2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit
June 11-13, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center
June Jo Lee
Founder
Food Ethnographer
Bio:
June Jo Lee is a food ethnographer, bridging ‘what we eat’ with ‘who we are becoming’ for senior leadership at Google and other businesses. She delivers strategic insights (improvements, innovations, transformation) for businesses to maintain relevance and even bend culture. She founded Food Ethnographer LLC to nourish modern hungers of disconnection and dislocation. There are three parts to her work: (01) Food-centered qualitative research into the future of Culture, Tech and Sustainability to inform business strategies; (02) Education platform, Readers to Eaters, which publishes stories about our delicious food culture for children to help them discover their own tastes; (03) Wunderland Lab to explore the edges of food culture and taste-making. June Jo studied medical and food anthropology at Harvard, and has spent her career working as an ethnographer for consumer packaged brands (Nestle, General Mills and more), retailers (from Walmart to Whole Foods Market), and food services (university, corporate). She served as VP of Strategic Insights at The Hartman Group, leading their qualitative consumer research for food brands. For the past 9 years, she has served as Resident Food Ethnographer for Google’s Workplace Services. She is speaker at national conferences for the food and education industries, and co-authored picture book biographies, Sandor Katz and The Tiny Wild (2022) and award-winning Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix (2017).
June Jo grew up transnationally between Seoul, Palo Alto and Austin, Texas, eating her mom’s alien kimchi. San Francisco is home.
Schedule
Thursday, June 13
10:30am - 11:30am
A Fusion of Flavors: The Cultural Footprint of What We Eat and Don’t Eat
Breakout Session 3
Ever wondered how cultural traditions influence our perception of what we deem “edible” and our utilization of food resources? "We are what we eat" is an age-old saying that highlights the profound impact our culinary decisions have on our lives — what, why, how, where, and when we eat all varies across cultures, serving as expressions of identity, social bonds, beliefs, heritage, and more. Come on a journey as we explore how diverse cuisines worldwide ingeniously optimize food scraps, leftovers, and less desirable ingredients. You’ll discover the wisdom behind naturally low-waste diets and eating habits and glean insights for minimizing food waste. Let's explore the rich tapestry of culinary heritage for valuable lessons that can help us build a more sustainable future where no food goes to waste.