Penn State Brandywine will host its next Common Read event, "Should we worry about the foods we eat?," on Oct. 16 during common hour, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at the Brandywine Sustainable Garden on campus.
The event has been planned in coordination with Brandywine's 2014-15 Common Read book, "What Should We Be Worried About?," a collection of essays edited by John Brockman revealing the planet's most hidden threats. This event will share a variety of concerns regarding food production and consumption.
Cindy Nguyen, a sophomore and president of the Penn State Brandywine Sustainable Garden Club, will address the concern of pesticides in our food chain and how the Brandywine Sustainable Garden project will produce food without pesticides. Mary Fran McLaughlin, Brandywine's reference librarian, will discuss the decrease of pollinator populations and the threat it poses on our food chain. Amal Dahleh, freshman honors student in the honors World Food Problems (STS 130) course, will speak about the concern of inadequate access to healthy foods for many people in Brandywine's surrounding communities.
Student volunteers from the honors World Food Problems course have coordinated a food drive for the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring fresh fruits and vegetables. If you are unable to attend, but would like to donate, all items can be dropped off in the Vairo Library. Donations will be contributed to the Media Food Bank, which serves select regions of Delaware County.
The campus Common Read was created to provide an opportunity for the entire Brandywine community to participate in knowledgeable conversation about a shared text, allowing the campus to develop a dialogue focused on one central idea or question.
"What Should We Be Worried About?" was written by some of the world's most influential scientists who were asked to disclose unknown situations that worry them. The result was a book that changes the way people view biology, economics, neuroscience, philosophy, physics, psychology, war, technology and much more.
In the event of inclement weather, the event will be held in the Tomezsko Building, room 103. For more information about this year's Common Read selection, visit Penn State Brandywine's Common Read webpage.
