last seminar of spring 2020 focuses on food waste

On Friday, May 1, 2020 we hosted our last EFTI seminar of the Spring semester via Zoom. Dr. Jamie Murphy, resident of New Smyrna Beach and Adjunct Professor at the University of Eastern Finland, presented Food (Waste) for Thought: A Wicked Problem to an audience of graduate students and faculty from the Department of Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management at the University of Florida as well as guests from other universities.  

Dr. Murphy’s focuses on researching food wastage globally and in the United States, including the costs associated and potential solutions. During his presentation, Dr. Murphy discussed the environmental, social and economic costs of food wastage, forms of preservation and reuse of food, as well as behaviors involved in this problem. Among behavioral issues, changing in separation of food waste (which can be reused for human and animal consumption or should be composted) was pointed out as a having great potential to reduce the problem. Additionally, policies should be formulated by government and industries to help mitigate the issue. Dr. Murphy also pointed out to the fact that there is little research on food waste in the Tourism, Hospitality and Events industries, sharing a potential area of research focus to our students. After the presentation, students and faculty enjoyed engaging in the Q&A session and discussion about the topic.  

Dr. Murphy shared his presentation, which can be found here. You can also watch the recording on Zoom here.

EFTI seminars will come back in the Fall 2020 with more guest speakers from the department, faculty from the University of Florida and other universities as well as industry leaders. Visit our Seminar Series page often for more information.