Virtual Faculty Presentation Exploring Meat Consumption To Open LA Faculty Colloquia

The University of Southern Indiana College of Liberal Arts will host its first virtual Faculty Colloquia presentation of the Spring Semester by Dr. Urska Dobersek, Assistant Professor of Psychology, at 3 p.m. Friday, January 21. The public can attend the presentation, “Is avoiding meat healthy?,” by visiting USI.edu/lafc to find the webinar link. The presentation will also be livestreamed on the College of Liberal Arts Facebook page and uploaded to the College of Liberal Arts YouTube.   

Dobersek’s presentation will explore evidence showing that meat-avoidance is not an effective strategy to benefit physical or psychological health. According to the World Health Organization, mental illness is the leading cause of disability worldwide with over 500 million individuals suffering from depression or anxiety. Given that dietary intake is considered a major contributor to mental health, veganism and vegetarianism have become more prevalent as individuals seek to treat their mental disorders. Nevertheless, there is strong scientific evidence that restrictive dieting and omitting food groups impairs physical and mental health.  

This presentation is part of the Spring 2022 Liberal Arts Faculty Colloquium. Each Fall and Spring Semester, USI faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts present individual, free public lectures featuring their current research. To see the current lineup of speakers for this semester, visit USI.edu/lafc.  

For more information, contact Dr. Quentin Maynard, Assistant Professor of Social Work, at 812-465-1003 or qrmaynard@usi.edu.