EcoGastronomy Major offered at UNH

Attention young taste makers: if you’re thinking about first semester plans at college (or hoping to transfer) you might be interested to know that the University of New Hampshire has launched a ground breaking EcoGastronomy Program.

The University of New Hampshire hopes to offer students an integrated approach to ecological education by taking students into the field, in the kitchen, in the lab and as far away as Italy to study the complexities of sustainable food systems.

As a dual major, EcoGastronomy will be taken alongside a declared primary major. The program is a partnership of UNH’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and Whittemore School of Business and Economics. In collaboration with the University Office of Sustainability, students will take an integrated approach to their education by complementing their primary major with a combination of hands on learning, practical skills training and international study opportunities.

Inspired by a visit from Slow Food creator, Carlo Petrini in 2006, The University of New Hampshire’s EcoGastronomy Program was created. After Petrini receiving an honorary degree from the University, faculty and staff from the University and the Office of Sustainability came together to develop the core curriculum and plan of study for this new degree.

“We are seeing a growing student interest in food and sustainability and an eagerness to understand and connect with the local, regional and global food system,” says Joanne Curran-Celentano, professor of nutritional sciences at UNH and a faculty founder. “EcoGastronomy is designed to engage students in this deeper meaning of eating and to position them to become informed food citizens.”