October was a busy month of conference travel and presentations for the Center for Food Systems Transformation. CFST’s Director Aaron Gross, PhD, and Associate Director Katie Gillespie, PhD, shared with diverse audiences the work on food systems transformation unfolding at USD. Inspiring audience feedback and in-depth conversations about sustainability, ethics and food highlighted the urgency of addressing the environmental impacts of global food systems and transformations in campus food procurement. Below are the highlights of each of these events.

In Spring 2025, the USD Center for Food Systems Transformation partnered with Professor of Sociology Julia Cantzler, PhD, JD to survey students about what matters most to them in the food choices they make. The survey tracked the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors concerning food on campus for approximately 300 students.

The Center for Food Systems Transformation(CFST) announces the launch of the new Student Food Choices at USD Survey and we would love your help in ensuring students’ voices are heard. 

The Center for Food Systems Transformation welcomes new Associate Director Katie Gillespie, PhD . Dr. Gillespie will be working with Director Aaron Gross, PhD, to advance scholarship on issues of justice and ethics related to the food system and its role in climate change, as well as contributing to campus efforts to transform institutional food practices to align more closely with the university’s ethical and justice-focused values. 

This past Wednesday, the University of San Diego’s College of Arts and Sciences celebrated the launch of the new Center for Food Systems Transformation (CFST) with an energetic reception. Guests enjoyed delicious vegan refreshments provided by USD Catering in collaboration with local community partners Maya’s Cookies and SPLIT Bakehouse , setting the tone for an evening focused on sustainability and justice in food systems.

The University of San Diego's Center for Food Systems Transformation (CFST), in collaboration with the Better Food Foundation, introduced the Scope 3 Campus Network at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) 2024.

The Center for Food Systems Transformation (CFST) was selected to run a networking meeting entitled “ Values, Culture, & Choice Architecture in Scope 3 Food Emissions” at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference and Expo --the largest annual meeting for sustainability in higher education. Scope 3 emissions are a category of greenhouse gases that are indirectly caused by a company rather than being produced directly by the company. One example are emissions from the supply chains for meat, milk and other animal products. The meeting is part of CFST’s larger efforts to support intercollegiate collaboration to help institutions of higher education address Scope 3 emissions through food.

Center for Food Systems Transformation (CFST) Director and Professor of Theology and Religious Studies Aaron Gross, PhD, was invited by Vox’s Future Perfect to contribute to a series on How Factory Farming Ends alongside bestselling author Jonathan Safran Foer. Dr. Gross and Foer were asked to contribute their thoughts on the future farmed animal advocacy. Their response , originally entitled “The Future is Collaborative,” was published August 7, 2024 under the title, “ Ditching factory farming can help prevent another pandemic : The neglected environmental and health benefits of fighting Big Meat — for humans.” The article has been widely reprinted and highlights the role that colleges and universities are playing as first adopters of more climate-friendly and plant-based eating.