9/7 - This is my first semester using "food" as the theme of the writing course. I am very excited. Having spent decades (hard to believe I can use the plural form of decade) in the restaurant business and considering myself somewhat of a foodie, I am stunned by my former ignorance of food production and distribution. By no means am I an expert now. Nor am I a fanatic. But I've done a lot of reading, traveling, and listening that has prompted me to implement small changes within my own household and at my family's restaurant, and I don't see these issues surrounding food - sustainability, humanitarianism, culture, and nutrition to name but a few - fading into the background anytime soon. Food binds all of us, and I'm interested in examining how. So, we will be sharing in written form diverse stories, opinions, and research about food, and I expect us to disagree. I also expect you to become stronger writers along the way since that is the true objective of the course. Food is merely the theme around which the writing assignments are designed. Bon appetit!