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Curricular information is subject to change
On completion of this module you should be able to:
(1) explain the difference between a food item, a meal and a diet
(2) outline the reasons for considering both sustainability and nutrition when evaluating which foods to eat
(3) explain the environmental impacts caused by the food system, and the choice of foods you eat
(4) record and evaluate the food you eat and identify options to reduce the adverse impacts of your food choices
(1) A working definition of 'sustainable'. Strong vs weak sustainability. Relative vs absolute impact. The donut: from the social floor to the environmental ceiling.
(2) Recoding the food you eat. Keeping a food diary. Identifying foods, and recording what is eaten (type, amount).
(3) Impact of the food system and specific foods on soil and land. Soil quality, soil loss, land occupation, land degradation, biodiversity.
(4) Impact of the food system and specific foods on the atmosphere. Climate and air quality impacts. Causes and adaptation.
(5) Impact of the food system and specific foods on the hydrosphere (water). Water quality, disruption of the hydrological cycle, irrigation.
(6) The role of nutrition and its relationship with environmental impacts. Nutritional Life Cycle Assessment.
(7) Estimating the impact of a food item, meal and diet. The EAT-Lancet report and beyond.
(8) Fair access to food: food deserts, pricing and fair share. Cheap food vs the cost of producing food. Access to foods.
(9) How sustainable is the food we eat? Using the diet recorded by the class, an assessment will be made of whether the food eaten is sustainable.
(10) Food waste
(11) Guest speakers from NGOs, industry, research, as time permits
Student Effort Type | Hours |
---|---|
Lectures | 24 |
Tutorial | 4 |
Autonomous Student Learning | 72 |
Total | 100 |
Not applicable to this module.
Description | Timing | Component Scale | % of Final Grade | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assignment: Calculate selected impacts and nutrition of the food recorded in the food diary | Week 7 | n/a | Graded | No | 25 |
Assignment: Collect a food diary for 7 days, grouped by food item, meal and diet | Week 4 | n/a | Graded | No | 25 |
Assignment: 2-minute video, aimed at your peers, describing the best options for reducing the adverse impact of your diet and explaining the reasons why. | Week 12 | n/a | Graded | No | 25 |
Assignment: Information poster (A4 page, 1 'typical' meal) to convey the sustainability and nutrition of that meal to the general public | Week 10 | n/a | Graded | No | 25 |
Resit In | Terminal Exam |
---|---|
Autumn | No |
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
Not yet recorded.
Name | Role |
---|---|
Professor Paula Bourke | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Assoc Professor Tom Curran | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Ronald Halim | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Fionnuala Murphy | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Sharon O'Rourke | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Junli Xu | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 | Thurs 15:00 - 15:50 |
Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 | Tues 15:00 - 15:50 |