Agroecology, sustainable practices, production economics, environmental quality, holistic resource management, healthy food/water, rural communities. Meet sustainable-agriculture advocates, including farmers, faculty, and representatives of non-profit sustainable-agriculture organizations. prereq: 1103, Soil 1125 or 2125 or equiv

Professional experience in sustainable agriculture attained through supervised practical experience. Students create a learning agreement specific to their internship host and project, consulting with faculty advisers/hosts. This course meets the internship requirement for the Undergraduate Minor in Sustainable Agriculture. Prereq: Undergraduate minor in sustainable agriculture

This course is designed to provide a local and global historical perspective of soil erosion (causes and consequences); develop a scientific understanding of soil erosion processes; and relates various soil conservation and land-use management strategies to real-world situations. Basics of soil erosion processes and prediction methods will be the fundamental building blocks of this course. From this understanding, we will discuss policies and socioeconomic aspects of soil erosion. Lastly, we will focus on effective land-use management using natural resource assessment tools. Case studies and real-world and current events examples will be used throughout the course to relate course material to experiences. prereq: SOIL 2125 or instr consent

Political processes in management of the environment. How disagreements are addressed by different stakeholders, private-sector interests, government agencies, institutions, communities, and nonprofit organizations.

International perspectives on resource use and sustainable development. Integration of natural resource issues with social, economic, and policy considerations. Agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, non-timber forest products, water resources, certification, development issues. Global case studies. Impact of consumption in developed countries on sustainable development in lesser developed countries.

Process of public policy analysis from problem structuring to communication of findings. Commonly used analytical methods. Alternative models of analytical problem resolution.

This course explores how written texts help shape understandings of the land in the U.S. Students read and analyze historical texts that have contributed to colonialist understandings of nature and the land. Students will study how the rhetorical strategies of such texts helped to form exploitive relations with the land and enact violence against indigenous peoples. Historical and current texts written by native peoples provide a counter-narrative to the myth of progress. Emphasis in the course is placed on analyzing texts with an eye toward setting the ground for conversations aimed at achieving sustainability and justice. Students will also study how written texts are composed within material contexts that contribute to their understanding.

Plants are used for food, fuel, and fiber to sustain humans across the globe. Where and how these plants are produced is determined by soil, weather, natural biodiversity, and human culture. In turn, agricultural production of plants shapes the natural environment and society. This class will provide students with an overview of crop production including the history of agriculture, food chemistry, and plant growth and physiology as it relates to agriculture. Students will evaluate crop production practices in terms of their economic, social, and environmental outcomes, and highlight tradeoffs and synergies among these outcomes. In the lab, students will receive hands-on experiences with field crops as they collect, analyze, and synthesize data from field experiments to inform decision-making in agriculture.

Workshops on various topics in agronomy and plant genetics. Presenters/faculty may include guest lecturers/experts. Topics specified in class schedule.

American Indian environmental issues in U.S./Canada. Analysis of social, political, economic, legal forces/institutions. Colonial histories/tribal sovereignty.

Fundamental concepts of animal breeding, physiology, nutrition, and management as they apply to the production of beef, dairy, horses, poultry, sheep, swine, and other livestock. Fall term class open only to ANSC majors. Spring term class open to all majors.

Concepts of resource use. Financial/economic feasibility. External effects, market failures. Resource use, environmental problems. Measuring impacts of resource development. Economics of alternative resource programs, environmental strategies. prereq: 1101 or ECON 1101 or 1101H or ECON 1101H

Strategic and operations aspects of farm management; financial analysis, budgeting, strategic management; marketing plan and control; enterprise and whole farm planning and control; investment analysis, quality, risk, and personnel management. prereq: 1101 or Econ 1101

Biodiversity, ecological balance, nutrient cycling, soil quality. Organic practices of tillage, fertility management, weed control, insect control. Specific practices compared with conventional/integrated pest management. Economic analysis of both organic/conventional practices. prereq: AGRO 1101 or AGRO 1103 or BIOL 1001 or BIOL 1009 or HORT 1001 or HORT 6011 or instr consent, [sr or grad student admitted to MPS in horticulture] Because of the 5xxx level, undergraduates need permission numbers to register. Students can obtain permissions by writing to: reefx001@umn.edu

Regulation of energy and elements cycling through ecosystems. Dependence of cycles on kinds/numbers of species within ecosystems. Effects of human-induced global changes on functioning of ecosystems.

Natural history, identification, and behavior of honey bees and other social insects. Evolution of social behavior, pheromones and communication, organization and division of labor, social parasitism. Lab with honey bee management and maintenance of other social bees for pollination. prereq: Biol 1009 or instr consent

Introductory survey of environmental issues that explores the connections between environmental sciences, policy, and management. You will explore interrelationships between the environment and human society, as well as the underlying social, ethical, political and economic factors that affect those relationships. You will also examine the roles for science, technology, policy, and environmental justice in meeting environmental challenges. Asynchronous online lectures with weekly discussions in small groups.

Ecology of ecosystems that are primarily composed of managed plant communities, such as managed forests, field-crop agroecosystems, rangelands and nature reserves, parks, and urban open-spaces. Concepts of ecology and ecosystem management. prereq: BIOL 1001 or BIOL 1009 or HORT 1001 or instr consent

Policies affecting land use planning at local, state, and federal levels. Ecosystem and landscape scale planning. Collaborative and community-based approaches to planning for ecological, social, and economic sustainability. Class project applies interdisciplinary perspectives on planning and policy, including information gathering techniques, conservation planning tools, and evaluation of planning options.

Geographic patterns, dynamics, and interactions of atmospheric, hydrospheric, geomorphic, pedologic, and biologic systems as context for human population, development, and resource use patterns.

Tracing our relationship with edible landscapes traces to our hunting-gathering origins. Technological/social changes that have distanced us from our food. Integrating food plants into pleasing, sustainable, and edible landscapes in yards, neighborhoods, and cities.

Students plan/implement cropping/marketing strategies for organic produce/flowers from Student Organic Farm on St. Paul campus. prereq: 1001 or AGRO 1101 or AGRO 1103 or BIOL 1001 or BIOL 1009 or instr consent

Biology of the major groups of plant pathogens, symptoms and signs of plant disease, plant disease diagnosis, and principles of disease management. Lecture and laboratory. prereq: BIOL 1009 or equiv

Basic physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. Soil genesis classification, principles of soil fertility. Use of soil survey information to make a land-use plan. WWW used for lab preparation information. prereq: [CHEM 1015, CHEM 1017] or CHEM 1021 or equiv

Ecological/ethical concerns of food production systems in global agriculture: past, present, and future. Underlying ethical positions about how agroecosystems should be configured. Decision cases, discussions, videos, other media.

Ecological/ethical concerns of food production systems in global agriculture: past, present, and future. Underlying ethical positions about how agroecosystems should be configured. Interactive learning using decision cases, discussions, videos, other media.

Consequences of global food system. Diversity in food systems. Current topics in food sustainability.

Socioeconomic/political forces that impact migrant farmworkers. Effects of the laws and policies on everyday life. Theoretical assumptions/strategies of unions and advocacy groups. Role/power of consumer. How consuming cheap food occurs at expense of farmworkers.

America's relationship with food and eating has changed profoundly over the last fifty years. At the heart of this revolution was a group of charismatic personalities who through writing and television brought first European and then global sensibilities to the American table. They persuaded Americans that food and cooking were not just about nutrition but also forms of pleasure, entertainment, and art; ways of exploring other cultures; and means of declaring, discovering, or creating identity. Their work would eventually transform the American landscape, helping give rise to the organic movement, farmers markets, locavorism, and American cuisine, as well as celebrity chefs, the Food Network, and restaurant reality television. In the meantime, the environmental movement was sending its own shockwaves through American consciousness of food production and consumption. The joining together of these movements--culinary and environmental--has brought a new ethical dimension to the subject that is now at the forefront of current concerns about American food. Insofar as we eat, we necessarily make choices that have profound implications for our health, our communities, the environment, and those who work in the food industry, broadly defined. This class will trace the American food revolution with the intent of understanding how our current system came to be and thinking through the ethical implications of our daily actions. We will read classic literature from the rise of the movement, in varying degrees instructional, personal and documentary, while viewing some seminal television moments for the food culture we now know. We will give particular attention to recent work that focuses on the personal and environmental ethics of food.

Normative/professional ethics, and leadership considerations, applicable to managing natural resources and the environment. Readings, discussion.

Negotiation of natural resource management issues. Use of collaborative planning. Case study approach to conflict management, strategic planning, and building leadership qualities. Emphasizes analytical concepts, techniques, and skills.

This class uses a social justice lens to explore the interrelations of scientific discoveries, unequal global economies, and commodification. We will look at practices, new technologies, and policies that are trenchant for the negative impacts they have on environments broadly defined, and for human and non-human populations. We will ask how these practices, technologies, and policies - and the social and economic contexts that produce them - variably impact the health, well being, and valuation of particular populations. In a series of interconnected themes, we will examine what factors produce food insecurity and for whom; where and why pollution of resources such as water happens; the history and current state of antibiotic resistance; climate change and its various effects; and how new technologies can be life-saving and life-denying according to the ways national and global policies determine who gains access and who does not. We will also look at the innovative ways grassroots movements tackle issues confronting particular groups, what constitutes positive social change and by whose definition, and potential ways forward. Final projects focus on website construction or policy documents that have application beyond the classroom. Prereq: soph or jr or sr

Introduction to interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies minor. Scientific, cultural, ethical, and economic concepts that affect environmental sustainability and global economic justice. Key texts. Participatory classroom environment. prereq: Soph or jr or sr

Cultural history of American technology. Social values that technology represents in shifts from handicraft to mass production/consumption, in modern transportation, communication, bioengineering. Ethical issues in power, work, identity, our relation to nature.

This course provides a multi-disciplinary look at problems (and some of the possible solutions) affecting food production, distribution, and requirements for the seven plus billion inhabitants of this planet. It is co-taught by a plant geneticist (Morrell) and an economist (Runge) who together have worked on international food production and policy issues for the past 40 years. Historical context, the present situation and future scenarios related to the human population and food production are examined. Presentations and discussions cover sometimes conflicting views from multiple perspectives on population growth, use of technology, as well as the ethical and cultural values of people in various parts of the world. The global challenge perspective is reflected in attention to issues of poverty, inequality, gender, the legacy of colonialism, and racial and ethnic prejudice. Emphasis is placed on the need for governments, international assistance agencies, international research and extension centers, as well as the private sector to assist in solving the complex problems associated with malnutrition, undernutrition, obesity, and sustainable food production. Through a better understanding of world food problems, this course enables students to reflect on the shared sense of responsibility by nations, the international community and ourselves to build and maintain a stronger sense of our roles as historical agents. Throughout the semester students are exposed to issues related to world food problems through the lenses of two instructors from different disciplinary backgrounds. The core issues of malnutrition and food production are approached simultaneously from a production perspective as well as an economic and policy perspective throughout the semester. This is a Grand Challenge Curriculum course. GCC courses are open to all students and fulfill an honors experience for University Honors Program students.