Big Food: Health, Culture, and the Evolution of Eating Exhibit at Yale Peabody Museum

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Food is king in America.  Look, we need it to live.  We need it to grow.  We need it to get energy so that we can go out and conquer the world.  The problem, though, is when we consume more energy than we expend.  That calorie gap leads to weight gain and, on a nationwide basis, leads to the fattening of Americans.

Big Food, an exhibit being shown until December 2, 2012 at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History shows this in many shocking ways with illustrations, visuals, and more.  As to some of the causes of the obesity epidemic in America, the exhibit gives a few:

• More calories taken in than expended
• Towns and cities where there isn’t healthy and fresh food available (Wholesome Wave is trying to remove this problem)
• Towns and cities that are overrun with fatty, processed, unhealthy, and “quick” food
• Bigger portions than needed

As you go through the exhibit, you’ll see the ways that we can help to make a change in our own diets.  You’ll also have a chance to evaluate your own eating habits and see what you and your loved ones can do to make good, positive, healthy changes.  For a quick preview of how we can make a difference as a society, check out the video at the top of the page.  We’ve also gathered events from the Yale Peabody Museum page that would be great to check out in relation to checking out the exhibit.  Get planning and make a commitment now for healthy eating by voting online!

Big Food Related Events for the Rest of the Year

AUGUST

Saturday, August 25 from 10am to 4pm:  Summer’s Last Roar– free, day-long family program with door prizes, food tastings, and health and exercise-related presenters.  Free

SEPTEMBER

Early fall 2012 (date and details TBD): New Haven Food Summit (planning underway)

OCTOBER

Monday, October 8 at 11am, 1pm and 3pm:  Ratatouille – film screening, rated G, 111 min., Disney/Pixar.  Museum Admission Required.

Friday, October 12 at 12:30pm:  Yale Family Weekend lecture.  With Jeannette Ickovics, Ph.D., Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, Director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) and lead curator of Big Food.  Free.

Saturday, October 13 from 10am to 4pm:  Fiesta Latina – free, day-long family celebration, this year with a food and health theme.  

Wednesday, October 24 time TBD:  International Food Day program

Thursday, October 25 at 5:30pm.  Lisa Sanders lecture.  With Lisa Sanders, M.D., Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine and author of the Diagnosis column for the New York Times Magazine.  The John H. Ostrom Program Series.

NOVEMBER

Saturday, November 3 from 10am to 3pm:  Indigenous Peoples Day – day-long family program about indigenous South American cultures with a focus on food and diet.  Museum Admission Required. 

The Yale Peabody Museum 

170 Whitney Avenue (Corner of Sachem Street)

New Haven, CT

Monday through Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday Noon to 5:00 pm

Admission Fees

$9.00 Adults

$8.00 Senior citizens 65 years and over

$5.00 Children ages 3 through 18, College students with ID

$4.00 Group admission*

The museum offers free individual admission on Thursday afternoons from 2:00 to 5:00 pm during the months of September to June. Groups of 8 or more require advance reservations.

* To receive this reduced admission, groups must make a reservation at least 2 weekdays in advance. Group admission is only available with a written confirmation brought to the Museum at the time of the visit.

Admission is free to Peabody Museum members, and Yale ID holders.