News

Farming Systems ecology is introducing a new course to its books in 2019 - Methodologies for Reading Sustainable Foodscapes FSE-32306. This new course examines foodscapes as a socio-economic arrangement of a food system, placed in the biophysical context of a landscape. At this scale and interdisciplinary level, sustainability can be effectively assessed and managed.

But what is a foodscape? A foodscape is characterised by, inter alia, its soils, topography, climate, rivers, land use, fields, farms, crops, livestock, vegetation, habitats, residents, farmers, land owners, retailers, consumers, policies, legislation, communication and governance structures and their mutual interdependencies. Each foodscape is unique; it is a reflection of local bio-physical conditions, as well as cultural and socio-economic conditions. Some foodscapes are exemplars of sustainable food production, while others may be evolving towards or away from a sustainable future.

In the face of this complexity, how can science inform the transition of foodscapes towards environmental, economic and social sustainability? To address these questions we examine several types of analysis methods that could be used to examine foodscapes. By the end of this course you will have the methodological tools necessary to diagnose foodscapes, show different perspectives, guide planning and decision-making for interventions and visualise transition pathways.

Registrations are now open. For more detail see the Study Guide.