The cultivation, preparation, distribution, and consumption of food are rich processes that shape how we organize ourselves socially, economically, and politically. Control over food systems at the community level is central to self-determination and sustainability.
During this five week course, you will learn about various approaches to building community-based food systems and movements for food justice around the world. Together, we will evaluate successful efforts at food system relocalization and the protection of community food resources, as well as the factors that threaten these efforts.
With a special consideration for the needs of indigenous, marginalized, low-income, and migrant communities, students will develop a conceptual toolkit and set of resources that will allow them to assess the limitations and possibilities of their own community’s food system.
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
• Understand and apply the frameworks of anti-hunger, food security, and food sovereignty when evaluating a community’s food supply
• Understand food system localization and identify concrete examples of successful efforts of this process.
• Support community-based food system efforts by creating linkages to information and resources
This course can be applied towards:
Noncredit courses do not produce academic credit nor appear on a Colorado State University academic transcript.
Important Information
Due to the condensed time frame for this course, students cannot withdraw and receive a refund once the course begins.
Instructors
Tanya Kerssen
tkerssen@foodfirst.org
Tanya Kerssen is a researcher at Food First/the Institute for Food and Development Policy in Oakland, CA. She holds a B.A. in Global Studies, Spanish and Women’s Studies from the University of Minnesota and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. At Berkeley she focused on the political economy of food and agriculture by examining food sovereignty in traditional coca-growing communities in Bolivia. With Food First, she has led several educational "food sovereignty tours" (to Bolivia, Mexico and West Africa) and edited the newsletter African Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution for over two years. She recently co-led a rural accompaniment delegation to Honduras with Alliance for Global Justice. She is also active in Occupy Oakland and participated in the creation of the "Occupy the Food System" working group.