Postgraduate Module Descriptor


SOCM045: Food and Sustainability: Economy, Society and Environment

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

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)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. 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
Discipline-Specific Skills3. 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
Personal and Key Skills5. 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

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

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.