Presentations by
Colleen Sen PhD and Bruce Kraig PhD
Podcast Courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified
Culinary Scholars Colleen Sen and Bruce Kraig presentations were themes presented at past Oxford Symposium’s on Food and Cookery.
Indian Vegetarian Traditions
India has the world’s most ancient and deep rooted vegetarian traditions. The followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism avoid meat not only for moral and philosophical reasons but also for the physical and spiritual benefits. However, there are gradations within these religions and only Jainism, which developed in the 6th century BCE, is unconditionally vegetarian. Jains even avoid eating certain plants that are believed to contain the seeds of life. This talk will examine the origins and role of vegetarianism in Indian philosophy, religion and daily life. Colleen Taylor Sen is the author of Food Culture in India and the forthcoming Curry: A Global History
Pet Food, An Ethical Consideration
In early 2007 fear and outrage swept North America: tainted food had sickened and killed a number of beloved household pets. That event has provoked some examination of food ethics in several ways. Because the contaminant was wheat gluten imported from China by a Nevada company, made into pet food in Canada and distributed across the continent, questions about the efficacy and morality of the world-wide food network have risen. Further, household pets in North America and Europe consume some $US 36 billion at a time when roughly 1 billion people suffer food insecurity (33-35 million in the US alone) and at least half subsist on $US1 per day. Facts such as these has given rise to larger questions, from notions of non-human animal rights to environmental concerns. This paper considers these and suggests an environmentally sound suggestion: pets might be recycled as food.
Program hosted at Kendall College.