Food and the U.S. Economy

Catalog description

This course will begin with a conventional industrial organization analysis of the food industry (even though about half of all farms are small, family owned, they account for only 20% of food production in the U.S.). We will then move to a study of government industrial policies, including federal subsidies (about $22 billion in 2019) and regulation, including USDA and FDA. Throughout the course, we will connect the economics of food to social justice, including food insecurity (about 10% of households in the U.S. experience food insecurity), climate (food production accounts for about 30 percent of total global emissions), immigration (72% of farm workers are foreign born; 68% are from Mexico), and labor (average individual annual income for farm workers is $12,500-$14,999; pre-vaccine, farmworkers were at highest risk to contract Covid). This is a service-learning course. Students will spend 3 hours a week doing service, which will be connected to course assignments and discussions. Students will be expected to follow the news about food and agriculture throughout the semester. Assignments include weekly response papers, current events papers, and weekly service journal entries.