Sustainable Food Systems of Italy – My Time Abroad

A Study Abroad Story from our Secretary, Angela  

In May of 2014, I traveled to Florence, Italy with 25 students and one awesome professor. During our stay, we had assigned apartments in Florence for one month. There were 3 weekends free for travel where small groups explored Rome, Venice, the Cinque Terre/Pisa and a few other cities. The focus of the trip was to study Italy’s culture through their sustainable practices of their production of food. We were able to visit farms, groves, vineyards and cheese making facilities to understand the process of producing prosciutto, olive oil, wine, balsamic vinegar and Parmigiano Reggiano. When not studying about the agriculture, we were learning about the history of Florence, and exploring the many beautiful buildings and museums the city has to offer.

Overall, I gained such an insight on the international practices and traditions of food culture. I also have a new prospective on sustainability and the slow food movement and how we as Americans can learn slow down to appreciate and produce food on socially, environmentally and economically sound way.