food systems presentation oct 2009
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Food Systems, Culture and SocietyInternational Graduate InstituteUniversitat Oberta de Catalunya
An innovative, interdisciplinary programme in food studies
foodsystems@uoc.edu
What is Food Studies?• Inquiry into why we eat what we eat• We are interested in understanding the forces
that shape our relationships to food, including: • Social• Cultural• Environmental• Psychological• Economic• Political• Geographic
Why Food Studies“Not all that long ago, most people
considered food too common, too quotidian, to be taken seriously as a field of study, let alone as an agent of social
change”Marion Nestle
The Power of Food“The power of food lies in its material and
symbolic functions of linking nature, human survival, health, culture and
livelihood as a focus of resistance tocorporate takeover of life itself”
Philip McMichael
What is a Food System? • The organization of the production,
processing, distribution, selection and consumption of food
• Broad and cross-cutting, “food systems”as a framework allows us to expand the scope of the programme to include issues linked to land, ecology, economy, power, production, processing, regulation, history, culture and politics
Programme Framework• Courses are framed around the principles of agroecology• Agroecology refers to a cross-scale, cross-sectoral,
interdisciplinary approach to agriculture and food• It recognises and embraces co-existing ecosystems and
populations and promotes ecological principles for alternative systems
• Beyond the farm, it promotes biodiversity and upholds farming principles that respect soil and water
• Agroecology demands that we pay attention to agronomy and society
• Techniques stress resilience, stability and sustainability
Food Web• Agriculture and food form part of a vast and complex
web• From farm to fork, the food web metaphor is useful for
understanding the complexity of food systems: when one strand of the web is weakened or neglected, the entire web is in turn weakened, but when all parts of the web work together, the strength of the web increases
From Food Web to Food Studies• The tension of the food web is maintained through
various social norms, ecological realities and institutionalised relations of ruling (laws, regulations, policies).
• This is our work: we study these sites of tension• The organization of the food web impacts who eats and
who does not, as well as what we eat and what we do not eat, what is planted, where and how is it cultivated
Masters in Food, Society & International Food Governance
Food Systems Analysis15 credits
Mandatory Specialisation
Mandatory Specialisation + 2 Specialisations in a chosen streams
Food Regulation Stream Food and Society Stream
International Agri-Food Policy
15 credits
Food Regulation(with IFLR)15 credits
Food and Society15 credits
Food Security(with FAO)15 credits
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA (30 credits)International Agri-Food Policy
+ 1 Elective Specialisation
Food and Society15 credits
Food Security15 credits
Geographic Indicators15 credits
Directed Project15 credits
Int. Agri-Food Policy
15 creditsFood Regulation
15 credits
Topics of Interest• Complexity of living
systems• Integrated systems in
relationship to differentproduct and distributionmodels in agriculture
• Intellectual property andseeds
• Traditional agricultureand knowledge
• Agriculture and gender• Considering the local
• Geographic indication– Social movements– Communities– Development– Tourism
• Food history andglobalization
• Anthropology of foodglobalization
• Food and migration• Anthropology of
consumption• Food security assessment
Masters in Agroecology• Sustainability and agroecology• Promotion and comercialisation• Integrated rural planning• Agroturism and economic
diversification• Working the land• Catalan agricultural ecosystems• Agriculture and cooporation
Some of our partners• Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), UN• Michigan State
University’s Institute forFood Law and Regulation
• University of Missouri’sFood and AgriculturePolicy Research Institute
• Universities FightingWorld Hunger
Student Profile • Food Systems students will typically have
backgrounds in a field related to agriculture and food, such as:
EconomicsEnvironmental studiesDevelopmentInternational relationsLaw
Political studiesPublic healthProductionPlanningSociology
• Many will already have work experience in the agri-food sector and will be looking to broaden their knowledge and skills so as to advance their careers
Thank You
For more information, email us at
foodsystems@uoc.edu
“Enhance your knowledgeabout food systems on
your schedule, fromanywhere in the world”
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