Applications are now open for participation in the 2027 Global Forum on Food and Philosophy. To participate as a speaker, please find more information in the Call for Papers (window for submitting proposals: May 1st-November 1st). Participation is open to everyone and no registration fee is required. If you wish to attend as an audience member, please fill out this form:  Expression of Interest.

The Global Forum aims to bring together a wide range of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to advance scholarship in the philosophy of food and to expand its role in the global public sphere. The goal of the conference is to refine the concepts and values through which food systems are understood, bringing them into dialogue with urgent challenges such as sustainability, food security, health, justice, and cultural transformation.

The scientific program will cover a wide variety of areas, promoting trans- and interdisciplinary lenses, such as historical perspectives, sensing and feeling, valuing and appraising, sustainability and justice, food ontology and metaphysics, and methods and approaches. This philosophical inquiry will be expanded by exploring food as a complex object through sensory, epistemic, ethical, political, and pedagogical perspectives. Debates will broaden to cover fundamental thematic areas, from the transformation of food systems to the intersection of nutritional science, health, and values. Crucial themes will be addressed, such as the impact of technology and digital advancements on food, aesthetics, care, and everyday practices, up to biodiversity, animal ethics, food waste, traditions, cultural heritage, and innovation. The interdisciplinary approach will foster direct connections not only within philosophy but also with fields such as anthropology, history, food economics, gastrodiplomacy, and art.

ACTIVITIES

The dense three-day scientific program will offer dozens of individual and collaborative talks, structured into 3 keynote lectures, 3 plenary sessions, and 8 blocks of parallel sessions divided among panels, symposia, and workshops.

Keynote Lectures: Presentations delivered by leading figures in the field. These sessions are designed to tackle fundamental themes and set the intellectual agenda for the Forum's debates.

Plenary Sessions: Shared discussions on relevant cross-cutting themes involving all participants, fostering an inclusive environment for collective reflection.

Panels: Short academic presentations focused on recent research findings, followed by interactive Q&A sessions.

Symposia: In-depth, thematic explorations of specific subjects, conducted in a conversational format to encourage dynamic and sustained intellectual exchange.

Workshops: Collaborative and interactive sessions oriented toward addressing practical and structural challenges within the discipline, with the aim of producing concrete outcomes (such as reports, projects, or teaching methodologies).

CONFIRMED SCHOLARS

Keynote Speakers:

• Lisa Heldke (Gustavus Adolphus College, USA): A pioneer of contemporary food philosophy, she explores the relations between food, identity, and power.

• Valeria Campos Salvaterra (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile): She connects continental philosophy with the experience of eating.

• Paul B. Thompson (Michigan State University, USA): A foundational figure in agricultural and food ethics, whose work has shaped debates on the sustainability of food systems.

Selection of Confirmed Participants:

• Sally Haslanger (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA): An expert in social ontology, she provides crucial conceptual tools for examining injustices and transforming food practices.

• Sabina Leonelli (Technical University of Munich, Germany): A world-renowned philosopher of science, she examines how scientific knowledge and data are produced and shared, particularly in the life sciences and agriculture.

• Nicola Perullo (University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy): Rector and aesthetics expert, he has developed innovative philosophical approaches to gastronomic experience and taste.

• Carolyn Korsmeyer (University at Buffalo, USA): A foundational figure in the aesthetics of food, known for sparking new debates on food as art.

• Gyorgy Scrinis (University of Melbourne, Australia): Professor of Food Politics and Policy and author of Nutritionism. His work examines how nutritional ideas, food processing, and corporate power shape dietary advice and food systems.

• Johanna Mendelson Forman (American University, USA): An expert in gastrodiplomacy, she explores the role of food in conflict, diplomacy, and social integration.

• Laurette Dubé (McGill University, Canada): She connects consumer behavior, health, and the economics of food systems through interdisciplinary approaches.

• Giancarlo Guizzardi (University of Twente, Netherlands): A specialist in formal and applied ontology, whose research supports the examination and digital representation of food categories.

• Daniel E. Bender (University of Toronto, Canada): A food historian who examines the dynamics of mobility, labor, and inequality.

• Teea Kortetmäki (University of Jyväskylä, Finland): A specialist in sustainable food systems, environmental ethics, and just transitions.

• Matthias Kaiser (University of Bergen, Norway): He brings the philosophy of science into dialogue with food ethics, analyzing the relationship between technical expertise and public decision-making.

All speakers will have access to coffee breaks and lunches during the working days, while travel and accommodation remain at participants' own expense.