Sustainable foods up for discussion at SPEA panel

Today is the 40th anniversary of the first official Earth Day. To celebrate, the IU Environmental Management Association organized a panel discussion and cookbook sale.

SPEA graduate student Matt Patterson said the connection of food with the environment and its impact on sustainable projects makes the panel an eco-friendly endeavor.

“Besides walking on the ground, food is the most basic connection we have with the Earth,” Patterson said. “Almost anything from a sustainability standpoint is tied into the food system.”

The food panel also highlights the sale of IUEMA’s cookbook, EMA Cooks, which has been available for sale in the SPEA atrium this week. 

The cookbook was created in honor of past SPEA student Scott Chilcote, who died in 2008. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds generated from the book will go to the Scott Chilcote Scholarship for students within the SPEA graduate program with leadership skills and passionate for the environment.

Several of Chilcote’s own recipes are included in the cookbook, such as his “Three Kings Tuna” previously published in Dine Magazine. More than 90 recipes were submitted by SPEA students, faculty and Chilcote’s family.

The cookbook contains recipes for soup, salad and chili, among other dishes, and sport creative titles such as “Ramen Tuna Noodle Casserole, Sort of.” 

“It goes from something you can use with a microwave, to something you need a kitchen to do,” said Patterson, who designed the cookbook.

Patterson said most of the recipes in the book can be made with ingredients purchased from local produce stands.