Carolyn Steel on ‘Sitopia: The Creative Power of Food’

Soapbox Talk

9 August 2013

In Burlington Gardens

Carolyn Steel Photo: Rahul Singh ‘Sitopia (from the Greek sitos, food + topos, place) is my word to describe the many ways in which food shapes our lives and world. Our cities, landscapes, homes, societies and habits were all shaped by food; yet we have lost sight of what this means. Our profound disconnection with food is a legacy of industrialisation, yet is something we can no longer afford. With a rapidly increasing global population, urbanisation, climate change and peak oil, we need to re-value food and harness its power to shape our lives better. Food is the great connector: by thinking through it, we can gain vital insight into the hidden structures of our lives, and shape a better world.’

Carolyn Steel is an architect and leading thinker on food and cities. Her 2008 book Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction.

7–7.30pm
Gallery 10, Burlington Gardens
Free with an exhibition ticket (no booking required)

About Soapbox Talks

Taking place in the Richard Rogers RA: Inside Out exhibition, the Soapbox provides a literal platform for key figures from the worlds of architecture, design, art and engineering to make fresh and passionate 15-minute polemics on some the central issues confronting architecture and cities, today and in the future. Provocative and inspiring, contentious and stimulating, audience participation is actively encouraged! Find out more

• Royal Academy of Arts