Sustainable Food Systems

Catalog description

Food is a powerful lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earth. However, problems associated with food and our food production systems are currently threatening both people and planet. An immense challenge facing humanity is to provide a growing world population with healthy diets that are based on ethically managed and sustainable food systems. While global food production has generally kept pace with population growth, more than 820 million people still lack sufficient food, and many more consume either low-quality diets or too much food. To have any hope of meeting the central goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, which is to limit global warming to 2°C or less, our carbon emissions from agriculture and food waste must be significantly reduced. This course will examine the sustainability and ethical issues and weaknesses in our current global food system. Key topics will include the ethical failures and environmental impacts of different agricultural practices; the ethics of patenting seeds and developing GMO crops reliant on harmful pesticides; how processed food and packaging impact the environment; the social, health and environmental effects of various diets; how climate change is impacting agriculture; and ultimately how can we meet the nutritional needs of the planet in an ethical and sustainable manner.