Tag: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Virtual study abroad course emulates in-person experience in Japan

In a span of 20 minutes, a dozen students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison visited a Japanese pastry shop, a high-tech sushi restaurant, and got ice cream — twice. But they all left a little hungrier. They were the virtual guests of their counterparts at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (OUAVM), taking a …

The Promise of Safe Food for Billions

Outside of agricultural and scientific circles, few people would hear the word “mycotoxin” and fully understand the reference. But they probably should. This menace just might be one of the biggest threats to our global food supply. Although mycotoxins are garnering more attention today, not long ago they were severely understudied. As a senior at …

Fellowship will bring Thai cheese retailers, marketers to Wisconsin to learn about specialty cheeses

The University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the Center for Dairy Research will help host a group of cheese retailers and cheese marketing specialists from Thailand later this year thanks to a Cochran Fellowship Program grant from the USDA – Foreign Agricultural Service. The program was developed in close collaboration with …

From Malawi to UW and Back: Student Commencement Speaker Lusayo Mwakatika Advances Agriculture in his Homeland

Lusayo Mwakatika grew his first garden at the age of 14. He harvested his own vegetables, sold them to friends and neighbors, and used the earnings as his allowance. It was a living extension of the passion for agriculture he developed while growing up in Malawi, where farming is a pillar of culture.

New Major Improves Student Prep for Global Health Field

The past year has shone an intense spotlight on public health efforts all over the world. Their complexity, their interconnectedness, and their importance have never been more apparent as they have been during a global pandemic. It’s timely, then, that UW–Madison is launching a new global health major. It’s an expansion of the existing global health …

Six-Legged Livestock Could Solve Food Shortages — Sustainably

In the Midwest, we’re used to seeing big fields dotted with cattle and steel barns bustling with broiler chickens. Beef, poultry, and pork are common in our daily meals, whether mixed in pasta or placed on a bun. But in many countries, where food shortages are common, such protein abundance is a luxury. To help …

A Taste of Many Cultures

How does the American ideal of healthy eating exclude other cultures? That was the question posed to students by instructor Erika Anna BS’13 in a creative writing exercise called “six-word stories.” “Eurocentric diets promoted over others’ cultures,” one student wrote. “Only American foods represented as healthy,” wrote another. A third put it more bluntly: “Others feel …

Conversation Takes a Village

Teri Allendorf applied for the Peace Corps in the early 1990s with an eye toward East Africa, where she was hoping to use her knowledge of Swahili. But when the program gave her a list of four possible destinations, none were in her desired location. Instead, she chose Nepal. And that decision has shaped her entire …