Food and Nutrition Policy
Course examines ways in which the US govt designs & implements policies/programs that affect access to nutritionally adequate, safe, affordable diets. We analyze how multiple stakeholders in the food system interact to affect policy design & implementation; historical, social, economic, environmental & political factors that determine stakeholder positions on policy issues; & ways these factors promote or act as barriers to achieving a system that promotes optimal food access, nutrition & health. We cover contemporary food & nutrition policy issues, as well as the history of these issues & ideas. Students will understand the broad spectrum of policies that affect human diets & will become familiar with the policy processes.
Topics
- a. Describe the principal areas of domestic food and nutrition policy (e.g., food assistance, dietary guidance and education, agricultural support, food industry regulation, food safety regulation, food and nutrition research) and the most important current issues related to these policy areas. b. Identify the governmental agencies primarily responsible for each area of food and nutrition policy and explain their roles. c. Identify the ways in which historical, social, cultural, economic, commercial, and institutional factors promote or act as barriers to the design and implementation of agriculture, food, and nutrition policies and programs, and the ways in which these policies and programs affect health. d. Describe the major federal food programs—their history, purpose, reach, and effectiveness, as well as current policy and political questions being raised about them. e. Identify and apply the methods through which stakeholder groups affect the design and implementation of agriculture, food, and nutrition policies. f. Recognize your potential to engage in and influence food and nutrition policy throughout your career.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027