Comparing Agricultural and Food Systems in the US and France: Lecture

Catalog description

This course is designed to explore key similarities and differences in the food and agricultural systems of the United States and France. It introduces students to a number of overarching food and agricultural topics that pertain to both countries, and students explore and analyze these key issues from both countries perspective. These overarching topics include the structure of agricultural and environmental policies, the use agricultural land for biofuel production, organic agriculture, food safety, attitudes and policies surrounding the use of genetically modified crops, the role of large agribusiness firms, attitudes towards diet and health, and several others important topics. Students conduct background reading on these topics, hear lectures -- sometimes from guest presenters -- that frame the topics from both the U.S. and France's perspective, and write reports on specific crops or foods that expose key similarities and differences between the two food systems. Finally, students pick one crop or food for an oral presentation that contains background information on how that crop fits into the two food systems, U.S. and France, and analyzes the key issues that relate to the overarching topics already identified. This course has two components that must be taken in partnership: 470A (FOOD SYS US/FRANCE I) and 470B (FOOD SYS US/FRANCE II). The first is a classroom - based course, and meets regularly during the semester. The second is a two - week component that takes place after the end of the semester. In this second component, after traveling to France, students hear presentations from the French perspective on the overarching topics identified earlier and also explore the topics first hand via field trips to farms, wholesale markets, retail markets, and other places relevant to the French food system. This component is organized by a host university, AgroParisTech. For these two weeks, students live in dorms within the city of Paris. Knowledge of French is not required.