Alumni

Laura Catena was pissed off. 

It was 1995 at a prestigious tasting in New York, where she was pouring her familys Bodega Catena Zapata wines. It was the first time that an Argentinian winery was invited to participate in the event, and one guest after another passed by her table. They used her spit bucket but, when she offered to pour them a taste of wine, they refused.

Carl Winter, extension food toxicologist and vice-chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California at Davis, discusses food borne illness versus chemicals in food.

R. Paul Singh, a UC Davis professor emeritus who has held dual appointments in the Food Science and Technology and Biological and Agricultural Engineering departments, arrived at the university in 1975. Since then, he has become known for his innovative work, including the creation of a food-processing system for NASAs first manned mission to Mars. He also has played a significant role in establishing food-technology programs in countries such as Brazil, India, Portugal and Thailand.

The main vineyard at the University of California, Davis, currently relies on 4 to 6 gallons of water to produce each gallon of wine. As soon as next year, researchers hope new technologies can reduce that vineyard demand to as little as 1 gallon of water per gallon of wine.

Ten large, shiny tanks stand near the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, holding more than a year of rainwater and the key to processing food and drink during a drought. The water tanks, and the teaching-and-research winery they support, are showing students and winemakers throughout the world how to reduce processing costs, improve wine quality, and protect the planets dwindling natural resources.

An interactive forum will highlight food equity efforts in California, with a special focus on the Central Valley. Facilitated dialog between the speakers and audience will address the obstacles and opportunities for leveraging the resources and research capacity of the university to promote equitable food systems change.