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DoaneX: Global Food Futures and Agri-food Systems Solutions

Learners will analyze proposed solutions to some of the most pressing agri-food challenges and participate in creating innovative solutions to build a global food system in the face of rapidly changing climates, minimizing harm to Earth’s natural systems.

Global Food Futures and Agri-food Systems Solutions
8 weeks
10–15 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 27
Ends Jun 27

About this course

Skip About this course

"The challenge is to deliver nutritious, safe and affordable food to a global population of over 9 billion in the coming decades, using less land, fewer inputs, with less waste and a lower environmental impact. All this has to be done in ways that are socially and economically sustainable." -Prof. Sir John Beddington, Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Are you aware that your daily choices about the food that you consume frequently affect people and the environment across the globe? As a global society, throughout diverse geographies, the effect of these choices are compounded. The learner will review environmental dimensions of sustainability to encompass health outcomes, social and ecological justice in order to expand their view of sustainable agri-food system and take action toward a more resilient and equitable future of food.

A global reality is that one in seven of the population is undernourished and two in seven are overweight in developed and developing countries alike. Given the scale and urgency of the challengeto feed the world from finite resources, and the variety of implications the ‘food problem’ entails, the global society must co-develop alternative future food systems. Learners will consider how the production and consumption of food can be shaped to match the future needs of the global population.

The search for innovative solutions calls for multidisciplinary critical inquiry and utopian thinking. Learners will evaluate emerging technologies, social behaviors, scientific breakthroughs, business practices, and global governance. Innovative food futures will be instrumental in ensuring all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. The private sector, NGOs, researchers, and governments have created potential solutions that seek to address these challenges and to transform agri-food systems towards more socially just, resilient, and sustainable agricultural production, and distribution systems. Learners will critically evaluate these different strategies and proposed solutions for viability utilizing the available evidence to understand the environmental, social, and economic implications.

At a glance

  • Institution: DoaneX
  • Subject: Business & Management
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:
    • Bachelor’s degree or
    • Five years in a related field
  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated programs:
  • Associated skills:Emerging Technologies, Resilience, Futures Exchange, Governance, Sustainability, Oral Food Challenges, Agricultural Productivity

What you'll learn

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  • Analyze proposed solutions to global agri-food systems challenges
  • Compare existing distribution systems for sustainability
  • Survey innovations, scientific breakthroughs, and emerging technologies
  • Construct viable strategies and solutions for the environmental, social and economic challenges that face the global agri-food system

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

This course is part of Sustainable Agribusiness MicroMasters Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
7 graduate-level courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
1 year 2 months
10 - 15 hours per week

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