Global Food Politics & Policy

Catalog description

This course explores what is meant by food policy and the major challenges in the food sector as well as policy responses at home and abroad. We start with the political economy of agriculture in the United States, including the history of government intervention in this sector, the role of trade, and migrant worker policy. Then we examine famine, hunger, and food insecurity, including programs aimed at mitigating these problems. The final section concerns diet, the food industry, and health (of ourselves as well as our planet). We will study food safety, climate change, and new philosophies of farming and eating. In each section, we consider the role of interests, institutions, and ideas in policymaking.