食と安全特論

Modern agriculture poses great environmental and socio-economic challenges – climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, rural poverty, loss of food sovereignty, among others. Organic agriculture has gained momentum in recent years as an alternative from which to tackle some of these problems. Yet there is increasing consensus regarding the limitations of organic certification systems to really overturn agricultural drivers of environmental change and even more so to improve the livelihoods of poor rural communities. More holistic, agroecological management approaches based on a systemic understanding of agriculture are needed to solve current global agro-environmental problems. This course offers an overview of the environmental and social challenges of modern agriculture and the ecological principles of sustainable agriculture. The course explores some of the key (scientific) aspects related to the sustainability of agroecosystems, discusses practical applications of agroecological principles, and discusses current trends in the regulation of sustainable agriculture – organic certification, fair trade. Case studies of sustainable agriculture, both in rural and urban areas will be analyzed in depth, including discussions on the ecological and socioeconomic dimensions of sustainability. In addition, an overview of current developments in organic agriculture certification will be provided, from an international perspective. The course includes examples from Japan and other Asian countries.