Field to Fork: Introduction to Local and Global Food Systems

Course Code: SOCI166

In an age of the 4000 km caesar salad and the 100 mile diet, with 800 million hungry people on Earth and over 1 billion overweight, understanding the "food system" is a hot item on the menu. How do we, and how should we eat for the 21st Century? How do we build the sustainable local and global food systems we want? This course explores these questions by following food's circular journey - from the farm fields where heirloom and biotech seeds are sown; into chicken McNugget and artisanal cheese factories; out to A&P, farmers markets, and restaurants; onto our dinner tables, forks and taste buds; and back to the beginning via composters and landfills. It's a wild mix, including issues like biotechnology, organic farming, globalization, climate change, peak oil, water scarcity, food security, obesity, hunger, the global food price crisis. At the centre of the course, and certificate program it serves as an introduction for, are the practical opportunities and challenges of making food system changes happen on local and global political, economic and ecological levels.