Food Systems, Minor

The minor in food systems is designed to provide students from a range of disciplines with the knowledge and skills to understand how factors of the food system affects the health of a community (e.g., nutrition, food security, inequity, agriculture, food safety). Students examine the interrelationships within the national and global food systems between such outcomes as the obesity epidemic, food security, and the environmental impact of agriculture.

Addressing concerns within the food system requires educating individuals in nutrition, food security, food systems, food and culture, food safety, agriculture, and key concepts in understanding the effects of food and food systems. A Food Systems minor can provide such understanding to students from a range of fields and disciplines, including policy, economics, finance, nutrition, health, chemistry, biology, communications, sociology, anthropology, education, and sustainability.

Completion Requirements

Students are required to complete coursework in Food Systems, Introduction to Nutrition, Global Nutrition and Food Security, and Taste and Place. Students also have the choice of six credits of electives that focus on food behaviors as the outcome of the complex factors and processes of the food system.

View the program requirements for the food systems minor.

Our students want to make a meaningful impact on the food system.

Diverse careers are available to students of the food systems minor. Career opportunities may vary based on the major field of study. Possible directions include agriculture and land conservation, community organizing for food access and food justice, government and policy, food & garden educator, and supply chain managers.