What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to CHEFS: the Culture, Health, Environment, Food and Society research cluster at Sheffield Hallam University. What’s been cooking since our last edition?
If you haven’t already done so, check out our latest research blog, ‘A critical application of branding to promote acceptance of breastfeeding in public in the UK’ from SHU PhD candidate Anuradha Somangurthi. Anu aims to critically evaluate the existing UK breastfeeding campaigns and develop a social marketing and branding campaign that will more effectively target those opposed to breastfeeding in public.
This autumn, we’ve experimented with monthly virtual research roundtables. These meetings are an informal chance to check in, share updates, trade suggestions, ask questions and bounce ideas around. No prep needed—just a chance to meet up and talk CHEFS for an hour. Unfortunately, the November 18th roundtable has been cancelled due to a teaching clash, but future dates for your diaries:
- Wednesday 13 January, 2-3pm
- Wednesday 10 February, 3-4pm
- Wednesday 17 March, 4-5pm
Zoom links and meeting passwords have been sent out via the CHEFS JISC list. Not joined the JISC list yet? See information on the very bottom of each CHEFS webpage.
Below, we have updates on recent CHEFS activities, including:
- a collaborative funding bid from several CHEFS members, led by Dianne Dean, on the impact of COVID on household food and drink practices;
- a list of resources/calls for papers/conference announcements, and the usual call for content for the January 2021 edition of What’s Cooking.
Happy reading!
Cheers, Jen
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Recent CHEFS Activities
Over the past several months, Di Dean, Jo Reynolds, Katie Dunn, Pallavi Singh, Jenny Paxman, Jia Liu and Jennifer Smith Maguire have been discussing potential avenues for collaborative research on food and drink practices in the ‘new normal.’ The first outcome: Dianne Dean has submitted an interdisciplinary UKRI bid to examine the impact of COVID on household food and drink practices, with Di as PI. The bid reflects the group’s interdisciplinary expertise with regard to marketing and consumer culture, public health and nutrition, and economics. Focusing on the intersection of family practices and social stratification, set against the current moment of radical disruption and uncertainty, the bid proposes an arts-based and quasi-ethnographic research design to explore the diversity of food/drink experiences and practices across a sample of households in the north of England.
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Resources/call for papers/conference announcements
Webinar from the Royal Society of Medicine: An imminent food crisis: Fact or fiction? Wednesday 18 November 2020, 6:00pm to 7:00pm. Information here, including registration link. (Please note this is free only for RSM members; there is a scaled fee for non-members with lower fees for trainees and students).
Various new resources relevant to CHEFS in the current (CV19/Brexit) moment
- House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee COVID-19 and food supply First Report of Session 2019–21
- Euromonitor webinar (view on demand): Voice of the Industry: Coronavirus Impact on Companies, Employees and Consumers
Food and Drink Federation Virtual Convention 2020, 1-2 December.
Covid-19 has been the main focus for many producers since March and there is still much to be decided around the end of the EU transition period shortly. Yet our 2020 FDF member survey shows that aside from Covid and Brexit there are still many issues challenging you. To help inject some much-needed clarity we are bringing together expert panels across two days to discuss the key topics from their perspectives and answer your questions.
- SESSION ONE takes place on Tuesday 1st December and brings together three of industry’s key issues – Sustainable Healthy Diets; Climate & Carbon Net Zero; and Plastics & Packaging. Find out more and register here – https://bit.ly/2GbvB0O
- SESSION TWO takes place on Wednesday 2nd December and will focus on The Food and Drink Manufacturing Sector: Immediate Needs for an Automated and Digitised Future?; Commercial Focus: How the industry can regain commercial ground in 2021; and the key issues for Scotland and Wales. Find out more and register here – https://bit.ly/2JhmKfb
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be January 2021 (published a little late to allow for holiday recovery!). Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to j.smith1@shu.ac.uk by Thursday 07 January.
Want to stay updated? Follow us on Twitter (@SHU_CHEFS), subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each CHEFS webpage.