Water and Food Sustainability

Concurrent food, water, and climate crises amidst widespread hunger and undernutrition have re-focused public attention on the deficiencies and complexities of global food and water systems. This course examines the science and sustainability of our water resources as well as food production with an emphasis on the connections between the two. Increasing water and food system sustainability requires working along multiple disciplines, reconnecting agriculture with ecological systems and ensuring that policies and institutions that impact food and water systems protect social equity and the environment. The course draws from interdisciplinary research and education bridging worldviews and values implicit in different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. Linking theory and practice is also essential thus the course will incorporate multiple perspectives and case studies from local to global levels. Demand is growing for interdisciplinary scholars and other professionals who are equipped to analyze and address the complex challenges of sustainable water resources, sustainable food production, and water and food security. Students will synthesize information from water, food, and the environment from a systems perspective. They will examine the interactions between science, policy, and ethics and analyze the trade-offs and synergies between different objectives, solutions, and outcomes. Students will devise solutions to problems that incorporate the intricacies and interdependencies of water and food systems.