“Nutri-Minds. Cultural Significance, Sustainability, and the Right to Food” is the title of the eighth edition of the Ferdinando Rossi Forum, dedicated to the relationship between human beings and food, which will be held in Turin from April 17 to 19, 2024.

The discussion will take place at the Terracini Hall of the Palazzo Nuovo (April 17-18) and the Aula Magna of the Rectorate (April 19) and will be approached from different perspectives, through the contribution of disciplines such as anthropology, semiotics, bioethics, social sciences, and life sciences.

A disciplinary approach to food

Never before have we been so obsessed with nutrition, with eating healthily. Never before has food become a vehicle for political ideas, a tool for communication and identity building, and, finally, never before have we been continuously exposed to images and representations of food.

From observing contemporary daily reality, and especially the frequent lack in public and academic communication of an interdisciplinary approach to food, the idea was born to dedicate the eighth edition of the Ferdinando Rossi Forum to this theme, realized thanks to the contribution of the University of Turin and the “Ferdinando Rossi” School of Advanced Studies of Turin.

Food policies, food influencing, sociability, and nourishment

The 2024 Forum will delve into the theme through a disciplinary lens, to offer a fruitful and meaningful exchange between different disciplines. The conferences, free and open to the public, will be divided into three days in which experts will be invited to speak on the theme. Among the many topics that will be explored at the event, local food policies, food influencing, popular gastronomies, the beneficial role of nutraceuticals, moral choices regarding food production, the link between food and writing, and eating disorders will be discussed.

The event will be completed by two Round Tables in which selected students will discuss the relationship between food, nourishment, and sociability. The participation of the public in this debate is welcome.

The Ferdinando Rossi Forum

The Ferdinando Rossi Forum is an annual cultural event, conceived and organized by the Organizing Committee, a body composed of university students of the “Ferdinando Rossi” School of Advanced Studies, the path of excellence of the University of Turin (SSST).

Born from the desire to stimulate a fruitful exchange between the academic world, associations, and the territory, it aims to promote knowledge of scientific, humanistic, and social topics of current relevance, through an interdisciplinary approach and with the intervention of experts from different disciplinary fields.

For more information, the complete program of expert interventions can be consulted on the event’s website.