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SDG300 Sustainable Development Goals in Plant and Animal Food Systems

Credits (ECTS):5

Course responsible:Hanne Fjerdingby Olsen

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk

Limits of class size:30

Course frequency:Annually.

Nominal workload:125 hours.

Teaching and exam period:January block.

About this course

The course will offer lectures and discussion sessions within sustainability in plant and animal food systems. Through interdisciplinary discussion teams and literature studies, the students will be challenged to include their overall knowledge from their studies. UN's sustainability development goals will be included in a broad study of the possibilities and challenges within current and future food production. The holistic perspective of sustainability will be explored, including all dimensions. Aspects as the use of resources, land use, trade-off settings, food security, feed-food competition, and biodiversity will be considered. The students work in teams with a chosen food system, which is studied and discussed on the basis of scientific literature. Students are evaluated based on team activity and a final assignment where students work on redesigning their chosen food system with changes justified in improved sustainability.

Learning outcome

Knowledge It is expected that the students, after attending the course:

  • Have thorough knowledge of sustainable food systems and can apply the knowledge when complex problems are to be addressed
  • Are able to consider the sustainability of a food system in different spatial levels (e.g. local, national, global)
  • Are able to consider interactions between the sustainable development goals and make qualified priorities

Skills It is expected that the students, after attending the course:

  • Are able to perform in interdisciplinary teams and know his/her strengths and weaknesses
  • Are able to analyze sustainable solutions based on advanced, scientific literature
  • Are able to reflect and communicate solutions for sustainable food production and how these are related to the sustainable development goals

General competence It is expected that the students, after attending the course:

  • Are able to utilize own knowledge and skills to enlighten complex problems regarding sustainability and food production
  • Are able to communicate at a high, professional level
  • Are able to accomplish a scientific study of problems related to sustainable food production systems
  • Learning activities
    Lectures, team activities, presentations, work with the term paper.
  • Recommended prerequisites
    SDG200, SDG201
  • Assessment method

    Portfolio assessment: Passed/ Failed.

    The students are assessed from team activity, discussions/presentations and written team term paper.



    Portfolio Grading: Passed / Not Passed
  • Examiner scheme
    Sensor quality assures assessment schemes.
  • Mandatory activity
    Mandatory attendance 80% of the given lectures and team work activities (main rule: class time 9:00-15:30). The students are expected to attend the lectures and to be active in their respective teams during the class time.
  • Teaching hours
    20 hours lectures, 28 hours organized team work, 32 hours self-structured team work, 8 hours workshop, 37 hours self study/paper writing.
  • Admission requirements
    GSK