Photo credit: Diana Klatt
Dear Colleagues and Students,
After a four-week intensive unit online, our class on Global Food Policy for Public Health met for its fifth and final week at NYU Florence. A diverse array of students from global public health, bioethics, and food studies became immersed in experiential learning activities that brought to life a European perspective on the topics we studied.
The week began with a fascinating dialogue at Villa La Pietra, NYU’s 57-acre estate comprising olive groves and gardens. Horticultural associate Nicholas Dakin Elliot spoke about La Pietra’s gardens, the hungry gap, sustainable farming, and olive oil production. He also led an Italian olive oil tasting!
Pictured: Global Food Policy for Public Health students learning about the functions of the old farmhouse and the olive tree grove at La Pietra with Nicholas Dakin Elliot.
On Day Two we went to the Uffizi Galleries to see examples of food in art and think about how they applied to our food marketing discussion. In the afternoon we were fortunate to have a guest lecture by Francesco Tramontin, director of public affairs in Europe for Mondelez International, one of the largest food companies in the world. We learned about sustainable cocoa production, food marketing, and worldwide snacking trends.
Pictured: Food in art at the Uffizi Galleries.
The next morning we engaged in a rich discussion of food marketing and strategies for Mondelez to address specific practices identified in the guest lecture. We also differentiated between various countries’ food protectionism laws in anticipation of spending that afternoon at Eataly Florence, where we learned about European Union and Italian labeling requirements and standards. The team at Eataly also answered difficult questions about Florence’s rule on Tuscan-only products and the opening of a new food service establishment in the city center. And that evening we had a lot of fun making pizza!
Pictured: Eataly tour after learning about EU and Italian labeling standards and Florentine requirements.
The fourth day was devoted to labeling strategies for food products. During the online portion of the class students identified warning labels across consumer products and labels that were deceptive, misleading, or false. We discussed whether various strategies are effective, evidence-based, or even feasible for food labeling.
Our culminating experience was a gamified advocacy plan, which is a form of nudging that applies game elements to serious topics. Students were divided into teams representing non-profit organizations and developed plans for mobilizing public opinion in favor of Swiss government efforts to implement part of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
On the final day students presented their gamified advocacy plans and evaluated transparency needs for corporate lobbying, relating them to the food policy issues we read about and discussed throughout the course. Our trip ended with a wonderful farewell dinner.
Many thanks to Sharon Robert of GPH Global Programs, to everyone at NYU Florence, and to all the great students who participated!
Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Public Health Policy and Management