The course focuses on the sustainability of the human food chain in industrial and non-industrial systems. An agroecological and a systems thinking approach will be taken to the production, transport, storage and manufacturing of food, fibre and water in agricultural processes.  Topics will address the ecological and social processes and problems of different farming strategies including fertility management and nutrient cycling, pest and disease control and bio-mimicry, monoculture versus polycultures, input replacement and system redesign, genetic engineering and petro-chemical dependency, product preservation and processing.  Production issues will be integrated into the broader social, cultural and economic contexts of family farming and agri-business, consumer demand and marketing, international trade and rural policy. Examples will be drawn from Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, North America and the European Union. The course will include fieldwork with farm and food industry enterprises. Attendance on fieldwork is a course requirement.

65 contact hours contact comprising lectures, practicals and fieldwork in a semi-intensive mode over 9 weeks of second semester.

Gliessman, S., 2007, Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems.  CRC Press 2^nd edition.