More about Lauren’s global food fellowship:
Location: Taiwan & China

Research questions: What role does storytelling play in the food justice movement in Taiwan & China? What stories are heard and what voices are ignored? What are examples of participatory, intergenerational, and just food movements?

Project description: In order to learn how to build a more empathetic, inclusive, and emergent food movement I wanted to listen to stories about the land and the life and relationships it sustains. In Taiwan, I had the opportunity to design urban food forests, learn about indigenous farming traditions, and build community through a project about “social fermentation”. I conducted interviews with diverse communities to understand how a community food forest facilitates intergenerational relationships and a connection to place. Eventually, these stories & research will be uploaded to a website to share and collaborate with different communities. I believe that a participatory conservation movement is necessary to address issues like climate change and I hope these stories illuminate some examples.

Notable fellowship moment: I fell in love with the examples of “guerilla gardens” I saw in Taiwan; unofficial urban gardening, like apartment balconies overflowing with plants and gardens on the beach, is the norm.

Favorite fellowship meal: Chengdu spicy & sweet vegetable skewers! Have you ever had a meal so good that you can’t speak and you talk about how delicious the food for days afterward? Mmmmmmm

New questions arising from Lauren’s project: How do we regenerate our soil and engage urban communities in this work? How can we map foodways across the contexts of space, time, and different ways of knowing?

Lauren’s other interests:
Books, books, & books (especially by POC/WOC authors!)
Data Visualization
Critical Geography & Counter-Mapping
Fermented, foods & beverages
Traditional Healing Methods
Yoga & Hiking & Dancing