MPS in Sustainable Food Systems

Courses

MSFS-500: Sustainability and Climate Change

This course offers a deep dive into the subject of sustainability within the context of twin crises, climate change and biodiversity loss. It provides a forum for exploring the social, cultural, political, and economic issues that arise when considering what it means to live and work sustainably in our dramatically changing world. Particular emphasis will be placed on food system contributions to global warming, the way that a changing climate will impact the food system, and the potential of food system change as a tool for slowing the process.

MSFS-501A: Exploring San Francisco Bay Area Food Systems

This course provides an introduction to the MPS in Food Systems and Sustainability. Students will meet other members of their cohort, learn to navigate program content, and begin their exploration and analysis of food systems and sustainability. Particular emphasis will be placed on the tension between making change through activism and advocacy and making change from within the mainstream food system. Course material will be delivered through a combination of in person lectures and discussions, and through tours that explore different elements of the greater San Francisco Bay area food system.

MSFS-501B: Exploring the Hudson Valley Food Systems

This course offers an in-person, hands-on exploration of the food system of the Hudson Valley. Students will evaluate the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of farms and food businesses, while also visiting several non-profit organizations working to improve the food system in the region. One full day will be spent at the Menus of Change Summit, and participants will become familiar with Menus of Change principles and initiatives through discussion and reading. Students will also present proposals for their final project in the Sustainable Food Systems MPS Program.

MSFS-501C: Presentation of Capstone Project Food Systems

Over three days of structured Q&A, guest speakers, peer evaluation, discussion and practice, students will hone their skills to prepare for an oral presentation of their final project. The students will gather in their communities of practice for peer review and discussion prior to delivering their final presentation to an audience consisting of MPS faculty and administrators and may include selected invited guests. In addition, the learners will complete self and peer evaluations on final projects as well as on the overall degree program.

MSFS-505: Systems Thinking Seminar

In this course students will delve into the concept of systems thinking as it applies to food systems through a dialogical analysis of the academic literature. Students will apply their understanding of systems thinking in the modeling of a complex food system problem. Application of systems thinking tools will be used to design an intervention that addresses the problem based on their analysis of its critical pressure points and connections. Students will map possible intended and unintended consequences of the intervention.

MSFS-510: Local, Regional, and Global Food Systems

The food system is a series of activities designed to feed and nurture us. This course will examine food systems on a global, regional, and local scale through the lens of sustainability. Students will learn about the industrial functions that formulate a food system and some of the factors that impact it. Topics will include trade, government policies, as well as nutritional, social, economic, and environmental matters. Students will explore a variety of initiatives designed to reform food systems while deliberating the complexities of balancing the Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, and Profits. Through weekly course work, students will gain broad knowledge of food systems and conceptualize ways to influence improvements.

MSFS-512: Local, Regional, and Global Food Systems

The food system is a series of activities designed to feed and nurture us. This course will examine food systems on a global, regional, and local scale through the lens of sustainability. Students will learn about the industrial functions that formulate a food system and some of the factors that impact it. Topics will include trade, government policies, as well as nutritional, social, economic, and environmental matters. Students will explore a variety of initiatives designed to reform food systems while deliberating the complexities of balancing the Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, and Profits. Through weekly course work, students will gain broad knowledge of food systems and conceptualize ways to influence improvements.

MSFS-515: Sustainability, Climate, and Systems Thinking

Students will develop fluency in systems thinking tools and apply them to major environmental and social issues intersecting with food systems. The course will also offer a deep dive into the subject of sustainability within the context of related crises - climate change, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss. Students will be exposed to modeling, life‑cycle assessment, policy analysis, fieldwork, and systems artifacts to evaluate and design evidence‑based interventions that emphasize equity, feasibility, and reveal unintended consequences.

This course provides a forum for exploring the social, cultural, political, and economic issues that arise when considering what it means to live and work sustainably in our dramatically changing world. Emphasis will be placed on food system contributions to global warming, the way that a changing climate will impact the food system and the food we can eat, and identifying leverage points for reducing the negative consequences of these crises. The final class project will be a substantial contribution to the School’s What We Eat research project, as well as tools and practices suitable for use in later MSFS courses and the Capstone.

MSFS-520: Race, Class, and Justice from the Field to the Table

This course will focus on exercises, research and reading from a diverse range of historical and current influential environmental writings from philosophers, economists, environmentalists, theologians, political scientists, naturalists, and practitioners. Learners will analyze the impact that human actions have on the natural world-particularly through foodways, or the social, cultural, and economic practices of producing and consuming food. This course will also explore how our understanding of race/ethnicity, nature, and the environment influences human choices around food. And it offers alternative courses of action toward viable, ethical, and antiracist solutions to questions about sustainable farming, global economic inequality, and world hunger. Throughout the semester, participants will use the lens of race and ethnicity to study and discuss how these two concepts affect access to agricultural land, foodstuffs / foodways, environmental justice and nature.

MSFS-530: Sustainable Agriculture

This course will cover the basics of agricultural production, discuss the shortcomings of conventional agricultural practices, and explore sustainable alternatives. The course uses lectures, readings, and interactive activities to provide students with agricultural literacy and challenge them to analyze complex agricultural problems while weighing a variety of social, biological, economic, and political factors. The topics covered include: sustainable agriculture, industrial farming, soil, water, farmland access, new farmer entry, agroecology, regenerative agriculture, permaculture, sustainable animal production, sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, agricultural labor and justice, genetically modified organisms, The Farm Bill, and food policy.

MSFS-540: Sustainable Diets and Public Health

This course will explore the dietary shifts needed in the US and other high, middle, and low-income countries to achieve global sustainability, food security, and public health goals. Students will be challenged to think critically about the characteristics of sustainable and healthy diets, the influencing factors that shape current and emerging food consumption trends, and how different sectors can play a role in advancing evidence-based programs and policies for changing eating patterns in the US and globally. Through readings, videos, interactive discussions, guest lectures, and project assignments, this course will prepare students become effective advocates for programs and policies that support healthy and more sustainable dietary changes among diverse audiences.

MSFS-550: Culinary Strategy and Food System Innovation

Innovation is not just about creating new things - often it is about creating new value. This course explores our culinary choices/practices and their impact on our pleasure, health, and the well-being of the planet. The first section of the course will look at food service professionals and establishments who are recognized for their efforts in the field of sustainability. We then move on to sourcing and utilizing food products. For this, we look at the basic physical characteristics of foods, which assists us in understanding what makes food products healthful and sustainable. We'll wrap up with an investigation of strategies for reducing food waste and going carbon neutral. This course will include videos, interviews, readings, and reflective activities, which will encourage students to view additional possibilities for their future endeavors.

MSFS-560: Food Movement Voices: How to Create Change

Food Movement Voices is a media-based course designed to expose students to various individuals, events, or actions that may provoke change or highlight a specific individual within the food system. It will feature the application of theoretical knowledge, connected to specific tasks. Over the course of the term the students will work individually and collaboratively as a cohort to review, research, and critique written material, audio and video files that showcase several relevant themes related to the concept of Food Voice. By the end of the term students will have produced their own body of work in the form of a series of short podcasts, and ancillary collateral materials for marketing and promotion of their concept and themes.

MSFS-570: Leadership, Engagement, and Impact

This course will introduce students to the different ways that individual stakeholders can actively influence the practices and policies that control the global food system. The class will focus on showcasing how chefs, farmers, and others use their personal profiles, restaurants, and networks to influence policies related to worker rights, environmental sustainability, nutrition incentives, and social justice. The course will present historical and current case studies of individuals and companies leading food system reforms by changing their own business practices, working directly with community-based organizations, and advocating for policy changes.

MSFS-580: Applied Project in Food System Sustainability

This is the capstone course for the MPS Program in Sustainable Food Systems. In this course, students will design and conduct a project on a topic of their choosing related to food system sustainability and transformation. The course will assist students in defining the direction of their future career as food systems professionals. Projects may be research based, entrepreneurial, experiential, focused on a specific outcome such as a grant proposal or publication, or may take other forms relevant to the student's goals and interests.

MSFS-581: Applied Project in Food Systems and Sustainability

This is the capstone course for the MPS Program in Sustainable Food Systems. In this course, students will design and conduct a project on a topic of their choosing related to food system sustainability and transformation. The course will assist students in defining the direction of their future career as food systems professionals. Projects may be research based, entrepreneurial, experiential, focused on a specific outcome such as a grant proposal or publication, or may take other forms relevant to the student's goals and interests.

MSFS-590: Making Change in the Food System: Leadership Perspectives

This course focuses on key changemakers and the sectors they represent across the food system, from multinational corporations to local community programs, farms to restaurants, investment to technology. Students will experience ways to evaluate effective leadership traits in individuals and effective industry-wide leadership by companies and organizations. Each week's topic will center around an in-depth interview with a guest speaker to determine what makes them successful as leaders, what contributes to the ability of their companies and organizations to effect change (failures included), and what they are looking for when hiring new team members. Framing lectures and forum discussions will reinforce key learnings from the guest speakers, while projects will allow students to research and develop their own leadership strategies; by the end of the class, students will be able to begin designing and communicating successful leadership strategies, preparing them for their future careers in the food system leadership.