Cosmic Dreaming: The Ecology of Food Systems and Their Impact on Human and Environmental Health by Fred Provenza, PhD
In this far-ranging talk, ecologist Dr. Fred Provenza examines the deep connections between human health, ecological health, spiritual well-being, and our relationships with community and the Earth. Through science, story, and lived experience, Dr. Provenza weaves together insights from ecology, health, culture, and spirituality to explore how disconnection from community and land has shaped modern illness, social fragmentation, and environmental degradation, and, conversely, how belonging and reciprocity lead to well-being and resilience.
Cosmic Dreaming is an integrative reflection on these complex interconnections, meant to illustrate how humans have become increasingly disconnected from one another and from the landscapes that nourish and sustain life. Moving fluidly between deep time and personal experience, Dr. Provenza situates human health within the broader context of ecological systems, cultural inheritance, and place-based relationships.
Rather than offering prescriptions, this event invites reflection on how belonging, reciprocity, gratitude, and dialogue can help restore our relationships with one another and the living systems that make life possible..
Through stories of extended families, animal cultures, ranching, and scientific inquiry, the webinar examines how health and resilience emerge through belonging, diversity, and interdependence. Dr. Provenza draws parallels between human communities and animal systems, highlighting how transgenerational learning, cultural memory, and intimate relationships with land shape physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. These insights are linked to contemporary challenges in health care, including chronic disease, burnout, and the limitations of reductionist approaches to healing.
The talk also reflects on personal experiences of depression and serious illness as catalysts for transformation, deepening an understanding of compassion, dialogue, and unity across difference. Rather than framing solutions as technical or ideological, Cosmic Dreaming suggests that many of our most urgent ecological, social, and health crises arise from fractured relationships. Healing begins by restoring connection through humility, gratitude, and honest dialogue.
Ultimately, this event offers a hopeful and grounded invitation to remember our place within living systems, and to consider how nurturing relationships with one another and the Earth may be essential for collective well-being during our brief moment on this planet.
Speaker Bio:
Fred Provenza, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Wildland Resources at Utah State University and the author of three books, an audiobook, and more than 300 peer-reviewed publications across the behavioral, ecological, chemical, and nutritional sciences. He began his career working on a ranch near Salida, Colorado, while earning a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. He later earned his master’s degree and PhD in range science at Utah State University, where he worked as a technician and research assistant before joining the faculty in 1982.
Over the next 35 years, Dr. Provenza and his graduate students and collaborators from around the world conducted pioneering research that laid the foundation for what is now known as behavior-based management of landscapes. This work has influenced such disciplines as chemical and landscape ecology, ruminant and human nutrition, biopsychology, animal welfare, restoration ecology, wildlife damage management, pasture and rangeland science, and rural sociology and eco-development. These collective efforts led to the formation of the research and outreach program BEHAVE (Behavioral Education for Human Animal and Vegetation Ecosystem Management) at Utah State in 2001.In addition to his academic work, Dr. Provenza has been a guest speaker at more than 700 conferences and workshops for both scientific and general audiences. His book Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us About Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom (Chelsea Green, 2018) brought his work to a broad public audience and led to invitations to speak globally on regenerative agriculture, physical health, and spiritual well-being. The many awards he has received for research, teaching, and mentoring reflect the creativity and impact that have characterized his long-standing professional and personal relationships with students, colleagues, and collaborators over more than five decades.
This event is intended for integrative practitioners of all disciplines.
Non-members and med students interested in integrative medicine are also invited to join the webinar.
Cleveland Chapter contact: petergeller.lac@gmail.com