Fast Food Nation Author Eric Schlosser to Speak at R-N Conference March 5

(NEWARK) Genetically modified foods. Economics and food consumption. To be or not to be a vegetarian. These are some of the intriguing issues to be debated March 5 at the sixth annual Joint Conference on Applied and Urban Ethics, where Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, will deliver the keynote address. The Ethics Of Eating: Want, Surfeit, And Health will be held at the New Jersey Medical Schools Medical Science Building, from 9 a.m. 5 p.m., in Alumni Lecture Hall B-552, 185 South Orange Ave. A reception follows. The free program is open to the public.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Rutgers-Newark Department of Philosophy and the New Jersey Medical School-UMDNJ, in association with the Prudential Business Ethics Center at Rutgers and Rutgers-Newarks Joseph P. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies.

Schlosser will deliver the annual John A. Williams Lecture during the afternoon session, beginning at 2:30 p.m. In Fast Food Nation (almost two years on the New York Times bestsellers list), Schlosser reveals how fast food has been a revolutionary force in American life, transforming Americas diet and economy, workforce and popular culture. He uncovers the inner workings of the fast food industry, from the appalling working conditions in American meat-packing plants to the flavor industry along the New Jersey Turnpike that gives fast food its taste.

His latest best-selling expose, Reefer Madness, examines three black-market commodities -- marijuana, pornography and illegal migrant workers -- and charts the growth of the underground economy, which Schlosser says is now 10 percent of the overall economy.

Three panel discussions in the morning and early afternoon will examine:

What Ought We to Eat? Vegetarianism and After

Genetically Modified Foods and the Worlds Food Supply

Economic Disparity and Food Consumption

The conference aims to raise public awareness of crucial ethical issues that affect the lives of people around the globe, and to stimulate reflective discussion among citizens, officials, professionals and scholars, says Pheroze Wadia, conference organizer and a professor emeritus in the R-N philosophy department. The conference offers numerous opportunities for participants to

ask questions and engage in lively debate with speakers. Past conferences examined such issues as death and dying; the impact of globalization on human rights; equity and inequity in urban education; urban development issues and both legal and illegal drugs.

In-depth biographies of the panelists and speakers will be available at a special web site (address to be announced). Directions to the Medical Science Building and a map of the Newark UMDNJ campus are available on-line at:MAP

Lunch will be available without charge to those who RSVP: wadia@andromeda.rutgers.edu

Sixth Annual Joint Conference on Applied and Urban Ethics

SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2005

THE ETHICS OF EATING: WANT, SURFEIT, AND HEALTH

9:00 a.m., Welcome/refreshments

9:15, Welcoming Remarks

Alex Stagnaro-Green, Acting Senior Associate Dean for Education, New Jersey Medical School, UMDNJ

9:25, Introductory Remarks

Edwin Hartman, Director, Prudential Business Ethics Center at Rutgers

PANEL 1 What Ought We To Eat?Vegetarianism and After,

9:40-10:40

Moderator: Nancy Holmstrom, R-N Department of Philosophy

Panelist: Christine Cuomo, Obed J. Wilson Professor of Ethics, University of Cincinnati

Panelist: Peter Hoffman, Chef/Owner, Savoy Restaurant, New York

PANEL 2 Genetically Modified Foods and the Worlds Food Supply,

10:45 - 11:45

Moderator: Hans Fisher, Department of Nutritional Science,

Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Panelist: Michael Sligh, Director, Just Food Program RAFI-USA

Panelist: C S Prakash, Director, Center for Plant Biotechnology Research, Tuskegee University

11:45 1:00, LUNCH (No charge)

PANEL 3 Economic Disparity and Food Consumption,

1:15 2:15

Moderator: Donald Louria, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, NJMS, UMDNJ

Panelist: Kamili Williams, Director, Agency Services, Community Food Bank of NJ

Panelist: Leith Mullings, Anthropology Department, Graduate School, CUNY

2:30 - 4:00, Sixth Annual John A Williams Lecture

Introductory Remarks: Steven Diner, Provost, Rutgers-Newark

Moderator: To be announced

Lecturer: Eric Schlosser, author, Fast Food Nation

Commentator: Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, New York University

4:00 - 5:15, RECEPTION