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Envision A Sustainable Future

The interdisciplinary Food Systems minor is designed to offer students a historical perspective and structural framework for studying our contemporary food system across disciplines. Students will identify and examine complex issues involving food, from soil to table, and develop knowledge and skills to become a more sustainable and responsible food citizen. The minor complements majors from across campus, including Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and the Humanities.

Minor Requirements

View in UVM Catalogue

Group 1 - Core Courses

Choose one course from each of the following Disciplines to complete 9 credits.

Natural Science:

  • The Green World (PBIO 006)
  • Introduction to Ecological Agriculture (PSS 021)
  • Introduction to Botany (PBIO 004)

Social Science:

  • World Food, Population & development (CDAE 002)
  • US Food, Social Equity & Development (CDAE 004)
  • Farm to Table: Our Contemporary Food System (NFS 073)

Humanities:

  • Ethics of Eating (PHIL 010)
  • Food and Culture (ANTH 085)

Course Descriptions

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    PHIL 010 - Ethics of Eating

    This course will explore the different ethical issues that arise in the context of our food choices both at the level of personal decision-making and at the level of public policy. We will address questions such as: what sorts of ethical obligations do we have to those who produce our food? Are the food choices we make ethically constrained by our obligations to preserve the environment or to preserve our own health and, if so, how are they constrained? Is it ethically permissible to eat meat? Is the government ethically permitted or even obligated to regulate our personal food choices (e.g. by regulating the volume of singleserving soft drinks)? To what extent is a government like ours obligated to ensure that people have adequate access to food? This course has two, related educational aims (goals, objectives). The first is to prepare you to begin developing and defending your own answers to these and other questions in the domain of food ethics. The second is to equip you with a certain set of skills. Both in preparing for class, in your writing, and through class discussion and group work, you will develop your ability to (1) communicate clearly and concisely, (2) reconstruct arguments for a position or view from a piece of text, (3) critically evaluate arguments, (3) construct persuasive arguments of your own in defense of a position or view, and (4) anticipate and address potential objections to arguments that you find persuasive. Although deploying these skills will be crucial in your effort to advance your own thinking about the questions in food ethics that we will discuss in this class, developing these skills has independent value as they can also be usefully applied in a variety of different domains outside of philosophy.

Group 2 - Elective Courses

Choose at least 3 courses from the following list:

  • Animals in Society/Animal Welfare (ASCI 122)
  • Animal Plagues: Global Animal Health, Infectious Disease Ecology, Zoonoses & Food Security (ASCI 192G)
  • Consumers, Markets & Public Policy (CDAE 127)
  • Agricultural Policy & Ethics (CDAE 208/ASCI 230)
  • Economics of Sustainability (CDAE 237)
  • Food & American Culture (ENG 107)
  • Environmental Impacts of Consumerism (ENVS 183)
  • Animal Products in Human Nutrition (HCOL 186K)
  • Food Policy & Politics (NFS 113/FS 101)
  • Biology of Fungi (PBIO 177)
  • Agroecology of Vegetable Crops (PSS 127)
  • Composting Ecology & Management (PSS 154)
  • Sustainable Farm Practicum (PSS 209)
  • Advanced Agroecology (PSS 212/ENVS 221)
  • Permaculture (PSS/ENVS 156)

This list is udpated annually. Please review the catalogue under year of declaration for specific curriculum requirements.
 

 

Declare a Food Systems Minor

If you wish to declare a Food Systems minor, please complete the declare or change your major form. This form is available within the Advising Tab of myUVM.
 

Affiliated Departments

Community Development and Applied Economics
Nutrition and Food Sciences
Anthropology
Philosophy
Plant and Soil Science
Environmental Studies
Animal Science
Plant Biology

Questions?

Contact Jane Kolodinsky