751-1652-00L  Food Security - from the Global to the Local Dimension

SemesterSpring Semester 2015
LecturersM. Sonnevelt, D. Barjolle
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish
CommentNumber of participants limited to 20.


AbstractBased on the complex nature and interactions of various driving forces such as e.g. poverty, resource scarcity, globalization and climate change, global food security depends on manifold aspects. To study food security, one must understand aspects such as the availability of, the access to and the adequate use of food as well as the stability of the economic, ecologic and political system.
ObjectiveThis year, the course focus on the role of Agroecology as a concept to support food security. Agroecology, once the exclusive domain of food sovereignty and ecology movements, it has begun to be promoted enthusiastically in both developed and developing countries by non-government organizations, international development organizations and others seeking more sustainable food production and consumption systems. The course will elaborate potential and bottlenecks of the concept for global food security.

A more detailed program will be uploaded in early 2015.
ContentThe main block of the course is a three-days workshop/seminar at the FAO headquarter in Rome during the week of 06.04.-10.04.2015 (exact dates will be announced in early 2015).
In February and March 2015, two preparatory events (each lasting +/- two hours) will be held at ETH Zurich. Exact date and time will be announced in early 2015.
Lecture notesBooks and Articles.

We will compose a document of the material presented and elaborated during the workshop for distribution after the event.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe Lecture is held in English and is limited to 20 MSc-students preferably from agriculture, environment and food sciences.