Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials
Post-secondary coursework related to agriculture and the food supply has been at the core of the United States' land-grant system for more than 150 years. However, as the complexity of food systems has grown, so too have critiques that the education provided in these programs is too narrow to a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.756584/full |
| _version_ | 1798024903384891392 |
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| author | Emily H. Belarmino Emily H. Belarmino Jane Kolodinsky Jane Kolodinsky Jane Kolodinsky Alice S. Ammerman Alice S. Ammerman Leah Connor Volpe Covington Brown Covington Brown Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts Karla L. Hanson Marilyn Sitaker Weiwei Wang Jared T. McGuirt Michelle Carfagno Emily Hunsinger Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler |
| author_facet | Emily H. Belarmino Emily H. Belarmino Jane Kolodinsky Jane Kolodinsky Jane Kolodinsky Alice S. Ammerman Alice S. Ammerman Leah Connor Volpe Covington Brown Covington Brown Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts Karla L. Hanson Marilyn Sitaker Weiwei Wang Jared T. McGuirt Michelle Carfagno Emily Hunsinger Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler |
| author_sort | Emily H. Belarmino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Post-secondary coursework related to agriculture and the food supply has been at the core of the United States' land-grant system for more than 150 years. However, as the complexity of food systems has grown, so too have critiques that the education provided in these programs is too narrow to adequately prepare graduates to address pressing food systems issues. In response, some higher education institutions have developed degrees in food systems. To support development of this burgeoning field, we created, tested, and refined four evidence-informed, interdisciplinary, equity-oriented, open-access teaching modules. These modules are based on our experience conducting a multi-site, multi-year transdisciplinary investigation of subsidized, or “cost-offset”, community supported agriculture and a survey asking instructors at land-grant institutions (n = 66) about topic offerings and current unmet needs for instructional materials. Our collaboration illuminated the potential and challenges of food systems research; underscored the value of transdisciplinary research teams; and identified several equity-oriented topics related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of local food initiatives suitable for advancing sustainable foods systems education. Instructors reported that the most helpful teaching aids would be case studies, lesson plans with active learning components, and reference lists with relevant peer-reviewed publications. The final modules seek to shed light on the complexity of food systems projects and build knowledge, vocabularies, and skills across disciplines engaged with food systems. Per instructor-defined needs, each module features a case study, active-learning activities, and references. We anticipate that the adaptable modules will be suitable for a wide range of students and courses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:10:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c35edc2c67b24e3088bdf06fa378d8af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-581X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:10:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-c35edc2c67b24e3088bdf06fa378d8af2022-12-22T04:10:09ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2022-01-01510.3389/fsufs.2021.756584756584Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access MaterialsEmily H. Belarmino0Emily H. Belarmino1Jane Kolodinsky2Jane Kolodinsky3Jane Kolodinsky4Alice S. Ammerman5Alice S. Ammerman6Leah Connor Volpe7Covington Brown8Covington Brown9Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts10Karla L. Hanson11Marilyn Sitaker12Weiwei Wang13Jared T. McGuirt14Michelle Carfagno15Emily Hunsinger16Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler17Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesGund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesGund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesDepartment of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesCenter for Rural Studies, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesDepartment of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesCenter for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesDepartment of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesCenter for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesDepartment of Public Health, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United StatesDepartment of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesEcological Agriculture and Food Systems, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA, United StatesCenter for Rural Studies, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States0Department of Nutrition, The University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, United States1Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States1Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States2Agrilife Research, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesPost-secondary coursework related to agriculture and the food supply has been at the core of the United States' land-grant system for more than 150 years. However, as the complexity of food systems has grown, so too have critiques that the education provided in these programs is too narrow to adequately prepare graduates to address pressing food systems issues. In response, some higher education institutions have developed degrees in food systems. To support development of this burgeoning field, we created, tested, and refined four evidence-informed, interdisciplinary, equity-oriented, open-access teaching modules. These modules are based on our experience conducting a multi-site, multi-year transdisciplinary investigation of subsidized, or “cost-offset”, community supported agriculture and a survey asking instructors at land-grant institutions (n = 66) about topic offerings and current unmet needs for instructional materials. Our collaboration illuminated the potential and challenges of food systems research; underscored the value of transdisciplinary research teams; and identified several equity-oriented topics related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of local food initiatives suitable for advancing sustainable foods systems education. Instructors reported that the most helpful teaching aids would be case studies, lesson plans with active learning components, and reference lists with relevant peer-reviewed publications. The final modules seek to shed light on the complexity of food systems projects and build knowledge, vocabularies, and skills across disciplines engaged with food systems. Per instructor-defined needs, each module features a case study, active-learning activities, and references. We anticipate that the adaptable modules will be suitable for a wide range of students and courses.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.756584/fullhigher educationland-grant institutionopen-access educationcommunity-supported agricultureknowledge translation |
| spellingShingle | Emily H. Belarmino Emily H. Belarmino Jane Kolodinsky Jane Kolodinsky Jane Kolodinsky Alice S. Ammerman Alice S. Ammerman Leah Connor Volpe Covington Brown Covington Brown Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts Karla L. Hanson Marilyn Sitaker Weiwei Wang Jared T. McGuirt Michelle Carfagno Emily Hunsinger Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems higher education land-grant institution open-access education community-supported agriculture knowledge translation |
| title | Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials |
| title_full | Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials |
| title_fullStr | Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials |
| title_short | Growing Opportunities for Equitable, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Food Systems Education: A Review of Food Systems Education at Land-Grant Institutions and Development of Open-Access Materials |
| title_sort | growing opportunities for equitable interdisciplinary undergraduate food systems education a review of food systems education at land grant institutions and development of open access materials |
| topic | higher education land-grant institution open-access education community-supported agriculture knowledge translation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.756584/full |
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