Food Systems: Agri-Environmental Economics, Policy, and Sustainability

Industrial food systems provide plentiful and relatively cheap food, but this comes with environmental, social, and economic costs. The causes of the unsustainability of industrial food systems are to be found in government and market failures not accounting for the full value of environmental, economic and social impacts of conventional agriculture and food supply chains, as well as in not adequately considering the benefits resulting from alternative food systems. By analyzing both conventional and alternative theories and decision-making systems underlying the governance of the primary sector, this course will investigate the EU Common Agriculture Policy to understand what innovative governance approaches could be capable of promoting more sustainable food systems.