Nov 23, 2024
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2021-22

ECON 2510 - Global and Local Food Economies


This is an introductory course on the global and local food economy. The class includes an overview of global food production and agriculture with particular focus on the developing regions of the world. Topics range from an examination of the inter-relatedness of economic growth, population growth, and environmental degradation to analyses of food security, agricultural policies, and innovations relevant to the food economy. Introductory economic theory provides the backdrop used to analyze these complex, multidisciplinary issues. The class includes a field component with visits to local farms and food distribution networks.

Credit Hours: 3
OHIO BRICKS Arch: Connected World
General Education Code (students who entered prior to Fall 2021-22): 2SS
Repeat/Retake Information: May be retaken two times excluding withdrawals, but only last course taken counts.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Course Transferability: OTM course: TMSBS Social & Behavioral Sciences
College Credit Plus: Level 1
Learning Outcomes:
  • Students will be able to explain the determinants of food supply and demand and analyze how their interaction will affect prices and production in agricultural markets.
  • Students will be able to apply models of negative environmental externalities to case studies of environmental degradation and be able to suggest which policies will alleviate the degradation.
  • Students will be able to explain modern theories of agricultural development, population growth, food security, and agricultural production and their insights into contemporary issues facing society.
  • Students will be able to describe how agricultural funding, models, and policies have been influenced by people in positions of power.
  • Students will be able to critically reflect on their participation in field visits to local markets and farms and will be able to frame the experience using an economic lens to shed light on agricultural development models.
  • Students will be able to critically assess agricultural policies, their costs and benefits, and their impact on local communities and groups.
  • Students will be able to assess the assumptions of economic models and evaluate their implications and relevance to different agricultural and social contexts.
  • Students will be able to critically reflect on how their own perspective and experiences influence their understanding of the theories of agricultural development.
  • Students will be able to employ logic in presenting country-level data about trends in the demand and supply of food and related environmental degradation in order to draw cohesive conclusions about food and agriculture policies.


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