How do we produce more, better quality, and safer food while simultaneously achieving social and environmental goals?
Overview
The worldwide known concept of Mediterranean diet clearly opens the debate on food provision as an holistic issue that needs to be analyzed “from landscape to table”, by examining all the complex dynamics pertaining political, social, cultural, economic and nutritional issues. Climate change, population growth and unsustainable farming practices are threatening the region and have led to water scarcity, desertification and biodiversity loss.
This is a great opportunity for re-invention and re-imagination of the region. Academics, creative thinkers and practitioners who understand that every obstacle is the doorway to opportunity and envisage the Mediterranean Basin as a laboratory, where ancient wisdom and design will lead to a new way to think about food systems overall.
The MOOC on Sustainable Food Systems: a Mediterranean Perspective has been developed by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Foundation (BCFN) in collaboration with SDG Academy, the University of Siena and the FAO E-learning Centre.
This course deals with environmental and climate-related challenges basing upon Mediterranean experience, how sustainable farming systems is being utilized as a roadmap for positive action and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.
This course is for:
- Students at the undergraduate or graduate level interested in the main challenges facing the Mediterranean region
- Current and future practitioners in the agriculture, food, and beverage sectors who wish to gain useful insights about current and future trends and business opportunities
- Policymakers and regional stakeholders who want to deepen their knowledge of agricultural policy, investment, and decisionmaking in the region and globally
The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities of the agricultural sector in the Mediterranean basin, by:
- outlining the history of agriculture and its main characteristics in these countries with a focus on “Mediterranean diet” as immaterial cultural heritage,
- providing a summary of global challenges and issues towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a specific focus on Mediterranean area,
- sharing the main statistics and data source about Mediterranean agriculture in the 21st century with a focus on different rural development models, the cross-over effects with other economic sector, the main drivers of international trade,
- exploring the EU policy frameworks addressed to this area
- outlining professional needs to face sustainability issues and the new job opportunities
Enroll to the course on the website edx.org
Watch the trailer: