Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Food Systems

Jennifer Blesh; Lesli Hoey; Andy Jones. 3 credits.
Some scholars argue that we have entered a new geological epoch—the “Anthropocene”—characterized by unprecedented human alteration of global processes. This fast-paced global change both affects and is affected by agriculture. Concurrent food, energy, water, and climate crises, and a global rise in obesity amidst widespread hunger and undernutrition, have re-focused public attention on the deficiencies and complexities of the global food system. The dominant industrial food system has increasingly well-documented social, ecological, and health-related costs. Yet, a diversity of ‘alternative’ food systems demonstrates that agriculture can be resource-conserving, equitable, and health-promoting. Increasing food system sustainability requires interdisciplinarity along multiple dimensions: reconnecting agriculture with ecological systems, reshaping food production systems to be more nutrition-sensitive, and ensuring that policies and institutions that impact the food system safeguard social equity and the environment. Linking theory and practice is also essential, involving the diverse range of actors moving food from farm to fork. It is, therefore, not surprising that demand is growing for interdisciplinary scholars who are equipped to analyze and address the complex challenges of sustainable food production and global food and nutrition security.

This course will offer a unique opportunity for students to gain interdisciplinary knowledge of food systems and to integrate theory and practice through experiential learning and dialogue-based inquiry both on campus and in the community. Interdisciplinary research and education require bridging worldviews and recognizing the values implicit in different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. This course will incorporate multiple perspectives, from the local to the global level, and an understanding of how those perspectives are underpinned by different epistemologies and value systems. That is, this course aims to directly engage with values, exploring how they shape food systems. Benefitting from collaborative interdisciplinary instruction that draws on the expertise of three professors from three different departments at the University of Michigan, students will develop competencies and cognitive skills in the area of food system sustainability including critical and systems thinking, creativity, and analytical ability.

John Vandermeer. 3 credits.
An analysis of ecological principles as they apply to agricultural ecosystems, emphasizing theoretical aspects but also covering empirical results of critical experiments. While the emphasis is on principles, practical applicability is also explored where appropriate. Physical, biological, and social forces are integrated as necessary. Designed as preparation for active research in agroecosystem ecology.

Ivette Perfecto. 3 credits.
In this interdisciplinary course, we will critically explore intersecting literature on agroecology, biodiversity, ecosystem services, diversified farming systems, agroforestry, and farmer’s livelihoods. The first part of the course will focus on the application of ecological theory to the study of diverse farming systems including intercropping and agroforestry. The second part will emphasize biodiversity both in terms of how agricultural landscapes affect biodiversity and how biodiversity contributes to the sustainability, productivity and resilience of agroecosystems and farming communities. The last part of the course will cover some of the most salient social issues in diverse farming systems, such as tree and land tenure and gender issues as well as the social rural movements that promote diverse farming systems and agroecology.

Instructor varies. 2 credits.
The University of Michigan Sustainable Food Systems Initiative (SFSI) hosts a unique community-academic partnership course called Food Literacy for All each winter semester. Structured as an evening lecture series, Food Literacy for All features different guest speakers each week to address diverse challenges and opportunities of both domestic and global food systems. By bringing national and global leaders to campus, the course aims to ignite new conversations and deepen existing commitments to building more equitable, health-promoting, and ecologically sustainable food systems.

Last offered during the 2015-2016 school year.

Andrew Jones. 3 credits.
This course will provide students with an understanding of the principles of program evaluation with an emphasis on global nutrition programs. The course will create a space for discussion and practice in which knowledge can be applied to current global nutrition issues through research and critical analysis.

Jennifer Blesh. 3 credits.
Global food systems have dramatically altered biogeochemical cycles, contributing to climate change and eutrophication of waterways. Growing concern about agriculture’s environmental impacts is increasing demand for citizens, scientists, and policymakers who have in-depth knowledge of more sustainable agroecosystem management approaches. We will focus on how management impacts carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles from soil-plant to global scales. The course links theory and practice, and domestic and international examples, to discuss the complex challenges of sustainable food production, with an emphasis on applying ecological principles to soil fertility management. Students will develop skills using this knowledge in applied settings.

3 credits. Don Zak.
This course centers on the overlap of soil science and ecology.  Our goal is to understand: (1) how the interactions of landform, topography, climate, and biota influence the development and distribution of soils; (2) how physical, chemical and biological properties of soils affect water and nutrient availability to plants; and (3) how nutrients are cycled within terrestrial ecosystems and how these processes are influenced by human activities. In the field portion of the course, we will sample and describe soils of four ecosystems and observe first hand how differences in landform, topography, climate and biota influence soil formation.  In the laboratory, we will analyze our soil samples for a number of physical, chemical, and biological properties.  Using laboratory data in conjunction with field data, each student will select two of the four ecosystems for detailed comparison in a research paper.  Although we will focus our attention on local ecosystems of Michigan, skills learned in this course may be broadly applied within a variety of terrestrial ecosystems in other geographic regions.

3 credits. shakara tyler.
This course will explore Black Agrarian Cooperatives and the connections to grassroots movements from historical and contemporary lenses. The goal of this course is to develop an analysis of food, farm, land, and environmental cooperatives as anti-capitalist strategies and practical implementations of justice. The course will examine historical and current case studies of Black cooperative philosophy and practice and how they operate in grassroots movement settings. Students will develop an understanding of the historical and contemporary factors that shape the emergence of Black agrarian cooperatives as acts of sociopolitical and socioeconomic resistance, community self-determination, and empowerment. Students will analyze grassroots case studies, policy landscapes, and community discourses connected to Black agrarian cooperative formations.

3 credits. Raymond De Young.
People must become familiar with the behavioral consequences of energy descent and global heating, but they must not dwell on those issues. Instead, the focus must be on making a transition to a low-material-throughput pattern of living at individual, collective, and institutional levels (Mazur 2024). However, intentionally, and against the dominant social norm, this course frames this new reality as an opportunity to emphasize behaviors that increase well-being (De Young 2019). It foresees a shift toward tangible, small-scale initiatives aimed at building neighborhood resilience, with communities following Brooks’ (2019) advice to emphasize “…individualism less and relationalism more,” resulting in an unexpected increase in well-being.

3 credits. shakara tyler.
The goal of this course is to understand the historical and current intersections of environmental justice as a philosophy, practice, and social movement praxis. The course will cover the origins of the environmental justice movement in the U.S., the meanings associated with the term “environmental justice” and the historical and current intersections to food justice and food sovereignty. The course will examine historical and current events and analyze the various resistance strategies employed by social movements to resist environmental injustices. An international lens will be explored to build an understanding of environmental justice and its food-based intersections on a global level. Students will develop a broad understanding of the historical and contemporary factors that shape the emergence of environmental justice movements around the world, including the mechanisms that give rise to class, gender, racial, and other types of disparities. Students will gain an overall understanding of the topic through analyzing policy, research, and community discourses as it relates to community self-determination and empowerment sought by environmental justice movements

3 credits. Olivia Anderson.
This course will cover nutritional needs of individuals during critical stages of development. Students will learn about the biological basis for nutritional requirements in normal development and maintaining health in adulthood. Consequences of over- and under-nutrition and how to identify and address these issues will be discussed.

2 credits. Susan Aaronson.
An examination of food composition and the chemical and physical changes that result from food processing, preparation and cooking. Discussion of foods as complex systems containing a wide variety of chemicals including nutrients, phytochemicals, functional ingredients, natural or transferred toxins and additives. Discussion of changes in chemicals with different types of food preservation. Consideration of health risks associated with dietary exposure to selected nutrients and other chemicals. Exploration of the role of sensory analysis related to food acceptance. Overview of important regulations related to the content of food products.

Prerequisite: Organic Chemistry

3 credits. Andrew Jones.
This course examines how food policies in the U.S. are developed and implemented as well as their impacts on public health, food security and societal well-being. It also examines theories of the policy process and frameworks for undertaking policy analysis.

Suzanne Cole. 3 credits.
This course is a discussion of the principles and programs developed to improve the dietary intake and the nutritional status of individuals and groups within a community. Primary topics covered include: government and nongovernment nutrition-related programs, groups at nutritional risk, nutritional issues/concerns across the lifecycle, and an introduction to developing community-based nutrition intervention programs (needs assessment, intervention, and evaluation). Didactic lectures and guest presentations accompanied with an in-depth needs assessment and intervention project and a community service-learning component will provide students the opportunity to integrate and apply knowledge through a hands-on approach.
Prerequisite: EHS 630, Graduate Student in Public Health