Course Description
An introduction to the political, economic, and social origins and implications of several Western food commodities, with a focus on breakfast (e.g., coffee, milk, eggs, and peaches). The course focuses on how natural and human resources are organized and regulated along food commodity chains.
Athena Title
Geography of Food Commodities
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in GEOG 3660E
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will meet the following learning objectives: An appreciation for the complexity of the industrialized agro-food system. An ability to recognize the ways in which labor practices, economic networks, environmental conditions and international relationships shape supply, demand and value within a globalized agro-food system. An understanding of the rationales for, possibilities for and limitations to alternative food systems. An awareness of the significance of science and scientific practices for the character of our food supply. An understanding of the significance of colonialism for the character of the contemporary industrial agro-food system. This course meets the following General Education Abilities by accomplishing the specific learning objectives listed below: Communicate effectively through writing. This is met by a series of writing assignments associated with supplemental reading and data analysis. Communicate effectively through speech. This is met by oral presentations, discussion leading, and classroom participation. Computer Literacy is addressed through course administration, student-faculty electronic interaction, and data analysis activities and assignments. Critical Thinking is central to the learning objectives of this class, and is developed through homework assignments, lecture, classroom discussion, and inquiry- based learning efforts. Moral Reasoning (Ethics) is an important element of this course, as it explores linkages among human behaviors, economic development, differential cultural norms, and globalizing forces. Moral reasoning is developed through lectures, writing assignments, classroom discussion, and inquiry-based learning activities.
Topical Outline
THE MODERN FOOD SYSTEM The Making of the Modern Food System Industrialization and Grain Production TECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SYSTEMS The GMO Debates Film: Harvest of Fear ORGANIC FOOD: ISSUES AND DEBATES WHERE DOES FOOD’S VALUE COME FROM? Fish, fishing and global trade Chocolate COFFEE Origins and growth of demand for coffee Coffee and international trade Specialty coffee and fair trade organizations Banana farming: Vertical integration vs. contract farming What do bananas have to do with cashmere? Trading blocs and trading regimes: The Banana War and the WTO
Syllabus