Course Syllabus
Sustainable Food: Consumption and Production A |
| Semester & Location: |
Summer 2024 - DIS Copenhagen Session 2 |
| Type & Credits: |
3 credits |
| Study Tours: |
Italy |
| Major Disciplines: |
Environmental Studies, Public Policy, Sustainability |
| Prerequisite(s): |
None |
| Faculty Members: |
Morten Hedegaard Larsen |
| Time & Place: |
TBA |
Course Description
Sustainable change in our food production and consumption is possible, and this course will provide students with knowledge, insights and experiences that will provide concrete tools to help understand and make these changes.
In this course we will try and make sense of what a sustainable food system looks like now and in the near future. We will investigate different initiatives, technologies and organizations that make our production and consumption of food more sustainable, as well as laying bare the many practices that are currently unsustainable.
The course will, therefore, both lay bare the complexity of our food systems while keeping a focus on concrete and innovative solutions that reshape our connection to food consumption and production. These solutions recognize and address the environmental and social impacts of food. Central questions to be explored include: How can we achieve more sustainable diets and inclusive food systems while producing less waste? How can individuals and organizations alike make a difference to our food systems? How do cities help shape more sustainable food practices?
Eating is an agricultural act, farmer and food writer Wendel Berry so accurately reminds us.
This statement has become even more potent with the many possible food challenges the world faces due to climate change as well as sustainability issues relating to the way we produce, store, distribute, sell and enjoy food as consumers ultimately. The global food system is extremely complex and the ways to ensure that it will become more sustainable are myriad and dependent on many different factors beyond production/farming but also relates to specific political, socio-economic and cultural issues. The “Arab Spring”, for instance, was directly correlated to high food prices in the region- we might be only seven meals away from anarchy! This means that the policies framing our food systems carry an immense importance, and this course will try and lay bare some of most important structural issues and policies guiding our food systems both nationally and internationally.
Denmark has over the last three decades gone through great changes in the way food is produced, consumed, and for many consumers a new awareness about sustainable issues has taken hold as the risks and challenges of food production in the “Anthropocene age” becomes more visible. One of the most important phenomena to have changed the production and consumption of food is the “organic revolution” which means that 10% of all foods sold are now organic in Denmark.
Our week-long study trip will take us to Torino (Turin) Italy's forth largest city. Turin has historically been a large manufacturers hub (cars predominantly), but as the the fortunes of Italian manufacturing took a downturn in the late nineties, Turin has had to re-invent itself- and it has! Today it has installed ambitions urban food policies working together with a growing number of alternative food networks and NGO’s to make procurement and consumption of foods more sustainable, including participation in a large EC funded food research project FUSILI. Most prominently it hosts the bi-annual global sustainable food event Terra Del Madre and the Piemonte region is also the ‘birth-place’ of the Slow Food Movement
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Identify and understand the global challenges of sustainable food production and consumption
- Critically assess sustainable food production and consumption from multiple perspectives
- Understand the complexity of national and global food systems and its main actors and organizations
- Engage in critical discussions regarding sustainable food initiatives
- Analyse different food consumption and production practices
- Draw up tentative solutions to selected sustainable food issues on the basis of theory and hands-on experiences
Faculty
Morten Hedegaard Larsen holds a PhD in Food Studies/Sociology (2016 Planning and Development, Aalborg University) and has published papers on food myths, agricultural experiences and social factors to explain obesity, for instance. Originally he holds a MA in Communication Studies from Roskilde University (2010). He wrote master thesis on the development of the Western Food Market. For the last five years Morten has held positions as assistant professor and post.doc at Aalborg University and Copenhagen University. There he acted as lecturer, coordinator and developer at the masters program Integrated Food Studies and taught courses on communication, staging and consumption of food, innovation and entrepreneurship, food concept design and sustainable food systems. In recent years he has also been involved in food innovation and food start-up research projects. Morten was, also, the first communications officer for the largest Danish food hall "TorvehallerneKBH". With DIS since 2021.
Readings
Selected Readings from the course:
Fassio, F.; Minotti, B. Circular Economy for Food Policy: The Case of the RePoPP Project in The City of Turin (Italy). Sustainability 2019, 11, 6078. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216078
Korsbæk Andersen (2011) Organic food and the plural moralities of food provisioning  Download Organic food and the plural moralities of food provisioning
Journal of Rural Studies 27 (2011) 440-450
Clapp J. The problem with growing corporate concentration and power in the global food system.
Nat Food. 2021 Jun;2(6):404-408. doi: 10.1038/s43016-021-00297-7
Azarbad H (2022) Conventional vs. Organic Agriculture–Which One Promotes Better Yields and Microbial Resilience in Rapidly Changing Climates?
Front. Microbiol. 13:903500. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.903500
Steffen et al. (2015) Planetary Boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science Vol. 347 no. 6223
Willet et al (2019) Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet 393(10170). 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4
Belasco, Warren (2012), ' Food and Social Movements', in Jeffrey M. Pilcher (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Food History, Oxford Handbooks
McGreevy, SR et. al. (2022) Sustainable agrifood systems for a post-growth world', Nature Sustainability, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 1011-1017. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00933-5
Field Studies
Visits will include the following:
Byens Landhandel.
Københavns Kogræsserlaug (Peri-urban Free-range cattle farm in Copenhagen)
Copenhagen City Hall
AGRAIN
Fiskerikajen- Sustainabel Fish Trader
The Market Garden at the Copenhagen Hospitality School
Experts ("Field Lecturers")
Rikke Pape Thomsen. Owner and Founder of Byens Landhandel an innovative food shop selling sustainable food products in Nørrebro.
Flemming Bak Jensen. Chairman of the Board for the Copenhagen Cattle "Guild".
Anna Jönsson.
Approach to Teaching
The methods used to cover class materials include lectures, videos, discussions, individual and group presentations, guest lectures, and field trips. Periodically we will split up into smaller groups to review and analyze the material more thoroughly. The course will have several out-of-the-class-room sessions on location to experience the different facets of food first hand. Students are expected to be able to find and be at the external locations on time. The external locations will not be far from DIS's location and maps and addresses will be given in advance. Office hours are held after class or by appointment.
Expectations of the Students
I expect you to attend all class sessions unless prevented by an emergency. If you are not in class, you cannot participate. I expect you to complete all the assigned reading and come to class prepared to discuss it in depth. I expect you to turn in assignments on time.
Students are not allowed to use a laptop or smartphone in class. Considerations will, of course, be taken if you have special needs for a computer for note-taking. Please speak to the Office of Academic Support to request accommodations.
All students are expected to have completed the course readings before class so that we can discuss the material at the right level. It is important to be well prepared for class because I may randomly select students to give key points on the readings for that day.
Students are expected to participate actively in all classes and field studies and be open-minded to their fellow student’s contributions to the class. The aim is to establish an environment where we can learn from each other as well as from the texts and cases we engage with, and you are expected to actively support this approach.
Assignments and Evaluation
Presentation of a Text from the curriculum - Individual Presentation + Upload
All students will be required to present one of the texts from class. The text can be both a "popular-science" article as well as a more acdemic article.
The students name will be present next to their assigned text in the Canvas Calendar.
Presentations should include as a minimum:
- Summary of main findings of the text
- Argumentation for why this is a relevant (or perhaps irrelevant) text in relation to the given topic of the day.
- Overview of its theoretical underpinnings and possible hypotheses (if any).
- Discussion of its main points/evidence- do they seem valid? (Why/why not?)
- Pose One question or dilemma for discussion in class based of the text. You are welcome to draw in contemporary events/news in order to stir debate.
The presentations should be no more than five minutes long, and as they are to be uploaded on canvas should - ultimately - be in a PDF format. But it does not have to be a power point.
Study Tour Visits Analysis + Sustainable Diet Group Presentation and upload
Before going on the long study tour, the class will be divided into groups. Each group will be assigned academic visit(s)/themes for the Long Study Tour for them to focus especially on (all students should of course be active on all the visits). Based on observations and conversations from the assigned academic visit(s), the groups must present their insights in class within a comparative framework and perspective. The group is of course allowed to draw on all the experiences and visits from the study tour, in order to contextualize their topics. Student groups will - back in Copenhagen - present each designated visit/theme.
Furthermore students should document their sustainable lunch had in Turin before departure, and explain in-depth what makes their lunch sustianable- and more so than other possible lunches.
The presentations will take place in the first class after the study tour and submitted on Canvas after the presentation.
Each group will receive written feedback and a grade for their performance.
Instructions for the presentations:
The presentation must focus on relevant quotes or information from conversations with their informants, researchers, farmers, chefs, etc. and reflect on competing narratives. Student groups identify overarching analytical themes based on these academic visits (themes can be burning issues with sustainability or competing narratives)
Slides must include key takeaway points from academic visits in the form of narratives and photos (turning soil, tasting olives, a passionate lecture, slow food, storytelling. Include the name of informant and organization.
Format of the presentation
Each team will perform a 10-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes for questions and debate with faculty
and peers. Thus, the presentation and discussion equal a total of up to 15 minutes
All students within the team are required to present
Expected learning outcomes
Identify overarching analytical themes based on these academic visits
Draw comparative insights from analyzing and reflecting on these themes
Present your insights and conclusions to an audience in an engaging manner
Pose engaging questions to your audience and lead a group discussion
Essay: Food, Power and Sustainability
Identify a relevant problem-formulation topic of own choice but with focus on broader societal themes relating to sustainability and the power to change food systems. Could be themes addressed in lectures and visits. For instance, sustainable consumption of meat, the evolvement of organic food, historic food sustainable developments (industrial food for instance), or the contexts for different diets for different users (unsustainable diets for instance). Please feel free to use your own background and knowledge outside of the course syllabus to make the essay even more interesting, but remember to include a minimum of two in-class texts as references (lectures/slides/field trips do not count as a reference in this context).
The essay should be between 1000-1300 words and pictures (including diagrams or models) are not allowed.
Overall evaluation criteria for the written assignment:
Ability to select a relevant case/topic as well as the ability to describe and and situate this properly in context.
Analytical skills that goes beyond the mere descriptive level by connecting analytical points to other analytical points and produce a coherent reflection –particularly in the discussion.
Ability to relate your analytical example to class and to the literature from class and, if relevant, supplemented by literature you have found yourself or from othe relevant courses.
Clarity of style and coherence of argumentation
Active Participation and Class Engagement
Participation and engagement entails among others: active participation in class discussions, preparation for each class, reflection on readings and sessions, active participation in field studies, sharing and writing of journals in and outside of class.
Evaluation criteria (Ongoing):
Demonstrate having read carefully for each session
Participate actively in class discussions
Contribute with original perspectives from previous experience, courses
Doing assignments carefully and timely
Partaking constructively in field studies.
Grading
| Assignment |
Percent |
Presentation of a Text from the curriculum - Individual Presentation + Upload |
15% |
| Study Tour Case-Analysis - Group Presentation and upload |
25% |
|
Essay: Food, Power and Sustainability |
35% |
|
Active Participation and Class Engagement |
25% |
Academic Regulations (Summer)
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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