Geography

Global Food Security

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

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, you'll discuss papers on the multiple dimensions of this challenge, including the biophysical, economic, nutritional, sociopolitical and institutional.

Taking a global perspective on issues, you will draw on 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 malnutrition.

Key topics include:

• global change and sustainable agriculture
• food security
• impact of climate change: mitigation and adaptation potential of agriculture
• water and food issues
• hunger and famines
• emerging issues in food security: GMOs, labels, diets, urban agriculture, organic agriculture and food waste.

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 varied forms.