Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., welcomes Dr. Philip Howard, visiting scholar for the College’s M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems (MSFS) winter residency February 17-19. Howard will present a pair of free public programs: “Is Food Diversity an Illusion?” on Wednesday, February 17, at 7 p.m. in Ackley Hall; and “Concentration and Power in the Food System” at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 18 in The Gorge (Withey Hall).
Phil is an associate professor in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University where he focuses on “mapping” trends that help illustrate the rapid evolution of food systems. His new book "Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat?," explores how mergers and acquisitions in the industry have placed 40% or more of the market in the hands of four major companies. He demonstrates how a handful of corporations dominating markets can drive up prices for consumers, reduce innovation and result in negative environmental and human health impacts.
Phil holds a Ph.D in Rural Sociology from the University of Missouri. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, GOOD, The Ecologist, and Mother Earth News. He is president of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society from 2015 to 2016, and is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.
The two-year, online MSFS degree program at Green Mountain prepares future leaders in the growing movement for sustainable, just, and local foods.