Wageningen University and Research Center

This course critically explores the diversity of solutions being offered to secure a sustainable and future-proof food system. Starting with the EAT-lancet report as the epitome of contemporary discourse regarding food systems, week by week the course dives deeper and explores some of the most pressing questions food system thinkers are asking themselves. Each week focuses on a different question and begins with a lecture on theory, followed by a case study from the Global Network of Lighthouse farms, and/or a virtual excursion to meet relevant actors in the field, whether that be farmers, processors, distributors, decision-makers, or consumers. The week closes each subject with time to discuss the readings, ask questions, and reflect on the lessons learned in preparation for the final exam. Each week students work together to develop a plan to bridge the "think-do gap" in a case study of their choice by designing a bold vision for a more sustainable food system.

This course introduces the theory and practice of consumer studies. In terms of theory, the course focuses on economic, psychological, sociological, communication, and marketing theories to develop an understanding of consumers. Concepts such as information processing, attitude formation, framing, group norms, conflicts, motivations, emotions, goals, income, wealth, social practices, and culture are studied. In terms of practice, the course reviews four different approaches to consumer studies. All theories can be analyzed with at least four different approaches: marketing, communication, sociology, and economics. During a group assignment students analyze a self-chosen problem concerning a consumer situation with the four approaches to examine how and why consumers behave the way they do, and to provide an answer to the raised research problem.

This course is a study of grasslands and rangelands, which can be defined as the type of vegetation in which grasses and forbs are dominant. This course covers the importance of grassland as natural vegetation but also addresses the prevalence of semi-natural and agricultural grasslands, which are often managed by humans to provide food for domestic animals. This course explores a range of topics including the taxonomy and morphology of grassland species; the growth, development, and physiology of grassland species; grassland management, including aspects of grazing methods, botanical composition, soil quality, carbon sequestration, and the water and nutrient supply of soil; nutrition of ruminants, forage quality, forage conservation, and feeding systems; grass breeding, variety selection, and seed production; plant species diversity and productivity of semi-natural grasslands; and sports field turfgrass. Selected topics are highlighted for students through case studies and excursions. Amongst other skills, students learn to identify the most important grassland species using a classification key, understand grassland plant growth, production, and reproduction, and analyze societal, agronomic, and scientific problems related to grassland management and use.