This gathering will immerse participants in the complexities and intersections of food systems, culture, and sustainability, deepening our sense of connection to the food we eat, to our land, and to each other. Food systems both represent an expression of our multi-layered relations to tradition and territory, all mediated by our changing climate, and pose a promising set of solutions for mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis.

The convening culminates with a conversation among top-tier thinkers about the future of regenerative food production.

PROGRAM

DECEMBER 3, 2025

2:15 pm 

Introduction and Welcome 

Barbara Will, Vice Provost, Dartmouth; Aliza Wong, Director, American Academy in Rome

Session One 

2:30–4:00 pm 

Enduring Legacies: Food Traditions and Cultures in the Wake of Climate Change 

Moderator: Nicola Camerlenghi, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Art History, Dartmouth 

Speakers: 

Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director, Partnerships and Innovation, World Food Programme 

Laura Lazzaroni, journalist, former editor-in-chief Food & Wine Italia, author and bread consultant 

Maria Giovanna Onorati, Associate Professor of Sociology, Pollenzo University of Gastronomic Sciences 

Amy Trubek, Professor, Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, University of Vermont; founding Faculty Director of the Food Systems graduate program 

4:00–4:30 pm

Coffee Break 

Session 2

4:30–6:00 pm

Rooted Resilience: The Ecology of Sustainable Agriculture

Moderator: Danielle Callegari, Associate Professor, Department of French and Italian, Dartmouth

Speakers:

Matt Ayres, Professor of Biological Sciences; Associate Director, Institute of Arctic Studies; Co-chair Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, Environment & Society, Dartmouth

Gidon Eshel, Professor, Environmental Studies, Bard College

Ariane Lotti, Farmer and Managing Partner, Tenuta San Carlo

Theresa Ong, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Dartmouth

6:30–8:00 pm

Film Screening

Olivo Bianco: A Documentary - (expected 2026) trailer only

Eating the Future (2025) / Dir: Katy Jenkyns (48mins)

Gorgona - (2024) mini documentary

Followed by winetasting and Q&A with Mika Hisatani and representative from Frescobaldi

DECEMBER 4, 2025

2:15pm

Welcome by Peter N: Miller, President & CEO, American Academy in Rome; Santiago Schnell, Provost, Dartmouth

Session three

2:30–4:00 pm

Migration and Movement: Sustainable Food Systems in a Changing World

Moderator: Meredith Kelly, Professor, Earth Sciences Department, Dartmouth

Speakers:

Teresa Mares, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director for the Graduate Program in Food Systems, University of Vermont

Aaron Verzosa, Co-Owner and Chef, Archipelago, Seattle

Gaoheng Zhang, Associate Professor, Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies, University of British Columbia

6:30–8:00 pm

THE DINNER TABLE: A CULMINATING CONVERSATION IN COURSES

Speakers:

Carla Barroso Carneiro, Ambassador of Brazil and Permanent Representative to the FAO

Paolo Cuccia, Executive Chairman, Gambero Rosso and Executive Chairman, Artibune

Arif Husain, Chief Economist, World Food Programme

Carl Ipsen (1999 Fellow), Professor, Department of History and Director, IU Food Institute, Indiana University Bloomington

Brooke Jamison, Chief Partnership Officer and Head Americas and Multilateral Relations, Americas Liaison Office, International Fund for Agricultural Development

Peter Miller, President and CEO, American Academy in Rome

Barbara Nappini, President, Slow Food Italia

Alberto Tasca, Owner and Winemaker, Tasca d'Almerita

Aliza Wong, Director, American Academy in Rome

MERCATINO

8:00–10:00 pm

As the conversations on climate change, sustainability, food, and public policy draw to a close, this culminating event will celebrate the tangible outcomes of regenerative practice and local collaboration. Showcasing the wares of producers who are reimagining agriculture through soil health, biodiversity, and circular systems, the mercatino will highlight how ethical production and culinary creativity can intersect. Carefully curated tasting plates, crafted from these local ingredients, alongside selections from regional wineries, will illustrate the rich potential of place-based, sustainable food networks. This gathering in the American Academy in Rome Cortile and featuring the Rome Sustainable Food Project stands as both a celebration and a living demonstration of resilience, innovation, and the evolving relationship between people, food, and the planet.