Content
The module deals with issues of governance, fairness and sustainability in the food system.
Key topics of the module may thereby include:
- Locks-ins and levers for facilitating a transitions toward more sustainable food systems;
- Food labels (origin-based labels, animal welfare labels);
- Food quality standards;
- Potential paths for a transition to more sustainable food systems
- Private and public governance in food sectors
- Fairness in business relationships
- European and national regulations and policies concerning the food sector
From a methodological point of view, the focus of this module is on
- Exploratory and Qualitative research methods
- Scientific writing skills
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will have in-depth knowledge on how to
analyze the scientific literature and present a scientific paper on the governance, fairness and
sustainability in agro-food systems. Moreover, students will be able i) procure and screen relevant
literature, ii) conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature; iii) present scientific findings
in front of their peers and v) entering and moderating a scientific discussion on their topic. The
module thereby prepares students for the scientific work to be conducted in their master theses.
Examination
Grading will be based on a written report (consisting of a literature review) and an oral presentation
(20 min) with subsequent discussion, both with an individual and a teamwork component. Both
the literature review and the oral presentation are worth 50% of the grade. The literature review
and the oral presentation will verify that students can conduct in-depth research and present their
results to a wider audience. They will also confirm that they are prepared for their Master Thesis.
Prerequisites
Knowledge in microeconomics
Teaching & learning methods
The module is a seminar and provides students with in-depth knowledge of governance, fairness
and sustainability grounded in economic theory. The seminar includes a set of lectures on selected
topics concerning the governance, fairness and sustainability of food system.
Guided by the instructor(s) through the entire process, students will work alone and/or in groups
around a topic in governance, fairness and/or sustainability.
Activities are carried out in parallel and in coordination with one or more foreign universities
and students will have the opportunity to collaborate and exchange with students from those
universities. The course hence takes place online.
Together with “Advanced Seminar Economics & Policy/Life Sciences & Management – Food
system governance, fairness and sustainability, Scientific Writing and Exploratory Research
Methods”, this module offers a comprehensive toolkit to prepare students for their master thesis as
well as for a career in science.
Media & reading list
PowerPoint presentations, economic textbooks, scientific articles
Barrett, Christopher B. (2021): Overcoming Global Food Security Challenges through Science
and Solidarity. In American Journal of Agricultural Economics 103 (2), pp. 422–447. DOI: 10.1111/
ajae.12160.
Béné, Christophe; Fanzo, Jessica; Prager, Steven D.; Achicanoy, Harold A.; Mapes, Brendan
R.; Alvarez Toro, Patricia; Bonilla Cedrez, Camila (2020): Global drivers of food system
(un)sustainability: A multi-country correlation analysis. In PloS one 15 (4), e0231071. DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0231071.
Bowie, N. E. (1988). Fair markets. Journal of Business Ethics, 7(1-2), 89-98.
Christopher B. Barrett, Thomas Reardon, Johan Swinnen and David Zilberman (2020): Agri-food
Value Chain Revolutions in Low-and Middle-Income Countries. In Journal of Economic Literature,
Clapp, Jennifer (2018): Mega-Mergers on the Menu: Corporate Concentration and the Politics of
Sustainability in the Global Food System. In Global Environmental Politics 18 (2), pp. 12–33. DOI:
10.1162/glep_a_00454.
Giuliano Martiniello and Ricardo Azambuja: Contracting Sugarcane Farming in Global Agricultural
Value Chains in Eastern Africa: Debates, Dynamics, and Struggles.
Glavee-Geo, Richard; Engelseth, Per; Buvik, Arnt (2021): Power Imbalance and the Dark Side of
the Captive Agri-food Supplier-Buyer Relationship. In Journal of business ethics : JBE, pp. 1–20.
DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-04791-7.
Gudbrandsdottir, Ingunn Y.; Olafsdottir, Gudrun; Oddsson, Gudmundur Valur; Stefansson, Hlynur;
Bogason, Sigurdur G. (2021): Operationalization of Interorganizational Fairness in Food Systems:
From a Social Construct to Quantitative Indicators. In Agriculture 11 (1), p. 36. DOI: 10.3390/
agriculture11010036.
Hamann, Steffi (2020): The global food system, agro-industrialization and governance:
alternative conceptions for sub-Saharan Africa. In Globalizations 17 (8), pp. 1405–1420. DOI:
10.1080/14747731.2020.1730050.
Koen Deconinck (2019): New evidence on concentration in seed markets. In Global Food Security
23, pp. 135–138.
Singh, Sukhpal (2019): The Export Value Chain of Baby Corn in India: Governance, Inclusion and
Upgrading. In Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy 8 ((1–2)), pp. 172–207.
Thompson, Merisa S.; Cochrane, Alasdair; Hopma, Justa (2020): Democratising food: The
case for a deliberative approach. In Rev. Int. Stud. 46 (4), pp. 435–455. DOI: 10.1017/
S0260210520000017.
Wood, Benjamin; Williams, Owain; Nagarajan, Vijaya; Sacks, Gary (2021): Market strategies used
by processed food manufacturers to increase and consolidate their power: a systematic review and
document analysis. In Globalization and health 17 (1), p. 17. DOI: 10.1186/s12992-021-00667-7.
Hansman, Christopher; Hjort, Jonas; León, Gianmarco; Teachout, Matthieu (2017): Vertical
Integration, Supplier Behavior, and Quality Upgrading among Exporters. Cambridge, MA.
Burchardi, Konrad B.; Gulesci, Selim; Lerva, Benedetta; Sulaiman, Munshi (2019): Moral Hazard:
Experimental Evidence from Tenancy Contracts*. In The Quarterly Journal of Economics 134 (1),
pp. 281–347. DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjy023.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Share your experience when you rate this module.