Sustainable Agriculture

Catalog description

This course will explore the origin, forms, policies, and challenges to sustainable agriculture across the globe. In addition, this course will examine the significance of sustainable agriculture in the conservation of earth?s biodiversity through protection of species and their habitats as well as restoration of degraded ecosystems. Class discussions will explore different management practices being used to uphold ecological integrity, reduce costs, protect human and animal health, and promote environmental sustainability. The course touches on UN sustainable development goals. Case studies, peer reviewed articles, and videos will be used to help students better understand issues being discussed in class. This course will enable students to: Use sustainability principles to define sustainable agriculture in order to facilitate clear communication and informed decision-making; Articulate the role that sustainable agriculture can play in upholding ecological integrity; Illustrate the ways that sustainable agriculture is linked to food environments, food access, environmental justice, and policy; Identify opportunities and challenges for addressing global sustainability challenges that are scale appropriate (personal, local, regional, global); Illustrate the relationships between various agricultural systems at various scales and across different sectors.