Get your bearings before launching into Food Systems Thinking. Start here to read the full course description, review learning objectives, and meet your instructor with a quick introductory video. This page also includes important information about how to navigate this course and the NEO platform. Image credit: Christina Rumpf on Unsplash

Krista Tippett asks Ross Gay, “How can we be joyful in a moment like this?” We might wonder the same thing as we consider the encroaching reality of climate crisis, the suffering and injustice occurring in communities across the globe, and the disfunction of modern food systems. Yet Gay suggests that this is precisely why we can and should be joyful right now, why we can and should practice seeking out delight. In this module, we’ll explore why this might be true, and how joy and delight can be radical--yet life-sustaining--acts, and nourish ourselves in preparation for the challenging road ahead. Image Credit: Liz Fitch on Unsplash

Equipped with nourishment for the journey we packed in Module 1, we’ll begin our study of food systems with the very basics: what is a food system? We’ll take a bird’s-eye view before diving too deep into the terminology of the systems thinking framework or the individual components of food systems. We’ll ask what they look like at their most basic, and at their most complex, identifying the shared vocabulary and concepts we’ll need throughout the course. We’ll begin to ask how far food systems reach, and where we fit in. Image Credit: Marisa Morton on Unsplash

Resilience. Feedback loops. Leverage points. What are they? Where do they come from? How do we use and improve them? The answer lies in systems thinking. In Module 2, we asked what a food system was at its most basic. But what is systems thinking? What does it mean to think in systems, and how do we apply this to the food system? How can a systems thinking lens help us make sense of the highly complex diagrams of the food system we studied in Module 2? What ways of thinking have we been practicing this whole time--systems thinking, or something else? The ideas, frameworks, and vocabulary introduced here will stay with us throughout the remainder of course, and hopefully long after we’re done. In later modules, we’ll revisit some of the tools for changemaking that systems thinking offers. For now, let’s get started with the basics. Image Credit: Heather Barnes on Unsplash

How did we get here? As we look towards better food systems futures, we first need to ask this very question. In this module, we will interrogate the world as we know it and the histories out of which it was born so that we may think more expansively about what comes next. When did agriculture begin? How did it begin? What purposes did it serve? What new problems did it create? Which crops left the greatest impact on human societies? In what ways has agriculture shaped the ground upon which you walk? Who crafts the stories we hear about these histories, and how do their perspectives alter our perceptions about agrarianism? What would happen if we wrote our own histories together? Image Credit: Tomasz Filipek on Unsplash

6CO2 + 6H2 + Sunlight --> C6 H12 O6 + 6O2 This is the equation for photosynthesis, the process by which plants turn carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water into the energy they need to survive, and the oxygen that fills our human lungs. But unlike plants, animals--including humans--cannot produce their own nutrition; they need to find it somewhere else, consume it, and metabolize it in order to survive. Today, we understand that we need a diverse array of nutrients to thrive. Some of us have enough, and others, not enough. Some of us eat foods that have little nutritional value, but offer us something else we might not be able to name. Over the course of human history, food has given us so much more than calories and sustenance; food changes our lives, brings us joy, creates cultural identities, and shapes our relationships with our environments. Why, then, in conversations about how we’ll have to eat in a world impacted by changing climate, persistent hunger, and global supply chain disruptions, do decision-makers equate “food” with simple “calories”? Why do these conversations almost always open with a statement on how we’ll need to increase productions to feed an exponentially growing population? What are these conversations missing? In this module, we’ll ask what it really means for food to truly and holistically nourish humanity. Image Credit: Kier In Sight on Unsplash

“How will we feed the world and mitigate climate change by the year 2050?” Many of us hear this question seemingly everywhere we turn. For many of us, it’s the reason we’re studying food systems. And many of us want to know the answer--fast. But what are the planetary boundaries and limitations on our food system we want to respect? How are these boundaries administered differently and inequitably for different groups of people? Who administers them? We know that food meets other needs beyond simple nutrients and calories; how do conversations about planetary boundaries respect or disregard these other uses of food? In this module, we will consider the planetary boundaries within which we nourish humanity. We’ll build off of the ideas from Module 5 to investigate the evolving relationship between our needs and the needs of the planet, and consider new ways of conceptualizing these boundaries. Image Credit: elizabeth lies on Unsplash

The Global Food System. Singular. When we order a burger and fries, wherever we may find ourselves in the world, we might see, feel, hear, touch, and taste the global food system in action. The meat comes from multiple cows raised, finished, slaughtered, and processed in Nebraska, California, Brazil, and Colorado, cooked on a flattop with cheap canola oil from Canada, served with tomatoes grown in Mexico, on a bun grown with wheat from China. How did one coherent system emerge for producing, moving, homogenizing, and commodifying food? How does it touch our lives? How is it at odds with the futures we want for ourselves? What good does it do? In this module, we’ll scope the massive global food system, understand its parts, history, and behavior, and think critically about where it fits in to our desired food systems futures. Image Credit: Andy Li on Unsplash

By “food movement paradigms and priorities,” we’re referring to the big three: food security or access, food justice, and food sovereignty, as well as the more recent idea of food systems resilience. And we also often frame them as a series of priorities, sometimes a question of “Which one is the right one?” In framing them as priorities here, we’ll advocate for all of them, in different spaces in different moments, for and by different people. We’ll advocate for reliable access to food that nourishes us, fair processes within the food system, and the molding of a new food system within which we all have equitable agency and no longer requires advocacy for basic needs and fairness. Importantly, we’ll frame them simultaneously as movements, as upswells from different groups in response to imperfect and harmful systems, as incomplete and flawed efforts toward a better world. We’ll understand their contexts, strengths, and imperfections in theory, and talk to experts in the field putting paradigms into practice. What we learn in this module will help orient us as we dig deeper into the weeds of the food system. Let’s get started. Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

In Module 4, we looked back thousands of years to ask, "Why agriculture?" And in Module 5, we began by recalling that humans grow and eat food because we, unlike plants, cannot photosynthesize. In a way, then, we might think about farmers as facilitators and mitigators of photosynthesis, who oversee the conversion of sunlight, water, and sugars into the essential nutrients we need to survive. And while it may seem that once we've studied the transitions from hunter-gatherer societies to agrarian ones, once we've analyzed the stories of agrarianism and their influence on the development of nations, once we've critiqued the Green Revolution and other key historical moments, we can move on. However, this history of agriculture and interrogation of agrarianism prompts another question: What is a farm? And what do these farms look like today? In this module, we'll pick up where we left off and ask these questions, as well as others. How might the assumptions we’ve made about farms be wrong, or at the very least somewhat misleading? How are these assumptions grounded in place, and how might our answers to the question differ depending on where we stand? What happens on farms? And of course, what variation exists within farms themselves? Image Credit: Markus Winkler

For many of us, it’s safe to say that many of the agricultural practices common today don’t exactly seem “sustainable.” That is, it doesn’t seem like we can continue them in perpetuity without incurring some crippling ecological, social, economic, etc. damages that bring down the entire system. From the fragility of monocropping systems and environmental impacts of synthetic pesticides, to the rising costs of land and dwindling water resources, it seems like we have plenty of issues that need fixing. Sustainable agriculture has, in recent decades, presented itself as the alternative to the agricultural systems we have, the solution we need. But what is it? And where did the term come from? What are its components? Is it the same as regenerative agriculture? How are the practices and principles underneath this umbrella (including regenerative agriculture) contested, and why? In this module, we’ll unpack taken-for-granted definitions and clarify our shared visions for truly “sustainable” agricultural systems, whatever they may look like in our communities. Image Credit: Bianca Ackermann on Unsplash

When did we start expecting that the places where we live, work, and play, and the places where food grows should be separate from each other? When did we start delineating "urban agriculture" from regular "agriculture"? What's so different about growing food in these areas? How does the consolidation of people, buildings, and resources influence what we grow and how we grow it? And what can urban agriculture teach us about the nonurban? Urban agriculture, as a subject that is simultaneously new and ancient, still prompts more questions than answers. While we cannot answer them all in one module, we'll at least lay the groundwork for future inquiry. We'll apply a systems thinking lens to contextualize a growing global movement, evaluate its history and future potential, and explore its theoretical underpinnings. Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

What percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions can we attribute to food and agriculture? Estimates vary considerably, with some pegging the number at 18.4%, and others estimating about 24%, and some estimating that food and agriculture are responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Regardless of the precise number, the point is clear: agriculture has a substantial impact on climate change. Moreover, climate change has a clear impact on agriculture and the food system more broadly. And if we want to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate, we’ll have to change the food system. But how? What needs changing? Where can we have the most impact while maintaining the parts of the food system that make us whole? In this module, we might not solve the climate crisis, but we will start thinking about our own roles and responsibilities--as well as those of others--as change agents in the food system. Image Credit: redcharlie on Unsplash

The domestication of animals came not long after the domestication of plants, yet animals have played integral roles in our diets for much longer than agriculture. Long before the existence of farms and ranches, humans engaged in hunting and fishing, and in many cases continue to do so thousands of years later. Today, our relationship is more complicated. Although animal agriculture, hunting, and fishing remain a driving and divisive force in our food system and a simultaneously growing part of global diets, we now confront more pressing questions pertaining to the ethics of animal agriculture (at multiple points along the supply chain), and its impact on climate change, among others. How are we to balance these concerns with our own traditions, beliefs, values, and dietary needs? In this module, we’ll examine the issue of animal agriculture from ethical, ecological, and sociocultural angles. Content awareness: Some of the content in this module discusses potentially sensitive topics like the slaughter and sometimes violent treatment of animals. Image Credit: Brett Jordan on Unsplash

"They want us to take such great care of the tomatoes, but they don't take care of us." So concludes Japolina Jaimez, a field hand at Rene Produce, during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. The report does little to contradict his statement; the humans who cultivate and process the food that sustains us in an increasingly industrialized system with longer, more opaque supply chains seldom receive the true fruits of their labor. In short, labor throughout the food system is one of its most troubling components. It has been this way for centuries, beginning with the enslavement of humans for plantation labor. In this module, we’ll ask why, looking to the very history of agriculture for clues, as well as looking forward to visions of justice for the people who make food systems work. Image Credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

How does food move along the food supply chain? Is it really as simple as moving from a farm to our cabinets on a truck, train, or boat? How do bananas actually make it to New York City corner stores from the tropics? Who operates within this “messy middle,” and what pressures does the system put on the system as a whole? In this module, we’ll look deeper at how food is aggregated, distributed, and sold. We’ll hear from changemakers in the field who are reimagining how local and regional supply chains work, and think critically about how this particular node offers an important leverage point for us to make change in our own communities. Image Credit: Han Chenxu on Unsplash

Caribbean sugar baked into English pastries, Mexican farmers making tortillas from Canadian corn, even American colonists trading human beings to work on their sprawling plantations; trade, for better or for worse, powers our modern agrifood systems. Yet it remains largely invisible and highly complex for many of us. In this module, we’ll examine how trade routes and international agreements have shaped what ends up in our fields and on our plates, the cost of trade, and alternative ways of viewing trade that can help us build better systems. We’ll define foundational terms, connect historical dots, and understand where trade fits into the broader food system. Image Credit: Taylor Siebert on Unsplash

You’ve likely seen this image before; it’s what comes to mind for many of us when we think about concentration and consolidation in the food system. Yet concentration and consolidation in the food system run much deeper than corporations owning smaller brands, and are often even harder to trace. Concentration can look like big commodity farmers watching small farms down the road go under, and snatching the land when all is said and done. Consolidation might look like growing companies owning not just a brand, but all the processes that go into producing the branded food. Or it could look like behemoth grocery retailers squeezing produce prices at the expense of suppliers, farmers, and workers because they can. In this module, we’ll identify what concentration and consolidation look like, who’s in charge, and what we’re left with. Image Credit: NeONBRAND on Unsplash

In 2007, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared “locavore” their “Word of the Year.” Defined as “a person who endeavors to eat only locally produced food.” Its designation marked the growing popularity, legitimacy, and in some cases, ridicule of the local food movement. But underneath the dictionary definitions, comedy sketches, and quick mantras encouraging citizens to “Eat local!” many are left wondering, “Why?” We might associate local food with higher expense, with tracking our food miles, or with the neighbor from whom we purchase our CSA. We might associate it with fewer greenhouse gas emissions, more transparency, and community investment. This 21st Century "return" to localism seems to take one form in Western advanced economies where consumers have grown accustomed to consuming food from all over the world. For others, the local food movement looks more like a return to and preservation of local food ways. In both cases, the idea of local food challenges us to think about our reliance upon The Global Food System (as discussed in Module 7) to fill our plates. Before we launch fork-first in a farm-to-table feast, then, we might want to unpack what it really means to eat locally, and whether an emphasis on local (or even regional) food systems is the right move, for people and planet. In this module, we’ll examine the values embedded in local food movements, what we’re achieving, and what we want our own food communities to look like. Image Credit: Megan Bucknall

From the US Department of Agriculture to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to the local food policy council, there are plenty of organizations in charge of governing some aspect of food and agriculture, exerting influence on what we grow, sell, purchase, and consume. Simultaneously, these systems of governance may be imperfect, and may reflect the specific needs or interests of the people who lead them, rather than the people they govern. Or perhaps they work well. Either way, our study of food systems would be incomplete if we did not examine the broader governance landscape, particularly when it comes to our analysis of these systems as worthwhile paths toward change. While numerous ways to effect change exist, many of them nevertheless require effective engagement in governance processes, and the process is often discouragingly complex. Recognizing that many of us come from different places with very different ways of regulating, legislating, electing, and so on, we may still identify essential shared components and dive deeper where appropriate, and demystify the process. By the end of the module, we may ask ourselves: Who makes the decisions that govern our food and agriculture systems? Why do they make the decisions they do? How do they affect us, and how might we make them better? Should we bother? Image Credit: Katie Moum

“Technology alone can’t save us, but judicious applications of technology can. Human ignorance and ingenuity got us into this mess, and ingenuity combined with good judgement can get us out of it.” So writes Amanda Little in The Fate of Food, which chronicles her journey from apple orchards, Norwegian fisheries, and water reservoirs in Israel to understand what the future of food looks like in the face of climate change, and what role food technologies can play. She frames it as a question of reinvention--of funding more technological innovation to come up with never-before-seen tools to produce more food--or deinvention--returning to older ways of producing food before the Green Revolution and industrialization. She also wonders whether or not a “third way” exists, an approach that shuns neither the old nor the new, instead advocating for the appropriate use of both. In this module, we’ll examine similar questions. We’ll get up to speed on new types of agrifood innovations, assess their current viability, and unpack the assumptions embedded in the ways in which we discuss food technology on a global stage. We'll ask what even counts as technology, and consider the ways in which tools we use every day are forms of food technology. We’ll also think critically about when, where, and how food innovations can be used appropriately to create better food systems in the face of extreme environmental challenges. Image Credit: Mick Haupt

Nearly 811 million people without enough to eat, and 1.3 billion tons of food wasted worldwide per year. This is often how we frame conversations about food waste: the mismatch between food that goes uneaten, and the sheer number of humans experiencing hunger. While certainly an important dichotomy to consider, and certainly an ethical imperative, food waste is about more than fitting disconnected pieces together, connecting a plug and outlet to turn on the lights of fixing the problems in the food system. To understand the phenomenon of food waste, and to identify paths toward remediation, we’ll have to break down the concept into its smaller parts--its definitions, its cultural context and drivers, its ethics, its implications for human nourishment and climate change, and its proposed solutions. In this module, we’ll go deeper, looking for the nuance in the field of food waste within contemporary conversations--and question what it really means to waste, after all. Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

When we open the cupboard or refrigerator and ask what to eat, we aren’t simply asking ourselves; we’re consulting our ancestors, families, our wallets, our clocks, and our emotions. The breadth and weight of the entire food system converges in the moment we feel the first rumbles of hunger, when the question rises to the surface yet again. The ways in which we eat are immensely varied, equally valid, and worthy of further study. Having studied many key elements of the food system and the mechanisms that bring food within our reach, we will study how these elements and mechanisms show up in our everyday decisions about food, the ones that often feel most intimate and transformational. Image Credit: Hans Vivek on Unsplash

At this point in the course, you’re likely feeling overwhelmed with how much there is to change (and, hopefully, how much there is to enjoy and relish). You might be wondering where you fit into all this, where you can step in, and how you should step in. In this module, remembering that we, too, are important pieces of (and indeed systems within) wider food systems, we’ll turn our attention to ourselves. How can we engage with the food system more ethically? What parameters should guide our actions? Who are we, and who can we be as changemakers in the food system? How can we support each other? Part of this module will be accepting that much of what we learn about ourselves will change. For now, let’s dive in, and start understanding ourselves (and of course the food system) a little better. Image Credit: Erol Ahmed on Unsplash

“...emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of relatively simple interactions.” While many of us might associate emergence and emergent strategy with progressive movements toward radical systemic change, they first show up in the unlikely realm of business and management during the late twentieth century. The Berkana Institute applied the concepts to social change, and today, adrienne maree brown frames them as radical and ecological. Systems thinkers have long considered emergence a key characteristic of systems. So it only makes sense that, after spending 23 modules studying food systems, we too rally around emergence. As this is our last module in the Food Systems Thinking course, we’ll spend time working in partnership and collaboration with our fellow learners to recognize emergence within our own communities. We’ll work together to think creatively, expansively, and inclusively about how we want to transform the system we’ve spent so long studying, and how we can get there from where we stand today. We’ll identify assets we have today, what leverage points we can act upon, and where we see networks coalescing to change paradigms. These are, of course, not the only ways to think about the future, but they can be powerful ones. You might continue to use them as you progress throughout the EcoGather curriculum. And of course, as you work through this module and complete the course, don’t forget to reflect on how much you’ve learned, and express gratitude to your fellow learners, community members, and yourself for your thoughtfulness, ideas, and future work as changemakers in the food system. Image Credit: Maksim Shutov on Unsplash

A quick video to wrap up and send you off. Image Credit: Will Echols on Unsplash