Units / NUT3006
NUT3006 · Food systems and planetary health
2027 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 3Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food
Overview
This unit explores the interconnected relationships between human health, environmental sustainability, food systems and the living ecosystems that we depend on. You will learn about food system activities from paddock to plate, including agricultural production, food distribution, processing, retail, consumption and waste. You will explore drivers that influence these food system activities, including globalisation, climate change, industrialisation, colonisation and commercialisation and examine how these currently undermine efforts to achieve a healthy, sustainable and equitable food system. You will be exposed to a variety of perspectives on planetary health, including First Nations perspectives, food industry stakeholders and public health experts. You will examine the way you personally interact with the food system and conduct an audit of the built, social, economic and natural food systems in a Local Government Area. You also will identify and explore innovative opportunities for nutrition professionals to improve the food system and contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Clayton | First semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sustainable table challenge (2,000 word structured reflective piece) - Individual | Project | 35% | — |
| 2 | Food system audit (2,000 word report: 20% and 15 minute oral presentation: 15%) - Group | Project | 35% | — |
| 3 | Planetary Health Communique (500 word critique and 800 word re-written article) - Individual | Written | 30% | — |
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
Learning outcomes
- Examine interconnections between food, nutrition, climate change and planetary health in the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
- Analyse activities within the food supply chain, comparing and contrasting industrial and local food system practices.
- Examine the impact of colonisation and demonstrate respect for Indigenous peoples’ knowledges regarding food systems and planetary health.
- Critically evaluate the political, economic, social and environmental drivers of global and local food systems
- Examine the current food system through a social justice lens to achieve equitable access to nutritious food.
- Evaluate opportunities to innovate and disrupt current food systems practices to promote planetary health.
Workload
On-campus: 4 hours per week of interactive lectures and workshops + 8 hours self-directed learning and completion of assessment tasks.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Workshops | 36 hours |
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