ENSb1289 Food, sustainability and alternative food networks

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Michael Daniel Keech (lecturer)
RNDr. Naděžda Vlašín Johanisová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
RNDr. Naděžda Vlašín Johanisová, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Hendrychová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 31. 3. 18:00–19:40 U35, Tue 1. 4. 14:00–15:40 P24a, Thu 3. 4. 14:00–15:40 U32, Fri 4. 4. 8:00–9:40 P21a
Prerequisites
! ENS289 Food, sustainability &&!NOW( ENS289 Food, sustainability )&&TYP_STUDIA(B)
The course will be taught in English and it is therefore essential that students selecting this course feel comfortable participating in lectures, discussions and classroom exercises in English. The tutor will make every effort that classes are clearly delivered. During the final session, verbal group (ie. not individual) presentations are expected from students. These will be assessed by the tutor.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 22 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 21/22, only registered: 3/22, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/22
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Daniel Keech, Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, UK. • • MODULE CONTENT - An Introduction to Discourses and Practices in Food, Sustainability and and Alternative Food Networks • This module starts by providing an overview of the position of food within (mainly European) society from approximately the end of the Second World War, including how the production and supply of (sustainable) food has been conceptualised and problematised within the literature. The reasons behind the growing significance of, and debates about, 'food security' as an issue are then considered, as well as an examination of the competing interpretations of how it should best be achieved. This includes considering concepts such as food sovereignty and food rights/justice. Global food networks, in the form of supermarkets, are then briefly outlined, including issues of food safety, trade liberalisation and private regulation, before both the theory and practice of food system localisation are examined in some detail using case studies. The module also actively explores and debates what a sustainable diet might involve, including issues such as the implications of eating a meat-based diet as opposed to a more vegetarian-based diet, and the reduction of food waste. The course includes a half-day excursion by train on the final day to Tišnov, to visit a local food project. This will involve active participation in some simple horticultural tasks.
Learning outcomes
The course is a short introduction to a complex and dynamic subject matter and therefore students should expect a foundational exposure to these. Learning outcomes include:
1. The ability to review and outline the context of food within European societies and the key theoretical and policy developments associated with the supply of food;
2. The ability to demonstrate an awareness of the changing nature of global and local agro-food systems and the factors implicit in these processes, including an appreciation of their complexity and inter-connectedness;
3. Being able to show a clear understanding the key issues associated with the notion of a sustainable food and diet.
4. A basic understanding of different spatial (rural-urban) and gender contexts in the development of alternative food networks.
5. Exhibit research and communication skills through the planning, in a small group, the design and execution of a short piece of independent inquiry connecting food sustainability, social life and personal eating habitats.
Syllabus
  • 1. Sustainable food and food security - introductions, an overview of the course, explanation of the assessment.
  • 2. Concepts and narratives around sustainable food.
  • 3. Urban food production, provisioning and citizenship.
  • 4. Rural food social enterprises: CSAs, the ‘third’ sector and cultural landscapes. 5. Excursion to Tišnov The order may change depending on field trip and guest speaker availability.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • BLYTHMAN, Joanna. Shopped : the shocking power of British supermarkets. New York: Harper Perennial, 2004, xviii, 382. ISBN 0007158041. info
  • • Carolan, M. (2011) The Real Cost of Cheap Food. London, Earthscan.
  • • Goodman, D., DuPuis E. M., and Goodman M. (2011) Alternative food networks: knowledge, practice, and politics. Abingdon, Routledge.
  • • Lawrence, G., Lyons, K., Wallington, T. (2010). Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability. Earthscan, London.
  • • Maye, D., Holloway, L. and Kneafsey, M. (eds) (2007) Alternative food geographies: presentation and practice. Elsevier.
  • SAGE, Colin. Environment and food. London: Routledge, 2011, xv, 320. ISBN 9780415363129. info
  • • Lang, T. (2010) Crisis? What crisis? The normality of the current food crisis. Journal of Agrarian Chang, 10(1), 87-97
  • • Muller, B. (2007) Food Miles or Poverty Eradication? The moral duty to eat African strawberries at Christmas. Oxford Energy and Environment Comment, Oxford: OIES.
  • • Seyfang, G. (2006) Ecological Citizienship and Sustainable Consumption: Examining local organic food networks. Journal of Rural Studies 22(4), 383-395.
  • • Smith, J. and Jehlicka, P (2007). Stories around food, politics and change in Poland and the Czech Republic. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 32(3) 395–410
  • • Tomlinson, I. (2013) Doubling food production to feed the 9 billion: A critical perspective on a key discourse of food security in the uk. Journal of Rural Studies 29 pp. 81-90
  • Koopmans M, Keech D, Sovova L, and Reed M (2017) Urban agriculture and place-making: Narratives about place and space in Ghent, Brno and Bristol. Moravian Geographical Reports 25(3), 154-165. Open access link: http://www.geonika.cz/mgr.html
  • • Sage, C. (2011) Environment and food. New York: Routledge, ISBN 9780415363129.
  • • Edward-Jones G. et al. (2008) Testing the assertion that ‘local food is best’: the challenges of an evidence-based approach. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 19: 265-274.
  • • Lawrence, G., Lyons, K., Wallington, T. (2010). Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability. Earthscan, London.
Teaching methods
Lectures, case studies, class exercises and discussions, presentations, excursion.
Assessment methods
(i) Students need to attend all the classes in the course. A register will be taken. Failure to attend will affect the grade.
(ii) Students will need to complete an assignment. This involves reading and summarising a scientific journal article as part of a group. In the final session, a 10 minute verbal presentation will be given in class by each student, working in a group. A short (500 words max) written submission should accompany this presentation for assessment. Full instructions will be given before the start of the course and revisited in the first session.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
General note: Předmět určen primárně pro mateřské obory. Pro naplnění kapacity předmětu lze doplnit i studenty jiných oborů.
Teacher's information
Dr Daniel Keech Senior Researcher Countryside and Community Research Institute University of Gloucestershire, UK. www.ccri.ac.uk
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2026.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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