This module explores the role of food in delivering the economic, environmental and social objectives of sustainable development. Through the prism of local foodscapes – food systems which set a premium on local, seasonal and sustainable attributes in the production, distribution and consumption of food, the module helps students to appreciate why local and locality features are assuming more importance in the theory and practice of sustainable development. Drawing on the perspectives of different actors in the food chain –producers, retailers, consumers, regulators and campaigners, the module explores the scope for (and the limits to) the growth of local foodscapes that promote sustainable development outcomes in Europe, North America and developing countries alike.

• understand how and why geography, character and provenance are relevant in food production, consumption and disposal;
• understand why food origins and place are re-entering the debate on sustainable development;
• appreciate and understand the different adjustments actors in food chains are making in order to align their role and actions to the new issues, policies and practices surrounding sustainable development;
• critically consider the extent of the changes; and
• evaluate the potential impact of them on academic debate and assess the prospects of localised food chains in practice.

 The module involves the following methods of learning and teaching: 

• Traditional lectures will be the principal vehicle for the presentation of central issues and the current debate around them. They also provide an opportunity for questions and open discussion
• Seminars will be organised every week to discuss assigned readings that are relevant to the topic covered in class
• Guest speakers will be invited to deliver lectures and engage in critical discussions with the students –with a view to enhancing their understanding of policy/practice-led debates on the sustainability of local food systems
• Project work affords an opportunity to develop problem solving skills and presentational skills.

 

  Subject-related skills.

• critically discuss and/or challenge theoretical assumptions;
• evaluate policies - both specifically designed or having an indirect effect - affecting the chosen issue/theme;assess strategies and programmes adopted in practice.

Transferable skills:

• Problem-definition
• Written, oral and graphic communication
• Creative and efficient group work and project management
• Synthesis and application of knowledge to practice

Values and attitudes:

• know and distinguish two radically different families of guiding principles in food systems;
• appreciate the relevance of geography and place for people, particularly as relevant elements in the trust-building process between producers, distributors and consumers;
• acknowledge sustainability issues related with food chains and appreciate the ecological value of food;
• reflect systematically upon what has been learnt in theory and apply it to a project, and its implications for personal development and further training.

 

Essay (50%)

Project Work (50%)

Week 1: Local Food and Sustainable Development: the Context
Week 2: Cultivating Provenance: Products, Places and Producers
Week 3: Local Foodscapes: Farmers’ Markets and Alternative Food Retailing
Week 4: Greening the Grocers: Supermarkets, Globalization and the Low-carbon Economy
Week 5: Urban Foodscapes 1: Context, Policies and Strategies
Week 6: Urban Foodscapes 2: Encouraging Sustainability through the Public Canteen
Week 7: The Public Plate – Encouraging Localization through Public Procurement
Week 8: Local Food in a Global Context: Fair Trade as a Competing Sustainable Development Narrative
Week 9: Localisation Strategies and Democratic Participation– Consumers, Producers, Citizens and the State (panel discussion)
Week 10: Students’ Presentations

 Morgan, K. J. and Sonnino, R. (2008) The School Food Revolution: Public Food and the Challenge of Sustainable Development. London: Earthscan

 Morgan, K. J., T. K. Marsden, and J. Murdoch (2006) Worlds of Food: Place, Power and Provenance in the Food Chain. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press

Born, B. and M. Purcell (2006) Avoiding the Local Trap: Scale and Food Systems in Planning Research. Journal of Planning Education and Research 26: 195-207

 Feagan, R. (2007) The Place of Food: Mapping Out the “Local” in Local Food Systems. Progress in Human Geography 31 (1): 23-42

 Hinrichs, C. C. (2003) The Practice and Politics of Food Systems Localization. Journal of Rural Studies 19 (1): 33–45

 Morgan, K.J. (2010) Local and Green, Global and Fair: the Ethical Foodscape and the Politics of Care. Environment and Planning A, 42 (8): 1852-1867

 Sonnino, R. (2007) Embeddedness in Action: Saffron and the Making of the Local in Southern Tuscany. Agriculture and Human Values, 24: 61-74

 Sonnino, R. (2010) Escaping the Local Trap: Insights on Re-localization from School Food Reform. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 12 (1): 23-40

 Sonnino, R. and Marsden, T. (2006) Beyond the Divide: Rethinking Relations between Alternative and Conventional Food Networks in Europe. Journal of Economic Geography, 2, 6: 181-199

 Winter, M. (2003). Embeddedness, the New Food Economy and Defensive Localism. Journal of Rural Studies 19: 23–32.

 

 

 

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