This conference within the framework of the french comity of the International Commission for Anthropology of Food, is organized the 15-16 of december 2008 in Paris.

The organization of such a conference is aimed the evaluation of knowledge on the relationship between biodiversity and sustainable food. It wants to be at the interface of the current concerns for a healthy and balanced diet based on a natural, economical and social environment.

Two issues will be concerned :

• Agricultural biodiversity
• The spontaneous biodiversity in food

The scientific committee, chaired by Igor by Garine, president of International ICAF, Emeritus Director of research at the CNRS, is composed of the national chairmen of ICAF as well as, for the Museum, of Serge Bahuchet, Professor and Chairman of the Department Men Natures Societies.

We wish to bring together international specialists in the anthropology of the food, in order to tackle the questions of the food as “revealing” of the relations between human societies and biodiversity and of the associated representations:

• Spontaneous biodiversity as a source of nutrients, a supplementary benefit of the agriculture
• Agricultural biodiversity and the nutritional role of varietal diversity
• Levy practices, rules for access and distribution of the products
• food processing in conjunction with the changes in access to resources
• transmission of knowledge and practices related to food between generations and between social groups.
• relationship between biodiversity and agricultural productivity
• spatial organization of the food supply (eg. local products)
• seasonality and supply, picking and hunger products
• effects of fashion, of trend
• pressure on resources and the sustainable use of the products.
• new agricultural technologies in relation to the biodiversity and food.

This conference will coincide with the 27th meeting of the International Commission on the Anthropology of Food. Each national committee is responsible for organising an annual conference on a rotating basis. It is the French Committee, F. Aubaile is the chairwoman of , to organize the conference in 2008.

The overall objective of the International Commission on the Anthropology of Food (founded in 1977) is to promote and coordinate collaboration and research in Biological and Social Anthropology in the Sciences of Food and Nutrition particularly encouraging ' multidisciplinary approach. The french Committee is hosted at the Museum (USM 104, HNS) This conference fits in a multi-field research orientation of the UMR 5145 (CNRS-MNHN)

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Where the Symposium:

Musée de l’Homme – 17, place du Trocadero – Paris, 75016

Contact : Françoise Aubaile -Sallenave (aubaile@mnhn.fr )

tel., 33 (0) 1 40 79 36 77

fax, 33 (0) 1 40 79 38 91