Canadian Association for Food Studies (CAFS)

@foodstudies.ca

230 Followers 246 Following

CAFS is a non-profit organization that promotes interdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach related to food systems. We are no longer active on Bluesky. Please find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or at https://foodstudies.info/.

Cover of James Daschuk’s book, “Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life,” featuring the author name and title over a man with long hair, sitting cross-legged in the grass, his hands resting on his legs.

Between the title, "The Third Plate," and the author name, "Dan Barber," are four, black line drawings on a pale blue background: a carrot with the word “soil” below it; a Canada goose with the word “land” below it; a fish with the word “sea” below it; and a halved tomato with the word “seed” below it.

An office desk with two large computer screens, a wireless keyboard, and part of an open laptop at the left. Between the computer hardware is a mug and a white bowl, which contains a fried, folded wrap.

A homemade tortilla topped with guacamole, red meat, diced tomatoes, and onions sits on a white plate with a green foliage motif. To the right of the taco is a squeezed quarter of a lime.

On an oak wood tabletop, a shallow, robin’s-egg-blue pasta bowl, flecked with darker blue spots, is filled with strips of pasta topped with a tomato-based eggplant and mushroom sauce, a generous dollop of ricotta, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

A lunch setting on a green tablecloth with small pink and purple flowers, including a wooden cutting board with cheese slices and apple wedges, and a white cloth napkin next to a white bowl filled with parsnip and carrot soup, topped with dried Aleppo chili.

Cover image of Farmageddon with the title in white and subtitle in black on a green background, and above the title, an illustration of a Holstein cow with a bar code stamped across its left flank.

Cover image of Volume 12, Number 3 of Canadian Food Studies, featuring the title of the journal and the issue title, "We're All(ium) in this Together", over an illustration of alliums including an onion, shallot, garlic, leek, green onion, scallion, and chive.

A riff on the Rosie the Riveter poster, made of chocolate, showing a female chef in her whites and wearing a toque while brandishing a whisk, and the words “We Can Do It” over her head.

Close-up of an Osterizer beehive blender filled with scraps of paper, sitting on a meeting room table with a screen, flipcharts, chairs and other tables in the background.

Close-up of an Osterizer beehive blender filled with scraps of paper, sitting on a meeting room table with a screen, flipcharts, chairs and other tables in the background.

Image de couverture de Gastronomie québécoise et patrimoine. Le titre apparaît en haut, au-dessus d’une photographie d’une vaste collection soigneusement rangée de livres de cuisine historiques en français du Québec. Les noms des éditrices, Marie-Noëlle Aubertin et Geneviève Sicotte, figurent en dessous de la photographie, sur fond blanc.

Cover image of an archival copy of The Dorothy Perkins Canadian Garden Book, with a tattered yellow book jacket featuring a green halftone of a garden and the subtitle: "A Timely and Helpful Handbook for the Amateur Gardener. Written by a Canadian for Canadians, and adapted to our climatic conditions."

Cover image of Ian Mosby’s book, Food Will Win the War: The Politics, Culture, and Science of Food on Canada’s Home Front. At the centre of the page, on a teal-coloured medallion, is the black and white drawing of a woman dressed for foodwork. She is wearing an apron and a broad smile. Her left hand holds a wooden spoon while her right hand salutes the viewer.

Cover image of Emily Eaton’s book, Growing Resistance, with a light-filled photograph of a wheat field and the book title sitting at the horizon line between field and sky.

An abstract artistic image with swirling beige, brown, white, and cream colours on a black background.

An artwork made of multi-coloured plastic bread bag tie-tags, entitled "Tank Tops", made by artist Susan Goldberg.

Hi everyone, my name is Alyssa Overend. I'm an associate professor in the department of sociology at MacEwan University in Edmonton or ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Amiskwacîwâskahikan)
which is the Cree name for Beaver Hills House. Um I've been working in food
studies for the last 15 years or so, working across a variety of areas. I'm currently working in alternative food networks and looking at indexing AFNs across Canada. So looking at what sorts of programs are being run, what isn't, and where are the gaps and overlaps in offerings.

A croquembouche on a purple backgrond—a pile of filled choux pastry buns held together with a sticky glaze, with a hand reaching forward holding a single bun.

Cover image of Jeffrey Pilcher’s book, Hopped Up, with the title in a banner across a pilsner glass of beer, a globe, and some hops.

Cover image of Kevin Morgan’s book, Serving the Public, with the title in large letters on a red background and an illustrated orange fork holding a British pound symbol.

Cover image of Marlene Epp’s book, Eating Like a Mennonite, with abstract wooden spoon graphics and soft colours.

An alternate version of the Rosie the Riveter poster (made out of chocolate), showing a female cook in a chef's toque, holding a red whisk in front of hanging pots and pans, the words "We Can Do It!" in a word bubble above.

A blue tray set with a water glass, orange napkin, fork, and plate of food with chick peas, radishes, devilled eggs, pickles, and tomatoes.

An image generated by ChatGPT showing a humanoid robot reading a printed academic journal titled Food Studies, and prompted with the terms "create an image of artificial intelligence running an academic journal about food studies called CFS/RCÉA".

“So, one of the uh key ingredients that I think is so important to add to any recipe and I will be adding it to every single thing that I cook in terms of traditional food . . . that key ingredient is memory.”

Wendie L. Wilson is a mother, educator, artist, writer, and cultural advocate. Born and raised in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Wendie is a descendant of African Nova Scotians who have history in the province for 400+ years.

From the plenary: "FOUNDATIONS—Food studies in Indigenous Territories and Canada"

Save the date!

2026 Common Ground Food Forum
Building a bigger table: Strengthening our relations
June 15 - 19, 2026

Lakehead University Orillia Campus
500 University Avenue, Orillia, ON

For the first time, key food networks are coming together!
Canadian Association for Food Studies
Food Communities Network
Common Ground Network
Food Secure Canada

Look for our joint Call for Contributions in December!
Contact conference organizers at commonground@dal.ca for more information.

"I have always admired Dr. Jennifer Clapp’s work and was fortunate to be able to work with her during my master’s and PhD. Dr. Clapp’s ability to see the big picture and identify causal forces that many overlook is always so impressive to me. Dr. Ryan Isakson is also a scholar that I look up to for his ability to skillfully communicate complex dynamics in our food system. Dr. Isakson is also my postdoctoral supervisor, and I should mention that both Dr. Clapp and Dr. Isakson have written a fascinating book on financialization in the food system, entitled Speculative Harvests." - Phoebe Stephens

Why does the Canadian Association of Food Studies matter?

With Rachel Engler-Stringer: "So why does the Canadian Association for Food Studies matter to me? For me, it's about a home, a place where there's enough different disciplinary perspectives that I am sort of stretched and encouraged to think differently, both what it is that I am studying myself and what others are studying. I really like that CAFS stretches the boundaries of what it is that I am thinking about when it comes to food, food systems, food security. Thanks"

Michael Classens shares his nomination for what should be included in the food studies canon. "Ashanté M Reese, Black Food Geographies. This is my nomination for what should be included in the canon for food studies. In this book, Reese masterfully demonstrates the ways in which anti-Blackness and white supremacy shape access to food and inaccess to food. Very helpfully, talks about geographies of self-reliance and the ways in which people are not determined necessarily by their spatial reality, but ways in which they kind of interact with that reality in ways that inform hope that we can more towards more just and more equitable food systems. Black Food Geographies, Ashanté M Reese"

Chelsea Klinke and Gertrude Korkor Samar share the food studies scholars that have influenced them: "The ways in which we have come to know, be, and connect has been influenced by three major scholars who have written extensively in the food studies circles. And these members include Dr. Priscilla Settee, who is a member of the Cumberland House Swampy Cree First Nation and was a professor in Indigenous studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Gertrude and I have learned a lot from Dr Settee about Indigenous food sovereignty and food ways here in the Canadian context. Dr Allison Blay-Palmer is another person we can throw light on. She is a professor of geography and environmental studies in the Wilfrid Laurier University. As well, Dr Charles Levkoe is an associate professor at Lakehead University in Ontario. And he is also the Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems"

Screenshot from the article capturing Finn Meyer Cook in front of a bookshelf with text:
VIU professor among hundreds of food scholars who sign letter to Prime Minister
Social work professor Finn Meyer Cook is one of hundreds of food scholars who are calling on Canada to take economic and diplomatic action against Israel for causing widespread hunger in the Gaza Strip. Photo by Mick Sweetman / The Discourse. Framed with text “In the news, and Canadian Association for Food Studies, L'association canadienne des études sur l'alimentation.”

Canadian Association for Food Studies - L'association canadienne des études sur l'alimentation
With a teal brushstroke indicating a bowl.

Food existing in a web of ever-growing relationships. By Deborah Dutta.
A word web showing the connections between the following words: MARKET, SEEDS, ECOLOGY, LAND, WATER, SOIL, HEALTH, LABOUR, LAND, ECONOMY, NUTRITION, LAND RIGHTS, STORIES, FOOD, CULTURE, RECIPES, KNOWLEDGE, SLOW FOOD, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, LIVESTOCK, and FARMING PRACTICES.

A picnic table covered in summer produce: red, orange, and yellow tomatoes, corn, okra, basil, nasturtium flowers, eggplants and aronia berries. From the cover of Vol. 12 No. 2 (2025): On Resilience, Adaptability, Cooperation, and Innovation.

A picnic table covered in summer produce: red, orange, and yellow tomatoes, corn, okra, basil, nasturtium flowers, eggplants and aronia berries. From the cover of Vol. 12 No. 2 (2025): On Resilience, Adaptability, Cooperation, and Innovation.

A picnic table covered in summer produce: red, orange, and yellow tomatoes, corn, okra, basil, nasturtium flowers, eggplants and aronia berries. Text overlay: Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation (CFS/RCÉA), Vol. 12 No. 2 (2025): On Resilience, Adaptability, Cooperation, and Innovation.