In an age of the 4,000 km Caesar salad and the 100-mile diet, with over 1 billion hungry people on Earth and even more who are overweight, understanding the "food system" is a hot item on the menu. How do we, and how should we eat for the 21st Century? How do we build the sustainable local and global food systems we want?

You will explore these questions by following food's circular journey - from the farm fields where heirloom and biotech seeds are sown; into chicken McNugget and artisanal cheese factories; out to Walmart, farmers' markets, and restaurants; onto our dinner tables, forks and taste buds; and back to the beginning via composters and landfills.

It's a wild mix, including issues like biotechnology, organic farming, globalization, climate change, peak oil, water scarcity, food security, obesity, hunger, and the global food price crisis. At the centre of this course, and the Certificate program it provides an introduction for, are the practical opportunities and challenges of making food system changes happen on local and global political, economic and ecological levels.

Host Course Code: SL-CSSL26
Host Course Name: Field to Fork: Introduction to Local and Global Food Systems