects, and senior research. Several acres have been restored to native prairie and a large stream bisects the area. Riparian and flood plain forest also offer abundant opportunities for research in the expanding field of ecological restoration. The college also maintains a small, fresh-water pond and a one-acre native prairie plot for field projects.

Monmouth College’s new Center for Science and Business houses the sciences, business and accounting in a uniquely collaborative environment.

R. David Jones, Ph.D., ’82Agronomist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

James Mock, Ph.D., ’65Co-founder, CropVerifeye.com (first field-to-food data and process tracking system)

Danielle Nierenberg ’95Food Activist / Co-founder, Food Tank

Dennis Plummer ’73Co-founder and Exec. Vice President, Arvegenix LLC

Robert G. Riley Jr. ’70President & CEO, Food Energy Co.

Wendell Shauman, Ph.D., ’67Past Chairman, U.S. Grains Council

R. Eugene Turner, Ph.D. ’67Aquatic Biologist, Louisiana State University

Monmouth College Graduates Active in Food Security Fields

Danielle Nierenberg ’95,an expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues, speaks at a Monmouth College symposium on world hunger.

700 East Broadway, Monmouth (Illinois) USA 61462

Monmouth College admits students of any race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to Monmouth students.

www.monmouthcollege.eduadmissions@monmouthcollege.edu800-747-2687 or 309-457-2131

Wendell Shauman ’67,a nationally known agribusinessman, holds a Ph.D. in quantitative genetics from the University of Nebraska.

“Monmouth College, already a leader in Midwestern studies, is now providing the same kind of leadership on one of the most important issues of our time, food security. This is an area of much debate, controversy and even misinformation, and Monmouth’s multi-pronged approach promises to provide the kind of research, thought and analysis that the subject needs.”

RICHARD C. LONGWORTH Senior Fellow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Funding for this brochure provided by

Midwest Bank of Western IllinoisFounding Sponsor of

Monmouth College’s Midwest Matters InitiativeMember FDIC

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