Postgraduate Course: Interrelationships in Food Systems (PGGE11166)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Food security has been defined as when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Increasing and maintaining levels of food security is one of the primary policy goals of governments both in developed and developing countries. Food security policies can have significant wider impacts. This module will look at some key trends in food production and consumption, examine some of the interrelationships between food security and other policy goals and introduce several methods that can be used to investigate these interrelationships. |
| Course description |
Wk Topic
1 Introduction to module and module requirements. Review of key concepts.
2 Methods 1a: Analysing the environmental impacts of production and consumption - Life-Cycle Analysis
3 Methods 1b: Applying life-cycle analysis to livestock products
4 Economics of climate change
5 Food waste, circular economy and food security
6 --Flexible Learning Week--
7 Agri-environmental uptake - behavioural analysis
8 Methods 2: System dynamics ¿ principles, models and circular economy applications
9 Methods 3a: Focus groups, Delphi and Q methodology design
10 Natural capital and food security
11 Using ecosystems markets to deliver food security and tackle the climate emergency
12 Methods 3b: Q methodology analysis
13 Assignment 2 poster presentations
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 33,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
163 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
¿ Assignment 1
¿ Literature review essay on a topic introduced during the course
¿ 2500 words (excluding references)
¿ Percentage of final mark 50%
¿ Topic & essay structure instructions will be available in Learn by 26th January 2026
¿ Deadline: 5 pm on Monday 2nd March 2026
¿ Expected feedback: within 4-6 weeks
¿ Assignment 2
¿ Poster on a topic introduced during the course ¿ live presentation
¿ Percentage of final mark 50%
¿ Topic & structure instructions will be available in Learn by 2nd March 2026
¿ Deadline: 5 pm on Monday 30th March 2026
¿ Presentations (10¿ presentation & 5¿ Q&A) on 1st & 2nd April 2026 (will circulate slots closer to the time)
¿ Expected feedback: within 4-6 weeks
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- An understanding of what the unintended (or unstated) consequences of food security initiatives might be, and how these might be managed.
- An understanding of the potential impact of non-food security policies and processes on food security.
- An awareness of some key analytical methods for assessing interactions between policies.
- An analytical approach to framing and investigating policy questions on food security interlinked to areas such as circular economy, ecosystems services, and climate change
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Luiza Toma
Tel:
Email: Luiza.Toma@sruc.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Jennifer Gumbrell
Tel:
Email: Jennifer.Gumbrell@sruc.ac.uk |
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