JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY COURSE CODE: "NS 220" COURSE NAME: "Food and Agriculture" SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring Semester 2012

SYLLABUS INSTRUCTOR: Kneller Margaret HOURS: MW 16:00-17:15 TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45 CREDITS: 3 PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: MA 100 or MA 101 OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is a survey course of agriculture, emphasizing the important food plants of the 21st century. The aim is to learn key processes which lead to the wide array of foods, which are available in developed countries. “Food and agriculture” is a multi-disciplinary subject; we take the ecological viewpoint (organisms and lifecycle requirements). Topics covered in this class will prepare students for then understanding related political and economic aspects of food production. Food crops which are the basis of many diets are covered: we start from the events of domestication, pass through the Green Revolution, and end with major crop commodities (such as bananas and coffee) being cultivated by “agribusiness” or also by “sustainable” farming methods. We also look at major issues related to agriculture today: for example, the development of biofuels which may use food stocks, and diseases and pests which threaten important monocultures.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT: Students will learn about at Food and Agriculture, focusing on these subject areas. Domestication of major animals and crops (timing and place, in order to set the scene for when humans made major steps in controlling and managing their food supply), the First Agricultural Revolution. Common Food Commodities which are important today. Grains (concentrating on wheat, corn, and rice, and then where grown, population served, cultivation requirements). Bananas The Green Revolution. Examples of, and the Pros/Cons of Genetically Modified (Crop) Organisms—Amflora, Golden Rice, Insecticide Sweet Corn. Sugar: crop sources and sugar substitutes. Food for Export, e.g. Coffee, Cocoa. Fertilizers, synthetic and organic. Oils: palm oil, …olive oil. Minor but Essential Crops, e.g. Leafy Green Vegetables. Crop Pests, Diseases and Pesticides, imminent threats: e.g. wheat rust Modern Industrial Agriculture to Organic Farming, examples. Biofuels or Food: ethanol from sugar cane and corn, palm oil.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: We learn about important food crops: from their cultivation and production, through to their use by consumers. We look at the major achievements in agriculture of the 20th century, and try to anticipate the important uses and vulnerabilities of plant crops in the 21st century.

TEXTBOOK: Book Title Author Publisher ISBN number Library Call Number Comments Format Local Bookstore Online Purchase The State of Food and Agriculture, 2003-2004 FAO   n.a.           Articles listed in "Schedule": available online, or in MyJCU folder various   n.a.

REQUIRED RESERVED READING: Book Title Author Publisher ISBN number Library Call Number Comments The Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan   978-1594200823     RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING: Book Title Author Publisher ISBN number Library Call Number Comments On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee   978-0684800011

GRADING POLICY -ASSESSMENT METHODS: Assignment Guidelines Weight Midterm vocabulary, short answers, describe graphs and figures 30% In Class Presentation OR Paper Choose a crop, not covered in class, or a topic relevant to 21st century agriculture (consult the professor and use FAOSTAT), and then find recent news articles or scholarly publications, which address the topic. Your topic must be approved by me, by midterm week. By week nine, you must have collected half your sources. Late submission of topic or partial list of sources, will lower the grade by one full letter grade. <br /> Presentation Option: Starting in the second half of the semester, a student may make in-class presentation, 15 minutes in length. You will aim to present an agriculture "status report" for a crop, or topic relevant to 21st century agriculture. <br /> Paper Option: 6 pages double-spaced, and additional pages for the bibliography. <br /> The bibliography, for either the presentation or written paper, should contain at least 8 sources. Each entry must be sufficiently complete so that I can find any entry that you give me. Aim to follow one format consistently for all entries. You may use asybib to aid your formatting. http addresses are not complete. Each student will submit the electronic copy of the presentation, including a bibliography (submitted at the time of the presentation). <strong>Turnitin</strong> may be used to evaluate citations. 30% Final vocabulary, short answer, describe graphs and figures 30% Class Discussion, Short Assignments relevant participation in classroom discussion, plus completion of one or two short assignments 10% -ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:  Letter grades will follow these guidelines. A: This type of work demonstrates the ability to learn the concepts and theories presented, and also to begin to make analysis. During class discussion and in written tests, the student shows clear evidence of a significant amount of reading, and comprehension, of the required and recommended articles and texts. B: This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised. There is usually a demonstration of ability to learn the concepts and theories presented. During class discussion and in written tests, the student usually shows evidence of a significant amount of reading, and comprehension, of the required and recommended articles and texts. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading of the required assignments. C: This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings. D: This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material. Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail. F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant. -ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS: Class attendance is required, more than three unexcused absences will lower the grade by one half (e.g. B to B-). Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.

ACADEMIC HONESTY As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Syllabus Week by Week Schedule for Course Content (Topics to be Covered), with Reading (readings will be adjusted based upon level of the class). Note that I will try to arrange a field trip to either the WFP, or IFAD.  If a field trip is scheduled, then the topics covered, by week, may be adjusted slightly.  Also note that a field trip may necessitate its scheduling outside the precise scheduled time of this class. Week 1: Common Food Commodities Today. Students, choose your food and country. Reading: http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx , or USDA Global Crop Production Analysis http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/ Week 2: Domestication of major animals and crops (timing and place, in order to set the scene for when humans made major steps in controlling and managing their food supply), the First Agricultural Revolution. Reading: H Pringle, The Slow Birth of Agriculture, Science, 20 November 1998, Vol. 282, p. 1446; K Brown, New Trips through the Back Alleys of Agriculture, Science, 27 April 2001, Vol 292, p. 631-633. Week 3 and 4: Grains (where grown, population served, cultivation requirements) Wheat, domestication and cultivation. Reading: “Back to the Future of Cereals, ” by Stephen A. Goff and John M. Salmeron, Scientific American Magazine, August 2004 (myJCU shared files); ICARDA and CIMMYT, Harnessing the Power of Partnership in Wheat Improvement http://www.icarda.org/ICWIP/P01.htm (this is placed on ten pages, click through the pages at the bottom). Corn. Reading: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by M Pollan (Chapters 1 and 2, but you might enjoy reading more). On reserve in Frohring Library. Rice. Reading: “A Brief History of Rice”, from the publication "Rice: Then and Now" by R.E. Huke and E.H. Huke, International Rice Research Institute, 1990, or, an article from the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) “Rice Today” magazine, October 2007 edition (I suggest “Looking up in the Uplands,” starts on page 10, or “High and Dry,” which starts on page 28). All are in MyJCU shared files folder. Week 5: pollinators and pests. Reading: http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core- themes/theme/pests/en/ Week 6: The Green Revolution. Reading: “Green Revolutionary,” by John Pollock, Technology Review, published by MIT, January/February 2008 (MyJCU), or “Biotechnology and the Green Revolution Norman Borlaug” at http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/borlaug.html . Week 7: Midterm, planned for February 29 Week 7: Bananas. Reading: Musa species at http://agroforestry.net/tti/Musa-banana-plantain.pdf OR access the pdf “why bananas matter” at http://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/en/why-bananas-matter-mainmenu-77.html Week 8: Fertilizers, synthetic and organic. Reading: “Nitrogen and Food Production: Proteins for Human Diets,” by Vaclav Smil, Ambio Vol. 31 No. 2, OR “The oil we eat: Following the food chain back to Iraq,” by Richard Manning at www.harpers.org/TheOilWeEat.html , OR “Food production: Agriculture wars,” by Javier Blas in London and Leslie Hook, Financial Times, August 27, 2010. Week 9: Examples of, and the Pros/Cons of Genetically Modified (Crop) Organisms—Amflora, Golden Rice, Insecticide Sweet Corn. Reading: http://www.bionetonline.org/English/Content/ff_cont3.htm; “Instant Expert: GM Organisms,” by John Pickrell, in New Scientist, September 2006; OR information from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) including the report, “Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2008”; AND/OR “Plant breeding and sustainable agriculture - myths and reality,” by Bernard Le Buanec, IPGRI Newsletter for Europe, No 33 – November 2006; OR also possibly “Controlling Our Food” a documentary film by Marie-Monique Robin. Week 10: Sugar, crop sources and sugar substitutes. Reading: ILLOVO site, http://www.fas.usda.gov/sugar_arc.asp , http://web.unbc.ca/chemistry/CHEM110/artificial.pdf Week 11: Food for Export, e.g. Coffee, Cocoa. Reading: material from International Coffee Organization; material from the International Cocoa Organization and the World Cocoa Foundation. March 2002. Week 12: Oils, soybeans, palm oil, …olive oil. Reading: links at http://www.nnfcc.co.uk/ (National Non-Food Crop Centre, UK), selections from Small-Scale Palm Oil Processing in Africa, FAO Agricultural Service Bulletin 148, 2002. Week 11: Minor but Essential Crops, e.g. Leafy Green Vegetables, (Bioversity International has worked on this recently, especially with regard to Africa). This may be omitted. Week 12 (or integrated into the topics of Bananas, Green Revolution): Crop Pests, Diseases and Pesticides, imminent threats: e.g. wheat rust Reading: http://wheatrust.cornell.edu , http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/pests/en/ . Week 13: Modern Industrial Agriculture to Organic Farming, examples. Reading: possibly chapter from “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” by M Pollan (Chapters 8 and 9), OR “Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?” by ANDREW RICE, The New York Times, November 22, 2009. Week 14: Biofuels or Food, ethanol from sugar cane and corn, palm oil. Reading: Euractiv “Controversy mounts over EU biofuels fall-out,” and related articles; excerpts from the UN Report, Sustainable Bioenergy, 2007 http://esa.un.org/un-energy/pdf/susdev.Biofuels.FAO.pdf . Final exam according to JCU Exams Schedule.