News

New graduate course uses food systems as a lens for public health

A new graduate-level course offered by Nutritional Sciences in spring 2021, will use food systems as a lens for viewing and understanding public health principles.

The course, NUTR 514 Sustainable Food Systems for Population Health which is a 3-credit course, is now open for registration to all graduate and professional students at the UW.

This new course introduces students to:  

  • the connections between food systems and public health, including issues related to the determinants of health, food production and supply chains, food access and environments, and the bidirectional relationship between dietary intake and food systems;
  • how food systems in the US and in global settings have changed over time and the evolution of public health approaches to food systems;
  • the tools of systems thinking to examine food systems, including an assessment of various stakeholders, their priorities, and dynamic interactions within the system;
  • the multifaceted nature of sustainability as it relates to food systems, including the intersections between food systems and sustainability, resilience, equity, and justice.

The course, taught by Marie Spiker, a food systems expert in Nutritional Sciences and an assistant professor in epidemiology, also introduces students to roles and opportunities for different public health disciplines and practitioners in shaping the food system. 

Course Links

February 22, 2021