Geography

Global Food Security

Module code: 005GS
Level 6
30 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Essay, Coursework

Achieving food security for 10-billion people while reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture is a major challenge of the next century.

In this module, we discuss papers on the multiple dimensions of this challenge, including the biophysical, economic, nutritional, socio-political and institutional.

We take a global perspective on issues, drawing upon both global-scale research as well as case studies from different regions of the world to understand the geography of agricultural production, its environmental footprint and of malnutrition.

Key topics include:

  • global change and sustainable agriculture
  • what is food security?
  • globalisation: the economics, finance and trade of food
  • impact of climate change: mitigation and adaptation potential of agriculture
  • farm management: soil-water-fertilizers
  • livestock
  • emerging issues in food security: biofuels, GMOs, labels, diets, urban agriculture, organic agriculture, permaculture.

Module learning outcomes

  • Evaluate the main dimensions, metrics and indicators of food security.
  • Understand and evaluate the different dimensions to food security using the current literature in global sustainable food security
  • Recognise the significance, assumptions, and limitations of arguments related to these dimensions of global food security and their applicability over time and across space
  • Formulate academic arguments about contemporary food-security related issues and present them in written and/or oral form (ESS 2500 words, GPN)