The Global Food Institute introduced four new courses as part of its food leadership minor this spring.
The institute’s new courses include Food Leadership Capstone, Culinary Diplomacy, Global Food Institute (GFI) Upper-Level Seminar and Systems Thinking for Sustainable Agrifood System Transformation. Faculty said the courses will allow students to see how food relates to fields of study like international relations and public health and encourage students to take the minor, which educates students on the food system and the life cycle of food, from the policies that have shaped food industries to agricultural approaches.
"Food connects everyone, it connects the world, and we want to make sure that if our faculty are interested, that we support them in incorporating food into their courses. I think that this is going to be an ongoing process, it’s not going to be stagnant either, we’re constantly going to be looking out for new faculty who are interested in working with us and incorporating food into their subject matter,” Tara Scully, an associate professor of biology and the director of curriculum development of GFI. "What’s great about what we’re looking to do, including the two courses that we’re offering that are new this semester, is looking to professionals who are out there doing this work and bringing them in to teach our students and show them how it can relate to a future career and talk about their career paths,” she added.
“I think a lot of times it’s so easy to think, ‘I need to explore what is happening at the national level,’ without really understanding at a deeper level what’s happening in our own backyard, here in D.C. or in rural communities or in urban communities across the nation,” said GFI's assistant professor Mya Price.