“Exploring Vermont’s Food System” May 31-June 20, 2015 The list of “rsts” associated with Vermont’s food system continues: yet another national “First” for Vermont is the launch of an innovative 21 - day study tour that explores the question of Vermont’s traditions and innovations rsthand, by visiting the land, people, farms, businesses, NGOs, initiatives, policies, and governmental agencies that have made Vermont’s food system so successful — through the lenses and expertise of six distinctive institutions of higher education. Not only is this for - credit study tour the rst of its kind in approach, it is also unique in its origin. Food Systems Dynamics: The Vermont Experience ( SFS 2000/MSFS 5100 ) is the inaugural initiative of the newly formed Vermont Higher Education Food Systems Consortium , an innovative alliance of six Vermont colleges and universities with longstanding and diverse expertise in food systems research and development. VT Higher Ed Food Systems Consortium 2 Points of Focus Unierity o Vermont (UVM): Soil & Systems: Building an Urban Food System from the Ground Up Sterling College: Prot from Pasture: Artisan Cheese & Rural Revitalization Vermont Technical College (VTC): Dairy Begins (and ends) with “C”: Cattle, Carbon, & Capital Vermont Law School (VLS): Food System Advocacy: Leading the Nation in GE/GMO Labeling Green Mountain College (GMC): Conservation at the Core: Biodiversity, Land, Energy, & Water Quality Middlebury College: Small State in the Big Picture: Leadership for a Climate of Change in Global Food Systems