Kulmbach City Talks (Kulmbacher Stadtgespräche)

The University of Bayreuth would like to strengthen the connection between the city and the university or the Faculty of Life Sciences: Food, Nutrition and Health. Therefore, the series of events is aimed at all citizens of Kulmbach and the surrounding area. You can look forward to informative and exciting lectures and discussions!

28 November, 2023, 7:00 p.m.: "What is healthy? Answers (and new questions) from the perspective of bio- and food analysis"

The media - especially social media - is full of tips on how we should eat in order to live healthily. Just as often, there are warnings about certain foods or ingredients. This lecture will shed light on the origins and the (supposed) scientific basis of some of these "recommendations". In addition, current developments in the field of (food) analysis will be presented and their possibilities - but also limitations - discussed. Current and previous projects of the Chair of Bioanalytics and Food Analysis at the University of Bayreuth, such as the European joint project WATSON for the prevention of food fraud, and activities at the German Center for Infection Research will serve as examples.

More about Prof. Römpp's field of research: https://www.bioanalytik.uni-bayreuth.de/de/

11 July, 2023, 7:00 p.m.: "What is organic? How do plants actually protect themselves from disease?"

About the presentation: Germany has set itself the goal of using 20-30% of its agricultural land for organic cultivation by 2030. With currently ~10% of arable land in the organic sector, there is still much to be done to reach this goal while safeguarding the interests of producers and consumers. Selected research will be presented on how plants protect themselves from infections and how such mechanisms could be used for organic crop protection. The Chair of Crop Genetics investigates the molecular mechanisms of plant immunity with a focus on plant scents that are released during infection, can 'warn' neighboring plants of infection and thus contribute to their protection. More about the Department of Crop Genetics: https://www.genetik-nutzpflanzen.uni-bayreuth.de/de/

The lecture is part of the TAO theme year "Health". With this event, the four Upper Franconian universities of the TechnologieAllianzOberfranken (TAO) in Bamberg, Bayreuth, Coburg and Hof want to bring together relevant health experts, scientists and business representatives to address the most important topics of modern health care. Read more: https://www.tao-oberfranken.de/themenjahr-2023-gesundheit.

Admission is free, registration is not required.

13th June 2023, 7 p.m: "Colorful is Healthy - Today's Vegetables and Tomorrow's Alternatives".

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Susanne Baldermann, Professor of Food Metabolome at the Faculty VII of Life Sciences, University of Bayreuth

Location: Sparkasse Kulmbach
Fritz-Hornschuch-Straße 10, 95326 Kulmbach

More than 80% of the population consumes fewer vegetables than recommended, yet vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and health-promoting phytochemicals. Plant foods reduce the risk of several non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Selected research will be used to present what phytochemicals are, how they work, and how their levels can be increased in plants and plant foods. The Chair of Food Metabolome explores the complex, dynamic changes in ingredient profiles and adaptation mechanisms, for example, in relation to changing environmental conditions and production systems along the food supply chain (from A for cultivation to Z for preparation). More about the speaker: https://www.ubtaktuell.uni-bayreuth.de/susanne-baldermann

 The lecture is part of the TAO theme year "Health". The four Upper Franconian universities of the TechnologieAllianzOberfranken (TAO) in Bamberg, Bayreuth, Coburg and Hof want to use it to bring together relevant health experts, scientists and business representatives to address the most important issues in modern healthcare. Read more: https://www.tao-oberfranken.de/themenjahr-2023-gesundheit.

Admission is free, registration is not required.

2nd May 2023, 7 p.m: ""Healthy eating - can't it be simpler?" Tips from psychology for healthy eating in everyday life

Eating healthy is often only proverbially "on everyone's lips": Every year, millions of Germans resolve to finally eat healthier on January 1, only to reach for pizza, hamburgers and chocolate again a few weeks later. A healthy diet is often difficult for us, as psychologist and junior professor Laura König knows. But she also knows that it doesn't always have to be so difficult! In this lecture as part of the Kulmbach City Talks, she shares insights from psychological research on eating behavior that can be used to quickly and easily eat healthier in everyday life.

At the Junior Professorship of Public Health Nutrition in Kulmbach, she studies a wide range of determinants of eating behavior and tests interventions to promote healthy lifestyles in different settings

Admission free, no registration required.

24th January 2023, 7 p.m: "Run', Kulmbach, run' - how physical activity can positively influence our health"

About two thirds of EU adults achieve insufficient levels of daily physical activity. This inactive lifestyle has health consequences and promotes the development and manifestation of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus type 2, obesity, cancer or cardiovascular problems. In the lecture, Mr. Suhr will present selected examples of these relationships, explain biological-physiological mechanisms of action, and demonstrate positive consequences of physical activity.
The Chair of Molecular Exercise Physiology is engaged in the elucidation of molecular mechanisms induced by physical activity that can positively influence health maintenance.

Admission free, no registration necessary.

27th September 2022, 7 p.m: "Good fats, bad fats – the influence of dietary lipids on our health"

More and more people are overweight and thus have an increased risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. But what actually happens to our food in the body and how does our diet influence our health? These biochemical and physiological processes will be explained in an understandable way in the lecture. One focus is the consumption of dietary lipids - i.e. saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as well as cholesterol - and their influence on our liver health. The lecturer will also present other research foci of her chair.

4th July 2022, 7 p.m: "Why don't we eat insects? About law, reason, an demotion when eating".

We want to eat sustainably without knowing what sustainability actually is. We also don't want to pay a lot to eat more sustainably. And we want to have a wide variety of food available around the clock. To ensure all this, the United Nations assumes that we need to drastically change the way we live and produce. Food innovation is one way to help us do this. But we find it difficult to accept "novel food" made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or insects. This is also reflected in the law, which sets particularly high hurdles for such innovations. Find out why this is so and whether it makes sense in this city talk, the first time in Kulmbach.