Food Environment and Culture

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Abstract

As professionals, agricultural and wine science graduates will work in a dynamic environment and society, involving personal and institutional negotiations with social and ethical issues. An understanding of the background of the issues and some core skills in different approaches to unpack them will enable graduates to engage meaningfully with these challenging areas. The main areas to be studied in this subject include ethics and ethical frameworks, environmental and social sustainability linked to economics, the major challenges facing agricultural production and food security, and how Indigenous Australian culture and values intersect with and can inform land use and management. By completing this subject students will improve their ability to communicate these challenges in a professionally appropriate style through a series of presentation assessments and via the teaching strategy of group work and discussion

Syllabus

An examination of different ethical models that can be used to review and analyse the complexity of ethically challenging issues in agriculture, such as animal welfare and the use of genetic technology etc, and including the broader social and environmental issues arising from discussion about sustainability and cultural heritage will … For more content click the Read More button below.

An examination of different ethical models that can be used to review and analyse the complexity of ethically challenging issues in agriculture, such as animal welfare and the use of genetic technology etc, and including the broader social and environmental issues arising from discussion about sustainability and cultural heritage will be examined.
The core concepts that define the major contemporary challenges for global agricultural production now and into the future. Sustainability in theory, and the inter-relationship between cultural, environmental, social and economic sustainability and global issues in an agricultural context and the tensions that arise from this discussion will be examined. These concepts include issues around climate change, water availability in Australia, global and local food security, and alternative uses for agricultural land such as carbon sequestration and bio fuels. The materials and case studies examined will use contemporary issues to ensure the discussions are up to date.
The history of agricultural development in Australia from the perspective of Indigenous Australians and other cultures. Topics will include land law and land rights, relationships to land, cultural understanding of landscapes and indigenous approaches to land management including firestick farming and bush foods and the impact of the values and beliefs of the dominant culture on the Australian landscape.

Assumed knowledge

It is assumed that students will have completed AHT101

Enrolment restrictions

Incompatible