DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

IDST ANTH - SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H:

THE WORLD FOOD SYSTEM
2014 FALL
Peterborough

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Director: Professor A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi

Champlain College E1.1, 748-1011 X 7290
E-mail: haroonakramlodhi@trentu.ca
Personal Website: http://sites.google.com/site/aharoonakramlodhi
Twitter: @AHAkramLodhi
Office Hours: Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m., or by appointment
(Other appointment times can be arranged in class or via e-mail)
Course Administrator: Dana Gee
H-11, Champlain College, 748-1011 X1339
E-mail: danagee@trentu.ca
Facebook: Trent Ids
Office Hours: Monday Thursday, 09:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.

IDST - ANTH SAFS 2500H: THE WORLD FOOD SYSTEM

1. Course Description
We live in a world in which unparalleled hunger sits side by side with unparalleled
obesity. IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H explores the establishment of
and transformations in the world food system that have occurred, particularly over the
last century, explaining its daily impact on societies in both the South and the North, and
reflects upon social, cultural and political responses to the current global food regime.
The course begins by examining the current state of global food security, and assesses
whether the world faces a food crisis. This leads into a discussion about transformations
in the character of the food system in a globalizing world. To this end, the historical
development of the world food system is explored, along with the origins and nature of
food consumption patterns and preferences. The contemporary world food system is
examined at length, current events in the global politics of food are reviewed, and the
central issue of the role of transnational corporations in shaping the evolution of the
world food production and marketing system is discussed. Cumulatively, an assessment
is made of the sustainability of the current world food system and the character of
possible alternatives.

2. Course Prerequisite
IDST 1000Y, ANTH 1000Y, ANTH 1010H and ANTH 1020H, GEOG 1030H, or SOCI
1001H and 1002H, or permission of the instructor.

3. Learning expectations
a. Depth and breadth of knowledge
Students will be broadly introduced to the key themes, concepts, arguments and debates
in food systems studies from an interdisciplinary perspective rooted in international
development studies and which encompasses, amongst others, the fields and disciplines
of anthropology, economics, sociology, politics, international political economy, gender
studies and history. Students will gain general insights about how these fields and
disciplines intersect and how food systems scholarship learns from these intersections.
Through critical reading and active listening students will develop their general
competence to identify the key arguments adopted by authors in texts, articles, books,
discourses and media, and thus be better equipped to recognize the strengths and
weaknesses of the information, analysis and arguments with which they are presented. As
a consequence students will be able to critically evaluate competing hypotheses and
arguments, as well as construct and substantiate their own hypotheses and arguments.

Through seminars students will be provided with an opportunity to reflect upon their own
experiences and knowledge of food and agriculture, within a local, a regional, a national
and a global perspective, in order to both critically reflect upon and deepen that
knowledge.
The analytical, aural, oral and writing skills of students will be enhanced through their
individual and collective use of Reading Response-based discussions in seminars,
through their own self-study, a Research Essay in which they are expected to
independently construct critical arguments by gathering, reviewing, evaluating and
interpreting information, and the Final Examination that they are required to complete
and which tests not only their knowledge of all three components of course material but
also their capacity for critical thinking and logical argumentation derived from evidence
synthesized from the course and which has to be deployed within a time-constrained
setting.
b. Knowledge of methodologies
Students will be broadly introduced to descriptive, analytical, comparative and case study
social science methodologies, in order to facilitate their general capacity to critically
evaluate competing hypotheses and arguments as well as construct their own.
c. Application of knowledge
Students will continue to develop their broad capacity to review, interpret and deploy
secondary and tertiary qualitative and quantitative information, in their seminars, Reading
Responses and the Research Essay. They will continue to develop their skills at
evaluating arguments on the basis of the theories and the methodologies that they have
learned, as well as articulating and substantiating their own arguments. The Final
Examination will facilitate the capacity of students to synthesize course material and
construct effective written arguments in a time-constrained setting using the three
components of the course.
d. Communication skills
Students will further develop their oral communications skills through small group
discussions in seminars. Through the Reading Responses they will develop their ability to
communicate information and arguments accurately and reliably, as well as articulate
substantive objections to the arguments that they have reviewed. Through the Research
Essay they will continue to develop their basic writing ability as well as further develop
their general ability to develop a hypothesis and substantiate an argument that
demonstrates critical thinking.
e. Awareness of limits to knowledge
By developing the broad ability to critically evaluate competing hypotheses and
arguments using secondary and tertiary qualitative and quantitative information students
will be able to understand that arguments and interpretations are contestable and are thus
not proven in any substantive way, and thus that there are limits to what can be known.

f. Autonomy and professional capacity

Students will understand and self-regulate their academic integrity and professionalism.
They will continue to develop a broad ability to conceptualize and think critically, which
is necessary for the exercise of personal responsibility. Through seminars they will
continue to learn to work effectively with others. In completing assessed work within the
context of strict deadlines they will continue to develop initiative, accountability and
time-management skills.
g. Course format
Each week IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H is allocated three hours.
Each week syllabus topics will be addressed by a two-hour lecture that will critically
survey the main concepts, arguments and debates in the world food system topic under
discussion. In addition, one-hour seminars in groups of less than twenty will be
facilitated by the Course Leader, through guided discussions led by students based upon
the required readings and the Reading Responses that they have submitted.
Nonetheless, the most important means by which students will learn to be able to discuss
the core content of the course is through self-study. This requires, inter alia, that students
complete all the required readings for syllabus topics before the topic is presented.
Lectures:
DNA B104, Thursdays, 10:00 11:50
Seminars:
Champlain College E1.2, Thursday, 4:00 4:50
Champlain College E1.2, Thursday, 5:00 5:50
Please check: http://www.trentu.ca/admin/mytrent/Timetable/TimeTableGen0.htm to
confirm times and locations of teaching sessions. If the Course Leader has to cancel a
teaching session in IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H at short notice a
notification of the cancellation will be posted on the Departmental website under 'News
& Events' (http://www.trentu.ca/ids/news.php).

4. Course evaluation
i. Summary
Class Participation
Reading Response (1 @ 5% each)
Quiz
Research essay proposal
Supermarket Tour Group Report
Research essay
Final Examination
Total

=5%
=5%
=15%
=5%
=5%
=30%
=35%
=100%

ii. Details
Class Participation: Your participation grade will be based upon your attendance,
completing all required readings, being properly prepared for all teaching sessions, the
thoughtfulness and quality of your active contributions to group discussions, and your
ability to critically and constructively engage with your fellow classmates in a rigorous,
balanced and respectfully considerate way. The success of this course will depend, in
part, upon substantive student participation, and regular attendance is expected; absences
that are not justified will have a negative impact upon your final mark. Class
participation will account for 5 per cent of the final grade of IDST ANTH SAFS
GEOG SOCI 2500H.
Reading Response: You will expected to prepare a brief synopsis of a page outlining what
you believe to be the main purpose and themes discussed in all of the required readings for
the week that you have been assigned, as well as offer a minimum of 3 questions that are
derived from your personal observations about the issues that are raised for you in the
required readings. In your Reading Response you must clearly explain how and why your
questions have emerged from the readings, and thus justify the questions that you pose.
Reading Responses are used to help initiate discussion within the group during the seminars.
Reading responses will be randomly allocated across students by the Course Director.
Students are not expected to simply summarize the required readings in the Reading
Response. Rather, in examining the main themes, consider the ideas, theories or concepts
that are used in the readings, and think about how these ideas, theories and concepts assist in
developing an argument that explains what has been observed. In preparing questions,
consider any problems that you feel result from the argument that is offered, and indicate
some of the issues that a revised argument would have to address. Good questions will thus
clearly demonstrate a students engagement with the issues arising out of a reading
bring out comparisons between readings and/or use the readings to raise new issues
You should avoid two types of questions:
1. Questions that can be answered simply by summarizing the text. Thus, What,
according to Marx, is surplus value? is not a good question.
2. Questions that ask your reader to do all the work. Its important to recognize that while
the questions are meant to start discussion, you need to put some of your own
analytical effort into writing them. Its not enough to bring up an interesting topic, X,
and say explain X or discuss X or what do you think about X or do you agree
with X or compare and contrast X and Y you need to suggest how and why we
should start to think about the issues at hand.
Give a hard copy of your Reading Response to the Course Director or the Course
Administrator by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the Monday before the seminar takes place,
with the course, the topic, your name and your student number clearly indicated. Make
sure you keep a hard copy for yourself, as you will need it during the seminar. The
Reading Response will account for 5 per cent of your final mark in IDST ANTH
SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H.

Each week the Reading Responses of more than one student will be used to structure the
seminar discussion, in that student questions arising out of Reading Responses will be
discussed by all students in the seminar.
Quiz: Students are expected to read, at their own pace, The Stop: How the Fight for Good
Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, by Nick Saul and Andrea
Curtis, which is one of the required texts for the course, and critically engage with it,
evaluating its argumentative strengths and its weaknesses. The book will not be
discussed in the lectures, but may be raised in seminars as questions for the group. On 16
October during the lecture period there will be a 40 minute quiz on the content and
argument of The Stop. The Quiz will account for 15 per cent of your final mark in IDST
ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H.
Supermarket Tour Group Report: During September, students will allocate themselves
into groups of 8. The group will then collectively read and review The Supermarket
Tour, which is one of the required texts for the course. The group will then choose to
undertake a tour of only one of aisles 1 through 5 of The Supermarket Tour. This will
require assigning two individuals within the group to act as facilitators. Collectively, the
group will decide which store to visit, when the visit will take place, and the key
objectives of the group in undertaking the tour. In order to ensure that you have the time
to undertake the tour, there will be no lecture or seminars the week of 30 October; it is
expected that most students will undertake the tour on that day.
Following the tour, the group is expected to complete a Group Report that will outline the
division of tasks within the group, how and why the group selected the aisle that they
toured, the impressions of the group members about the tour, the exchanges amongst the
group that resulted from the tour, and any questions that the tour generated for the group
members. The Group Report will be no more than 5 pages. It is due no later than
Thursday, 6 November at 10:00 am; you are very welcome to hand it in earlier, if your
group prefers to do this. The Group Report will account for 5 per cent of your final mark
in IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H.
Research Essay: A principal objective of this course is to provide students with the
opportunity to research a food-related topic of personal interest. To that end, you are to
write a research-based essay of approximately 3500 words (around 12 pages, excluding
the bibliography). The essay must be a detailed critical analysis of some aspect of the
world food system, including debates around the policy and practice of the aspect that
you select. The research essay can be organized however the student wants, but must be
structured around a central thesis or argument that is clearly identified and which is
substantiated within it. It must be laid out as an essay, containing a brief introduction and
conclusion and using sections and subsections to establish a logical, coherent and critical
argument. The research essay must be supported by a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed
sources, a minimum of 5 of which should be from academic journals available in the Bata
Library.

Prior to writing the research essay, students must submit a one-page proposal that
explains how you will approach your research essay topic. The proposal can be very
preliminary, but must contain:
a brief but specific statement of the direction or potential direction that you are
considering for your research essay. This can include direct questions if you have
them.
a suggested table of contents that includes the sections to be contained in the
research essay and the issues that will be considered in each section
a properly cited list of 5 peer-reviewed sources beyond those contained in the
course syllabus
It is important to stress that you cannot write a proposal for a possible Research Essay
without first doing some reading around the topic that you are wanting to investigate.
Therefore, commence work on the proposal by identifying a topic that is of interest and
then do some general reading around the topic.
The proposal must be submitted by 16 October prior to the Quiz, and is worth 5 per cent
of the final mark for IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H. Students' proposals
must be passed by the Course Director prior to the research essay being undertaken; if the
proposal does not pass it must be resubmitted within 7 days and can only earn a
maximum mark of 3. Proposals submitted after 14 October will receive a maximum of 2
marks.
The research essay is due by 10:00 a.m. on 20 November. The research essay accounts
for 30 per cent of the final grade in IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H.
Final Exam: There will be a final three-hour exam that covers all the material in IDST
ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H. The exam will take place during the Fall Term
examination period, and accounts for 35 per cent of the final grade. The Final Exam will
be based upon all 3 components of the course: lectures, seminars and required readings.
c. Summary of Deadlines
Reading Responses:
Research Essay Proposal:
Quiz:
Supermarket Group Report
Research Essay:
Final Examination:
Class Participation:

the Monday morning before the students allocated week

16 October
16 October
6 November or earlier
20 November
during the December examination period
at the conclusion of IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG
SOCI 2500H

Students are strongly encouraged to take the time to make an appointment with the
Academic Skills Centre (206 Champlain College). These services are available for free
to Trent University students and inevitably they help improve your grade in more than
one course. A particular skill that students are encouraged to develop is their capacity to
recognize arguments and develop their own arguments. It is definitely worth the time

and work investment for all, including second year students and those who consider
themselves strong writers.

5. University Policies
Modes of Communication: The Trent University e-mail account is considered the official
e-mail account and will be used to communicate with students. Students are responsible
for ensuring that they monitor and maintain their Trent University e-mail account.
Students should be aware that e-mails from non-Trent University accounts may not be
considered official.
Course Evaluation: Normally, at least 25% of the grade in an undergraduate half-credit
course offered in the Fall academic session must be determined and made available by
the deadline for withdrawal without academic penalty. No in-class tests or final
examinations which are worth more than 10% of the final grade may be held during the
last two weeks of classes in the Fall term.
Final Grades: Final grades are official 30 days after they have been released by the
Office of the Registrar. Grades must be approved by Chairs of departments or programs
before they are released by the Office of the Registrar.
Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an
extremely serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on an
assignment to expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for
dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent Universitys Academic Integrity
Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself--unfamiliarity with the policy is not
an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trents Academic Integrity website to
learn more: www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
Be advised that the Department of International Development Studies is extremely
vigilant about academic honesty and treats the matter very seriously. All material
submitted for assessment in IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H must be
prepared exclusively for the course.
Access to Instruction: It is Trent Universitys intent to create an inclusive learning
environment. If a student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that they
may need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the
Student
Accessibility
Services
Office
(BH
Suite
132;
748-1281;
accessibilityservices@trentu.ca) as soon as possible.
Please see the Trent University 2014 2015 Academic Calendar for University diary
dates, academic information and regulations, and University and Departmental
degree requirements.

Last date to withdraw from Fall Term courses without academic penalty in 2014 2015 is 4 November 2014.

6. Required Texts
The following texts are required reading for IDST - ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI
2500H. They are available at the Trent University Bookstore, can be purchased more
cheaply online, or may be purchased from previous students:
1. Saul, Nick and Curtis, Andrea (2013) The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food
Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, Toronto: Random House
Canada.
2. OPIRG Peterborough (2011) The Supermarket Tour.
3. Clapp, Jennifer (2012) Food, Malden, MA: Polity.
4. Weis, Tony (2013) The Ecological Hoofprint: The Global Burden of Industrial
Livestock, London: Zed Books.
Many required readings will be posted by the Course Director to the course Blackboard
site. These must be read as part of the course. Strongly recommended readings will be
also posted to the course Blackboard site.
The Course Leader retweets daily information on food from a variety of journalistic,
advocacy and official sources and can be followed via @AHAkramLodhi. The Course
Leader will not follow you on Twitter. The best daily source of information on the world
food system is the Financial Times, www.ft.com or The Guardian's development,
environment and food pages, http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development. The best
weekly source of information on the world food system is The Economist,
www.economist.com. One website that is particularly recommended as a starting point
for information on food and development is: http://www.eldis.org/, while in Canada the
Canadian Association for Food Studies / l'Association canadienne des tudes sur
l'alimentation and Food Secure Canada are good starting points to learn about Canada's
food system. Additional websites of use to students on IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG
SOCI 2500H are listed on a sidebar of my blog. Students are strongly encouraged to
regularly consult these sources for pertinent, up-to-date information.

7. Blackboard
Students have access to the class Blackboard site, which serves as the virtual location
where course lecture slides, some required readings, and other course content will be
posted, along with course announcements. The Blackboard site will not include a
discussion forum unless students specifically request such a facility.

8. Twitter
Students that require answers to very specific questions or precise clarification regarding
course materials and content, assignments or tests and exams may tweet the Course
Director. Twitter cannot be used to request extensions for assessed course work. The
Course Director retweets up-to-the minute information about food as it becomes
available, which may be of interest to some students; if you follow the Course Director
on Twitter you will not be followed.

9. Week-by-Week Schedule 2014

Lecture 1
4 September:
Learning objective:

Food security or food sovereignty?

to introduce the structure, content and objectives of IDST ANTH
SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H, and to provide a critical
overview of the status of global food availability

Required Readings:
Clapp, Jennifer (2012) 'Unpacking the world food economy' in Food, Malden, MA:
Polity, pp. 1 23.
Desmarais, Annette Aurelie (2012) 'Building food sovereignty: a radical framework for
alternative food systems' in Koc, M, Sumner, J and Winson, A (eds) Critical
Perspectives in Food Studies, Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Weis, Tony (2013) 'Introduction: meatification and why it matters' and 'Contextualizing
the hoofprint: global environmental change and inequality' in The Ecological Hoofprint:
The Global Burden of Industrial Livestock, London: Zed Books.
Bittman, Mark (2013) 'How to feed the world' in New York Times 14 October. Available:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/how-to-feed-the-world.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=0
Recommended Readings:
Dixon, C (1990) Rural poverty: explanations and solutions in Rural Development in the
Third World, London: Routledge, pp. 50 61.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2013) The State of Food
Insecurity in the World 2013, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization. Available:
http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/
Students should commence reading, at their own pace:
Saul, Nick and Curtis, Andrea (2013) The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food
Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, Toronto: Random House Canada.
Questions about the content and argument of this book can be raised in seminars.

Lecture 2
11 September:
Learning objective:

Food production and food globalization

to introduce students to the history of globally-organized food
production, and in so doing assist students in their capacity to
recognize its systemic coherence

Required Readings:
Dixon, C (1990) Traditional rural production systems in Rural Development in the
Third World, London: Routledge, pp. 21 35.
Kipple, Kenneth (2007) 'The Columbian exchange and the old worlds' and 'The
Columbian exchange and the new worlds' in A Moveable Feast: Ten Millennia of Food
Globalization, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 135 162.
Davis, M. (2008) The origins of the Third World in Chari, S and Corbridge, S (eds) The
Development Reader, London: Routledge, pp. 14 30.
Scott, J. (1987) Peasant moral economy as a subsistence ethic, in T. Shanin (ed)
Peasants and Peasant Societies (2nd edition), Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books, pp.
304 309.
Recommended Readings:
Bernstein, H. (1992) Agrarian structures and change: Latin America in H. Bernstein, B.
Crow and H. Johnson (eds) Rural Livelihoods: Crises and Responses, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp. 27 50.
Bernstein, H. (1992) Agrarian structures and change: India in H. Bernstein, B. Crow and
H. Johnson (eds) Rural Livelihoods: Crises and Responses, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, pp. 51 - 64.
Bernstein, H. (1992) Agrarian structures and change: sub-Saharan Africa in H. Bernstein,
B. Crow and H. Johnson (eds) Rural Livelihoods: Crises and Responses, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp. 65 82.

Lecture 3
18 September:
Learning objective:

Family farms, capitalist farms and industrial

agriculture in the global North
to enable students to critically evaluate the contemporary
character of farming in the developed capitalist countries

Required Readings:
Weis, Tony (2013) 'The uneven geography of meat' in The Ecological Hoofprint: The
Global Burden of Industrial Livestock, London: Zed Books.
Wiebe, N. (2012) 'Crisis in the food system: the farm crisis' in Koc, M, Sumner, J and
Winson, A (eds) Critical Perspectives in Food Studies, Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Heffernan, William (2000) Concentration of ownership and control in agriculture in

Magdoff, Fred, Bellamy Foster, John and Buttel, Frederick H (eds.) Hungry for Profit:
The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food and the Environment, New York: Monthly
Review Press, pp. 61-76.
Lewontin, R.C. (2000) The maturing of capitalist agriculture: farmer as proletarian in
Magdoff, Fred, Bellamy Foster, John and Buttel, Frederick H (eds.) Hungry for Profit:
The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food and the Environment, New York: Monthly
Review Press, pp. 93-106.

Lecture 4
25 September:
Learning objective:

Contemporary food culture and its contradictions

to facilitate the capacity of students to critically reflect upon the
meaning of their consumption preferences, and in so doing
recognize how food preferences are shaped

Required Readings:
Lang, T., Barling, D. and Carahar, M. (2009) 'Behaviour and culture' in Food Policy:
Integrating Health, Environment and Society, Toronto: Oxford University Press, pp. 223
252.
Friedmann, H. (1999) Remaking traditions: how we eat, what we eat and the changing
political economy of food, in D. Barndt (ed) Women Working the NAFTA Food Chain:
Women, Food and Globalization, Toronto: Second Story Press, pp. 36 60.
Bittman, M. (2014) 'The true cost of a burger', The New York Times 15 July. Available:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/opinion/the-true-cost-of-a-burger.html
Recommended Readings:
Mintz, S. and Du Bois, C. (2002) The anthropology of food and eating, Annual Review
of
Anthropology
31,
pp.
99

119.
Available:
http://www.annualreviews.org.cat1.lib.trentu.ca:8080/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.
032702.131011
Errington, F., Fujikura, T. and Gewertz, D. (2012) Instant noodles as an antifriction
device: making the BOP with PPP in PNG, American Anthropologist vol 114 no 1, pp.
19

31.
Available:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.15481433.2011.01394.x/pdf
Alkon, A.H., Block, D., Moore, K., Gillis, C., DiNuccio, N. and Chavez, N. (2013)
'Foodways of the urban poor', Geoforum vol 48 August, pp. 126 135. Available:
http://www.sciencedirect.com.cat1.lib.trentu.ca:8080/science/article/pii/S0016718513000
936?np=y

Lecture 5
2 October:
Learning objective:

The mercantile-industrial food regime

to enable students to grasp the dynamics of the global
organization of food production and distribution until the 1990s

Required Readings
Collingham, L (2011) 'A world of plenty' in The Taste of War, London: Penguin Books,
pp. 476 501.
Clapp, Jennifer (2012) 'The rise of a global industrial food market' in Food, Malden, MA:
Polity, pp. 24 56.

Lecture 6
9 October:
Learning objective:

The corporate food regime

to facilitate the capacity of students to evaluate the role of agrofood transnational corporations in shaping the global production
and distribution of food

Required Readings:
McMichael, P (2009) A food regime genealogy in Journal of Peasant Studies vol 36 no
1,
pp.
139

169.
Available:
http://www.tandfonline.com.cat1.lib.trentu.ca:8080/doi/abs/10.1080/0306615090282035
4
Clapp, Jennifer (2012) 'Transnational corporations' and 'Financialization of food' in Food,
Malden, MA: Polity, pp. 90 157.
Weis, Tony (2013) 'The industrial grain-oilseed-livestock complex' in The Ecological
Hoofprint: The Global Burden of Industrial Livestock, London: Zed Books.
Recommended Reading
Sage, C. (2012) 'The global agri-food system' in Environment and Food, London:
Routledge, pp. 14 66.

16 October:

Research proposal due

In-class quiz on The Stop

23 October:

Reading Week

28 October:

The David Morrison Lecture in International Development

'Dilemmas in Changemaking: Thoughts on Planning a Life for
Change'
Alison Van Rooy
Deputy Director of Development Policy Planning
Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Ottawa, Canada
Market Hall, Charlotte Street, Peterborough, 7.30 pm

29 October:

Life After International Development Studies:

A Conversation with Trent University IDS Graduates
Hana Boye, 2001, Donovan & Co
Derek Hall, 1996, Wilfred Laurier University
Keith Stewart, 1986, Greenpeace
Alison Van Rooy, 1986, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and
Development
Jim Sutherland, 1977, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and
Development
The Gathering Space, Gzowski College, 12.00 pm 2 pm

30 October:

The Supermarket Tour

Learning objective:

to enable students to critically evaluate the principal source of

food for North American consumers, including themselves

Required Reading
OPIRG Peterborough (2011) The Supermarket Tour

Lecture 7
6 November:
Learning objective:

Regulating the corporate food regime: the WTO

to enable students to critically understand the role of trade treaties
in organizing the world food system, and more particularly the
World Trade Organization

Required Reading:
Clapp, Jennifer (2012) 'Uneven agricultural trade rules' in Food, Malden, MA: Polity, pp.
57 89.

Lecture 8
13 November:
Learning objective:

The global subsistence crisis

to enable students to critically reflect upon the sources and
character of the 'global food crisis'

Required reading:
Akram-Lodhi, A.H. (2012) Contextualising land grabbing: contemporary land deals, the
global subsistence crisis and the world food system in Canadian Journal of
Development Studies vol 33 no 2, pp. 119 142. Available:
http://www.tandfonline.com.cat1.lib.trentu.ca:8080/doi/abs/10.1080/02255189.2012.690
726
Breger Bush, S. (2013) 'Risky business: derivatives and global agriculture' in Dollars &
Sense July/August, pp. 14 18.
Recommended Reading
Hossain, N and King, R (2013) 'Squeezed: life in a time of food price volatility, year 1
results'. Available: http://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/rr-squeezed-food-price-volatilityyear-one-230513-en.pdf

Lecture 9
20 November:
Learning objective:

An alternative food system? Agroecology

to facilitate the capacity of students to critically evaluate the
principles and practice of agroecology

Required Readings:
Clapp, Jennifer (2012) 'Can the world food economy be transformed' in Food, Malden,
MA: Polity, pp. 158 183.
Altieri, M (2010) 'Scaling up agroecological approaches for food sovereignty in Latin
America' in Wittman, H, Desmarais, A.A. And Wiebe, N. (eds) Food Sovereignty:
Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community, Halifax: Fernwood Books, pp. 120 133.
Weis, Tony (2013) 'Confronting the ecological hoofprint: towards a more sustainable,
just and humane world' in The Ecological Hoofprint: The Global Burden of Industrial
Livestock, London: Zed Books.
Recommended Reading:
Altieri, M and Nichols, C (2005) Agroecology and the Search for a Truly Sustainable
Agriculture, Mexico City: United Nations Environment Programme.

International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for

Development
(2008)
Global
Report.
Available:
http://www.unep.org/dewa/Assessments/Ecosystems/IAASTD/tabid/105853/Default.aspx
/

Lecture 10
27 November:

Conclusion: The future of the food system

December:

Final Examination

10. Course Policies

Class dynamics: All participants in IDST ANTH SAFS GEOG SOCI 2500H
should strive to create an environment where different perspectives are respected, where
everyone feels comfortable participating, and where everyone has the opportunity to do
so. Please be succinct in making your points so that others have the opportunity to
express their views. Students that engage in disrespectful behaviour will have points
deducted from their final mark. This includes dominating class discussions and degrading
your peers in class.
Laptop and electronic devices: Laptops and tablets may be used for taking notes, but
students should note that scientific studies indicate that electronic note taking reduces
retention and results in weaker academic performance. Lectures, tablets and phones
should not be used for surfing during lectures and seminars. It is rude and obvious.
Telephones and other electronic devices should be switched off during lectures and
seminars. Using laptops and other electronic devices for non-class reasons will result in
marks being deducted from your final mark.
Questions: Students are strongly encouraged to pose specific questions in person, either
during office hours, before class, or during class breaks. In addition, Twitter can you
used to pose specific questions; tweet the question to @AHAkramLodhi. E-mail can also
be used to pose specific questions. If so, in the subject line of the e-mail please indicate
the course identifier and a concise and clear state of the purpose of the e-mail. If you do
not do this the e-mail may not be recognized and may be deleted as spam.Generic
questions that may be of interest to all students will be taken up at the beginning of the
next class; students may want to tweet the question for more general discussion. If a
question cannot be easily or briefly answered, you should pose the question during office
hours.
Backing up work: For all your work, including your notes, assignments and examination
preparation be sure to back up your work to an external drive, a portable device or an
online service. Lost data is not a valid reason for an extension to graded assignments.
Submissions: Reading Responses and the Research Essay may be submitted to the
Course Director or may be handed in to the Course Administrator before 10:00 a.m. on
the due date, or earlier. Alternatively, Reading Responses and the Research Essay may be
placed in the IDS Drop Box opposite the Course Administrators office. Submitted
assignments must include the following information: course number and name, course
professor, course administrator, the date, your name and your student number. Please
include a word count at the end of the assignment. Written work must not be put under
doors, e-mailed, faxed, or mailed; these will be considered to be non-submissions.
Deadlines for written work will be strictly enforced as dates are clearly indicated in the
course syllabus and students are therefore expected to manage their time adequately.
Extensions: Extensions will only be granted upon receipt of written confirmation of the
extenuating circumstances. Someone other than the student must compose the
confirmation, and that person must be suitably qualified to judge the extenuating

circumstances. For example, if you are unwell, a signed medical note indicating the
name of the doctor, the nature of the illness, the duration of the illness, and the impact of
the illness on the completion of the students work would be appropriate. If the
extenuating circumstances are of a personal nature, Senior Tutors can confirm to the
Course Director that extenuating circumstances exist. Extensions will not be granted by
e-mail; they must be arranged in person.
Lateness: Late Reading Responses will lose 20 per cent for each day late. The Research
Essay will be penalized by 20 per cent per day late. Every day of the weekend counts as
one day late.
E-mail: E-mails and other forms of electronic communications from non-Trent accounts
will not be considered official, so students must regularly monitor and maintain their
Trent email account.