ENVR S-192

Food Systems and Social Justice

Summer 2023

Course Information

CRN: 35614
Section Number: 1
Format: Online (live or on demand) web conference
Credit Status: Undergraduate, Graduate, Noncredit
Credit Hours: 4
Class Meetings: Tuesdays, Thursdays, June 20-August 4, 12:00pm-3:00pm

Course Description: There is widespread agreement that global and local food systems
must be improved in order to promote long-term sustainability, but there is widespread
disagreement about exactly what those changes should be. This course provides an
overview of key approaches and debates in the study and practice of food system
change. Students explore the strengths, limits, and tensions of movements for food
system reform, food justice, and food sovereignty, as well as examine trade-offs across
the domains of environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Further attention is
granted to modes of organizing and advocacy, including the role of policy, media,
philanthropy, and grassroots activism.

Instructor Information & Office Hours

Garrett Broad, Ph.D.

Email: garrettbroad@g.harvard.edu; garrettmbroad@gmail.com
Course Goals / Learning Outcomes

By the end of the summer session, students should be able to:

Articulate the landscape of food system challenges that face society at local and
global scales.
Critically assess and differentiate between a variety of agricultural, scientific, and
social movement approaches focused on improving the food system.
Conduct a networked analysis of key stakeholders involved in food system
debates, across the arenas of policy-making, organizing, and scholarship.
Understand the role of media and communication in shaping public attitudes,
values, and behaviors related to key food system issues.
Develop competencies for engaging in research and action that promote long-term
food system health, equity, and sustainability.

Mode of Attendance & Participation Policy

This class offers a live or on-demand option, which means you can choose to attend
the class live over Zoom or watch the class recording afterward. You do not need to
commit to the same mode of attendance for the whole semester.

If you are attending live over Zoom:

Class meetings take place over Zoom. Because they involve active participation,
discussion, and dialogue, you are expected to attend all class meetings. Please arrive on
time. You should attend Zoom meetings with a functional web-camera and microphone,
prepared with materials needed, to engage thoughtfully, and with your camera on. You
may turn off your camera for occasional interruptions or momentarily for privacy.

You will also need the most up-to-date Zoom client installed on your computer to join
class. Please participate from a safe and appropriate environment with appropriate
clothing for class. Participating while traveling or in a car is not permitted. In addition,
please do not join class via mobile phone or web browser.

If you are participating on demand:

You are expected to watch the class recording and complete any assignments before the
next live class meets.

Please be sure to review important information on Student Responsibilities and

Policies.

Grading & Grade Definitions

Grading

20% Class Participation and Discussion Posts

20% Multiple Choice Quizzes (Midterm and Final)

50% Food System Organization Project (Multiple Components)

-20% Case Study and Movement Analysis

-10% Annotated Bibliography

-20% Editorial Advocacy Essay

10% Final Reflection Paper

Grade Definitions

Students registered for undergraduate or graduate credit who complete the requirements
of a course may earn one of the following grades:

A and A– Earned by work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the subject
—and in the case of A, work of extraordinary distinction. There is no grade of A+.

B+, B, and B– Earned by work that indicates a strong comprehension of the course
material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the course materials, and the
student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.
C+, C, and C– Earned by work that indicates an adequate and satisfactory
comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course
materials, and that indicates that the student has met the basic requirements for
completing assigned work and participating in class activities.

D+, D, and D– Earned by work that is unsatisfactory but that indicates some minimal
command of the course materials and some minimal participation in class activities that
is worthy of course credit.

E Earned by work that is unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit. This grade may
also be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses from which
they have not officially withdrawn by the withdrawal deadline. Zero or E grades are
assigned to students for missing work. These grades are included in the calculation of
the final grade.

Graduate Credit Requirements

Graduate students will be expected to take on "Discussion Leader" roles with more
substantive requirements for classroom participation and/or discussion posts. In addition,
for written assignments, graduate students will have lengthier and more rigorous
expectations.

Academic Integrity Policy

You are responsible for understanding Harvard Summer School policies on Academic
Integrity and how to use sources responsibly. Violations of academic integrity are taken
very seriously. Visit Resources to Support Academic Integrity and the Harvard Guide to
Using Sources to review important information on academic citation rules.

Accessibility Services Policy

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) is committed to providing an accessible

academic community. The Accessibility Services Office (ASO) is responsible for
providing accommodations to students with disabilities. Students must request
accommodations or adjustments through the ASO. Instructors cannot grant
accommodation requests without prior ASO approval. It is imperative to be in touch with
the ASO as soon as possible to avoid delays in the provision of accommodation.
DCE takes student privacy seriously. Any medical documentation should be provided
directly to the ASO if a substantial accommodation is required. If you miss class due to a
short-term illness, notify your instructor and/or TA but do not include a doctor's note.
Course staff will not request, accept, or review doctor's notes or other medical
documentation. For more information, email accessibility@extension.harvard.edu.

Publishing or Distributing Course Materials Policy

Students may not post, publish, sell, or otherwise publicly distribute course materials
without the written permission of the course instructor. Such materials include, but are
not limited to, the following: lecture notes, lecture slides, video, or audio recordings,
assignments, problem sets, examinations, other students’ work, and answer keys.
Students who sell, post, publish, or distribute course materials without written permission,
whether for the purposes of soliciting answers or otherwise, may be subject to
disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw. Further, students may
not make video or audio recordings of class sessions for their own use without written
permission of the instructor.

Class Meeting Schedule

Week 1: Foundations of Sustainable Food Systems

June 20 (Tues.): Class 1

PRIMARY:

Tara Garnett et al. (2016), “Overview of food system challenges,” Foodsource,

Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford.
Hanh Nguyen (2018), “Sustainable food systems: Concept and framework,” Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

SECONDARY:

Jamie Feldmar (2022), “From Sourdough to Inflation: How the Pandemic Changed
the Way We Eat,” Eater.
June 22 (Thurs.): Class 2

PRIMARY:

Fabio Parasecoli (2019), “Chapter 1: Food: A Citizen’s Manual” and “Chapter 2:

Making Sense of Food Systems,” in Food.
Constance Gordon and Kathleen Hunt (2019), “Reform, justice, and sovereignty: A
food systems agenda for environmental communication,” Environmental
Communication.

SECONDARY:

Michelle Maiese and Heidi Burgess (2020), Types of Justice, Beyond Intractability.

Week 2: Socio-Technical Change

June 27 (Tues.): Class 3

PRIMARY

Wiebe E. Bijker (2008), “Social Construction of Technology,” International

Encyclopedia of Communication.
Nathaneal Johnson with Charles Mann (2018), "Wizards and prophets face off to
save the planet," Grist.
Rachel Carlile and Tara Garnett (2021), “What is agroecology?” TABLE Explainer
Series.
DigitalFoodLab, “What is FoodTech,” https://www.digitalfoodlab.com/foodtech.

SECONDARY:

Stephen Dubner and Harry Huggins (2018), “Two (Totally Opposite) Ways to Save
the Planet,” Freakonomics Radio.

June 29 (Thurs.): Class 4

PRIMARY:

Scott Hamilton Kennedy (2017), Food Evolution (Educational Version).

Garrett Broad (2023), “Improving the Agri-Food Biotechnology Conversation:
Bridging Science Communication with Science and Technology Studies,”
Agriculture and Human Values.

SECONDARY:

Doug Gurian-Sherman (2017), "Food Evolution Documentary Supports GMOs, but

Not Science," Food Tank Blog.
Aniket Aga and Maywa Montenegro de Wit (2021), “How Biotech Crops Can Crash
—and Still Never Fail, Scientific American.

Week 3: Media, Policy and (Labor) Advocacy

July 4 (Tues.): HOLIDAY – No Class

July 6 (Thurs.): Class 5

PRIMARY:

FoodPrint, “Food Policy 101.”

Lori Dorfman and Ingrid Daffner Krasnow (2014), "Public Health and Media
Advocacy," Annual Review of Public Health.

SECONDARY:

Food Chain Workers Alliance (2021), We are not disposable: Food workers
organizing on the Covid frontlines.

Week 4: Community Food Security and Global Hunger

July 11 (Tues.): Class 6

PRIMARY:
 Kara Young (2019), “Five Things You Should Know About Food Access,” KCET.
Renee Gross, Margo Edmunds and Pamela Schwartz, P. (2021). Food Security: A
Community Driver of Health. American Public Health Association, AcademyHealth,
and Kaiser Permanente.
Monica M. White (2017), Collective agency and community resilience: A theoretical
framework to understand agricultural resistance, Journal of Agriculture, Food
Systems and Community Development.

SECONDARY:

Chris Newman (2019), “Small Family Farms Aren’t the Answer,” Heated.
Garrett Broad (2016), "Do kids who grow kale eat kale?" The Conversation

July 13 (Thurs.): Class 7

PRIMARY:

Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie (2019) Hunger and Undernourishment, Our World
In Data
World Food Program USA (2022), How to End World Hunger: 6 Zero Hunger
Solutions,
Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins (2015), “World Hunger: Ten Myths,”
Food First Backgrounder.

SECONDARY:

Bartosz Brzezinski (2022) ‘Time’s up’: Critics call for end to Western-funded food
program in Africa , Politico.

Week 5: Food Narratives and Nutrition Debates

July 18 (Tues.): Class 8

PRIMARY:
 Walter Fraanje, & Tara Garnett (2019), “What is ultra-processed food? And why do
people disagree about its utility as a concept?” Food Climate Research Network,
University of Oxford.
Andrew Jacobs and Matt Richtel (2017), “How Big Business Got Brazil Hooked on
Junk Food,” New York Times.
Michael Pollan (2009), Food Rules. (List Only, Via Cleveland Clinic)
Rachel Sugar with Sarah Bowen, Joslyn Brenton, and Sinikka Elliott (2019), “How
did home cooking become a moral issue?” Vox.

SECONDARY:

Catherine Pearson (2023), New Guidelines Underscore How Complicated

Childhood Obesity Is for Patients and Providers," New York Times.
Virginia Sole-Smith (2023), “Why the New Obesity Guidelines for Kids Terrify Me,”
New York Times.

July 20 (Thurs.): Class 9

PRIMARY:

Brook Gladstone (2015), "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Health News

Edition," On the Media.
Helen Lewis (2022), “The New Gurus Podcast Episode 2: Taking the Urine,” BBC
Radio.

SECONDARY:

Dan Pashman and Emma Morgenstern (Producer) (2021), “Can we go viral on

Tikok?” The Sporkful Podcast.

Week 6: Meat Debates

July 25 (Tues.): Class 10

PRIMARY:

Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado and Max Roser (2017) - "Meat and Dairy
Production". Our World in Data.
Janet Ranganathan and Richard Waite (2016), Sustainable Diets: What You Need
to Know in 12 Charts , World Resources Institute
Vaclav Smil (2014), "Eating meat: Constants and changes," Global Food Security.

SECONDARY:

Jayson Lusk (2016), “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment,” New
York Times.
Chris Casey and Shaun Lucas (2023), “Regenerative ag is driving food
sustainability promises, but is it greenwashing?” FoodDive.

July 27 (Thurs.): Class 11

PRIMARY:

George Reynolds (2019), “Why do people hate vegans?” The Guardian.

Paul Wood and Mahya Tavan (2022) A review of the alternative protein industry,
Current Opinion in Food Science.
Garrett Broad (In Press), “Understanding the (Fake) Meat Debates: The Alternative
Protein Ideological Circle,” Nutrition Today.

SECONDARY:

Dan Pashman (2023), The Boom And Bust Of Meat Alternatives, The Sporkful
Podcast.

Week 7: Future Food Systems

August 1 (Tues.): Class 12

PRIMARY:
 Warren Belasco (2008), “Future of Food: A History, ” in Encyclopedia of Food and
Culture.
Meridian Institute (2020), Food Systems of the Future: A Synthesis of Reports on
Food Systems Transformation,” Commissioned by the Global Alliance for the
Future of Food

SECONDARY:

Frank Viviana with photographs by Luca Locatelli (2017), “This Tiny Country Feeds
the world,” National Geographic.

August 3 (Thurs.): Class 13

Class Conclusions/Flex Day