Study Circle // Real, Good Food (Hosted by Michael)

Overview Food is much more than something we consume; it's a living system of relationships connecting soil, water, plants, animals, workers, communities, markets, and culture. Over the past century, this system has become extraordinarily efficient at producing inexpensive calories, while also creating new challenges for health, ecology, equity, and resilience. Together we'll explore how food is grown, processed, labeled, distributed, consumed, and wasted. Through essays, conversation, and shared inquiry, we'll wrestle with questions of health, affordability, labor, justice, and personal responsibility to better understand the complex relationships that shape what we eat. Schedule What's real\, good food? \| Mon\, July 27 \| 7–8:30pm We'll begin with Wendell Berry's classic essay *The Pleasures of Eating*, exploring our relationship to food, agriculture, and responsibility. How do we know what we're eating? \| Mon\, Aug 3 \| 7–8:30pm Using Mark Bittman's short essay *My Dream Food Label*, we'll examine nutrition, transparency, and what information we need to make healthy food choices. Can we build a better food system? \| Mon\, Aug 10 \| 7–8:30pm Drawing from the *Michigan Good Food Charter*, we'll discuss what systemic change might look like and what roles individuals, communities, businesses, and governments might play. A Few More Details Michael will host our conversations, but the richness of the experience will come from everyone's questions, experiences, and perspectives. We'll send out all the readings before the first session. No expertise is required, just curiosity and an open mind.