FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: (Graduate/professional standing) or junior standing and satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) B Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Biological Science or Social Science Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Explain the social, economic, and/or environmental dimension ofsustainability challenges associated with food production systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Evaluate food production systems for their contribution to, mitigation potential of, and adaption to climate change. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify ways in which social structures profoundly affect not only people, but also biology, ecology, and our very climate. And the complement: how people's race/class/gender/occupation/nation status within the global social structure, as well as the nature of the global social structure itself, profoundly impacts their ability to cope with changing climate. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Critically evaluate the scientific literature and other sources of information related to the sustainability of food systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Analyze the causes of and solutions for the sustainability of food production,distribution, marketing, consumption, and waste disposal. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Develop analytical and problem‐solving skills individually and in teams ofclassmates with diverse worldviews. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Communicate effectively information to multiple audiences through multiple medias Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Develop an aptitude for working with mixed teams including undergraduatestudents Audience: Graduate 9. Demonstrate research and writing skills to produce academically rigorousliterature reviews Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Explain the social, economic, and/or environmental dimension ofsustainability challenges associated with food production systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Evaluate food production systems for their contribution to, mitigation potential of, and adaption to climate change. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify ways in which social structures profoundly affect not only people, but also biology, ecology, and our very climate. And the complement: how people's race/class/gender/occupation/nation status within the global social structure, as well as the nature of the global social structure itself, profoundly impacts their ability to cope with changing climate. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Critically evaluate the scientific literature and other sources of information related to the sustainability of food systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Analyze the causes of and solutions for the sustainability of food production,distribution, marketing, consumption, and waste disposal. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Develop analytical and problem‐solving skills individually and in teams ofclassmates with diverse worldviews. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Communicate effectively information to multiple audiences through multiple medias Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Develop an aptitude for working with mixed teams including undergraduatestudents Audience: Graduate 9. Demonstrate research and writing skills to produce academically rigorousliterature reviews Audience: Graduate