Your future, our focus
POWELL, Wyoming — Stanford University lecturer Liz Carlisle will teach a lentils cooking and appreciation class while she’s at Northwest College Friday, Oct. 28.
Her program starts at 11 a.m. in the NWC Intercultural House with food prep and cooking. At noon, all in attendance will get to taste the results while Carlisle talks about the lentils' role in culture, agriculture and nutrition around the world.
Her discussion will cover a spectrum that touches on lentils’ global culinary history, nutrient profile and role in environmental sustainability.
According to Carlisle, lentils are one of the world’s oldest crops, dating back more than 10,000 years. High in protein, fiber, iron, and antioxidants, they are even mentioned in the Bible and have long nourished working people — from India to East Africa to Latin America. Lentils are also a key element of farm rotations in the intermountain West, where they replenish nitrogen in the soil.
A lecturer in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University, Carlisle teaches courses on food and agriculture, sustainability transition, and environmental communication.
She holds a doctorate in geography from University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor's in folklore and mythology from Harvard University. Her resume also includes service as a former legislative correspondent for agriculture and natural resources in the office of U.S. Senator Jon Tester.
Recognized for her academic writing with the Elsevier Atlas Award for research with social impact, Carlisle has also published numerous pieces for general audience readers in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, and Stanford Social Innovation Review.
In 2015, her book “Lentil Underground: Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America” was published, revealing the story of a little-known group of renegade Montana farmers who defied corporate agribusiness by launching a unique sustainable farm-to-table food movement.
This event is sponsored by the NWC Office of Intercultural Programs and is open to the public. Admission is free.
