The Department of Plant Sciences and the Feminist Research Institute are pleased to host Dr. Isaac “Ike” Sohn Leslie from the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. There are three opportunities to interact with them. First, in two small sessions for students and staff/faculty. Second, in the Plant Sciences Departmental Seminar. All are open to all and are on zoom (room links below).

Opportunities to meet Dr. Leslie and see them talk:

Dr. Leslie will be joining us for a seminar titled, Queering Food Systems for Justice and Sustainability from 12:10 to 1 p.m. (abstract below). In addition, we are hosting two sessions with Dr. Leslie. They will be chatting about their paper, Queer Farmland: Land Access Strategies for Small-Scale Agriculture (attached). The first session is geared towards undergraduate and graduate students and is from 10:00 to 10:50 a.m. The second, geared for staff and faculty, is from 11:00 to 11:50 a.m.

• 10-10:50am  Session: Undergraduate and Graduate Students
• 11-11:50am  Session: Staff and Faculty
• 12:10-1pm  Plant Sciences Departmental Seminar

Seminar abstract:

So pervasive they are often invisible, gender and sexual norms organize food production on the “family farm” and food consumption in the household. LGBTQ+ people – especially those who are also BIPOC – experience food insecurity at disproportionately high rates, and LGBTQ+ farmers face systemic discrimination in establishing economically viable farms. At the same time, they have developed creative resiliency strategies, and a queer perspective on food insecurity and farm viability reveals how all eaters and farmers – not just LGBTQ+ people – are affected by gender and sexual norms in the food system. In this presentation, sociologist and farmer Ike Leslie shares their research on how a queer lens on food systems offers pathways toward justice and sustainability not just for LGBTQ+ people, but for everyone who produces or consumes food.

Biography:

Isaac, or “Ike,” is an environmental sociologist focused on justice, sustainability, and viability in food systems. Currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Food Systems at the University of New Hampshire, Ike is leading a study about farm viability in New England. They co-authored the sixth edition of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology and co-edited a special issue of Society & Natural Resources, which unpacks the roles of gender and sexuality in farming. Ike’s work on U.S. and Argentinian food systems is also published in Rural Sociology, Agriculture and Human Values, Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations, and elsewhere. Ike earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as an M.A. in Sociology and M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire. They are also a farmer at Magnetic Fields, an agroecological farm that supports rural queer and BIPOC farm community.

Zoom rooms:

10:00 to 10:50 - https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/91242632396?pwd=Y25jclJqdGpWcTI0aVdWVVh1VC9TUT09
11:00 to 11:50 – https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95703134066?pwd=N0U2Q0JmaTRBWXBidHAycFZNR1R6UT09
12:10 to 1:00 - https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/93409605217?pwd=KzkrL212MW5LKzIvczFJa2xjVUpEUT09

Questions? Want to meet with Dr. Leslie one-on-one? Please contact Amanda Crump at acrump@ucdavis.edu