Food and Sustainability: Economy, Society and Environment

Module title	Food and Sustainability: Economy, Society and Environment
Module code	SOCM045
Academic year	2025/6
Credits	30
Module staff	Professor Matt Lobley (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	15

Module description

This module surveys the ways in which food production and consumption is connected to the contemporary crisis of sustainability, as well as ways in which associated problems may be addressed. You will critically examine the technologies of contemporary food production, processing, and retailing. You will focus on the impact of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics on soil, water, biodiversity, food productivity and consumer health; the promises and threats arising from new technologies such as genetic engineering, automation and artificial intelligence; and the causes and effects of waste along the food chain. You will also learn how proponents and practitioners of innovative approaches—from regenerative agriculture to a circular economy approach—draw selectively on knowledge systems, old and new, in attempts to build more sustainable food systems. In the examination of each of these topics, you will look at the social, political, economic, and environmental dimensions of problems and proposed solutions, with a view toward understanding the tensions between these as well as potential synergies.

Suitable for specialist and non-specialist students

Module aims - intentions of the module

You will read works on food and sustainability from a range of disciplines, including agricultural and aquacultural sciences, environmental studies, nutrition and health sciences, science and technology studies, sociology, anthropology, geography, development studies, and political economy. Through engagement with the literature, you will develop perspectives on food and sustainability at various scales, analysing problems as well as critically examining proposed solutions. The module will prepare you for your own research in the field of study, whether academic or within the context of public institutions, industries, or third sector organisations with an interest in food and its place in sustainable communities, sustainable economies, and sustainable environments.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Critically analyse a range of sustainability challenges in the production, processing, retailing and consumption of food
2. Identify and critically assess the roles of a range of actors of various types and scales in food related sustainability challenges

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Discern the social, political, economic, and technological factors in food related sustainability challenges
4. Recognize and articulate critical perspectives on a range of proposed solutions to food related sustainability challenges

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. Critically analyse sources that identify and propose solutions to food related sustainability challenges
6. Present relevant information in support of coherent critical appraisal of food related sustainability challenges and proposed solutions

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction: Food, Agriculture, Climate, Biodiversity, Nutrition and Health: Threats, Mitigation and Opportunities

Land, Soil and Productivity

Chemical Inputs and Biodiversity

Biotechnology: Promise and Peril

Antibiotics and Anti-Microbial Resistance

Water

The Global Fisheries Crisis

Food Waste

Regenerative Agriculture and Circular Economies

Meat: from Concentrated Feed Lots, to Pasture, to Veganism

Automation and Artificial Intelligence in Food and Farming

Food Livelihoods, Wellbeing and Sustainable Communities

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	278	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	22	11 x 2-hour weekly seminar
Guided independent study	76	Weekly reading for seminar preparation
Guided independent study	52	Weekly preparation of reading response papers
Guided independent study	150	Research and preparation of extended essay and presentation

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Weekly reading response papers and their use in class discussions	2 weekly reading response papers totalling 600 words	1-6	Oral feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Portfolio of weekly reading response papers and their use in class discussions	50	Portfolio of 10 weekly reading response papers totalling 3,000 words	1-6	Mark with written feedback on portfolio
Essay	50	3,000-word essay on a relevant topic of students choice, approved by convener	1-6	Mark with written feedback

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Portfolio of weekly reading response papers (Portfolio of 10 weekly reading response papers totalling 3,000 words)	Portfolio of weekly reading response papers (3,000 words) (50%)	1-6	August/September
Essay (3,000-word essay on a relevant topic of students choice, approved by convener)	Essay (3,000 words) (50%)	1-6	August/September

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Jackson, Cameron et al (2021) “Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People: An outline of the H3 Project”, Nutrition Bulletin 46(4): 497-505.

Kahn (2016) One Health and the Politics of Antimicrobial Resistance, Johns Hopkins University Press.

Kilpatrick et al (2014) “Supporting Farmer and Fisher Health and Wellbeing in ‘Difficult Times’: Communities of Place and Industry Associations”, Rural Society 22(1): 31-44.

Oosterveer and Sonnenfeld (2012) Food, Globalization and Sustainability, Earthscan.

Pretty (2004) The Pesticide Detox: Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture, Routledge.

Sage (2012) Environment and Food, Routledge.

Schurman and Munro (2010) Fighting for the Future of Food: Activists versus Agribusiness in the Struggle over Biotechnology, University of Minnesota Press.

Sexton, Garnett and Lorimer (2022) “Vegan Food Geographies and the Rise of Big Veganism”, Progress in Human Geography.

Temm, Marshood and Stedman-Edwards (2008) The Global Fisheries Crisis, Poverty and Coastal Small-Scale Fishers, WWF.

Thu and Durrenberger (1998) Pigs, Profits and Rural Communities, State University of New York Press.

Wolfert et al (2017) “Big Data in Smart Farming: A Review”, Agricultural Systems 153: 69-80.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

The Biggest Little Farm, FarmLore Films

The End of the Line, Dartmouth Films

Kiss the Ground, Big Picture Ranch

Gill (2020) It’s Not the Cow, It’s the How, Ted Talk

Key words search

Food, agriculture, fisheries, sustainability, environment, climate, biodiversity, health, livelihoods, community, development

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	04/02/2022
Last revision date	07/04/2025