PHCA2510 Introduction to Food Democracy

2016

4.5

1 x 1-hour lecture weekly
1 x 1-hour tutorial weekly
1 x 3-hour seminar fortnightly
1 x 10-hour independent study weekly

Assignments and Presentation

The starting point in this topic is to understand the principles of democracy and features of a thriving civil society through the lens of food and our food system. We will examine cultural and social influences of food to determine their effectiveness to affect food choice behaviours and population health outcomes. We also critically examine efficacy of public policy strategies aimed at improving health and well-being as a means of comparing and contrasting alternate food democracy strategies. In particular we will examine:

• Public health nutrition and dietary advice messaging

• Food labelling issues, kitchen gardening and cooking programs

• A spectrum of community participation approaches

Finally, we develop knowledge of the relevant skills and techniques as well as the ability to know how to identify useful tools and resources and how to apply them effectively in a community engagement setting.

The aim of this topic is to enable students to develop their capacity to apply an understanding of food democracy and its application as a health care practitioner in a range of settings. It provides opportunities for students to acquire knowledge about existing public health approaches and associated food democracy related health programs.

On completing this topic students will be able to:

• Critically discuss theoretical principles of democracy, civil society and food democracy

• Identify a range of social, economic and cultural determinants of health

• Understand the components of food across our food system and how it operates to enable or disable better public health outcomes

• Identify the efficacy of food democracy strategies across a spectrum of community participatory approaches