Politics of Food and Farming

Module title	Politics of Food and Farming
Module code	SPA3019
Academic year	2025/6
Credits	15
Module staff	Professor Michael Winter (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	25

Module description

There are no more fundamental requirements for human beings that than that of bodily sustenance through the consumption of food. The module will provide you with an understanding of how the nature and content of the food we eat is driven by a range of cultural, economic and political forces. We will start with some history as we seek to explain how the immutable requirement for food has combined with population growth, technological change, and changing consumer demand to shift our relationship with food from the immediacy of hunter gathering or subsistence agriculture to the complexities of the contemporary global agro-food system. We will look at both the empirical evidence of transitional change and the theoretical explanations of food systems and networks developed by social scientists. However, our evidence sources will not be confined to social science because, in order to understand the politics of food, we need to understand various natural processes. For example, what does growing food - especially with modern agricultural technology - do to the land and the environment? How is human health affected by the move towards processing and manufacture of food? And in both these cases, and others, how does often contested evidence feed into political campaigns and policy initiatives? No prior knowledge skills or experience are needed to take this module. The module is suitable for interdisciplinary pathways.

The module provides an introduction to the historical and contemporary politics of food and farming. It is international in outlook but centres on the struggles and contestations over land and food production in the UK from sociological and anthropological perspectives. It charts some of the key social, economic and policy transformations that have shaped the agri-food landscape and considers how and why power has been enacted and resisted in various guises, at various times and in various places. The post-Brexit agricultural transition shapes contemporary debates about the future of food and farming in the UK. The module explores themes such as climate change, rewilding, agro-ecology and eco-modernism whilst investigating the politics behind the various ways in which different futures and agri-environmental management approaches have been envisioned and promulgated. The management of the Commons provides a thematic focus throughout the module.

Module aims - intentions of the module

- You will understand the historical and contemporary struggles over land, farming, food and environment in the UK

- You will critically understand the current crises inherent in food and farming and the various futures being envisaged in response

- You will develop and apply your capacity to think critically about land-use management and associated policy issues

- You will appreciate the impacts and challenges of policy-making and be able to formulate pragmatic and balanced policy recommendations

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of key issues in the politics of food, agriculture and the environment
2. Critically evaluate the contemporary societal responses to the challenges that arise from these issues

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Locate, use and analyse secondary primary data relevant to the specific issue areas
4. Undertake inter-disciplinary social science analysis

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. Demonstrate critical and analytical skills through readings and class discussions
6. Produce compelling written work suitable for a policy audience
7. Synthesise and evaluate diverse interests and perspectives to make plausible policy recommendations

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

History of struggles over land
Agricultural and Agri-Environmental policy and its consequences
Culture, power and ideology in food and farming systems
Climate change, land-use and diet
Rewilding
Agro-ecology
Alternative visions of the future for food and farming systems

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	22	2 hours per week for 11 weeks. Teaching will take the form of lectures and discussion. Each week's session will require pre-reading by the participants and will be interspersed with discussion points and interaction.
Guided Independent Study	56	Weekly reading for each weeks lecture
Guided Independent Study	12	Preparation for Policy Report Proposal
Guided Independent Study	60	Preparation for Policy Report

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Policy report Proposal	500 words	1-4, 6, 7	Written feedback and class discussion

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Policy Report	100	3,000 words	1-7	Written feedback

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Policy Report (3,000 words)	Policy Report (3000 words) (100%)	1-7	August/September reassessment period

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Carolan, M. (2016). The sociology of food and agriculture. Routledge.

Cloke, P. J., Mooney, P., & Marsden, T. (2006). Handbook of rural studies. Handbook of Rural Studies, 1-528.

Herring, R. J. (Ed.). (2015). The Oxford handbook of food, politics, and society. Oxford University Press, USA.

Lobley, M., Winter, M., & Wheeler, R. (2018). The changing world of farming in Brexit UK. Routledge.

Paarlberg, R. L. (2023). Food politics: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.

Van der Ploeg, J. D. (2012). The new peasantries: struggles for autonomy and sustainability in an era of empire and globalization. Routledge.

Ward, N. (2022). Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System. Routledge.

Winter, M. (2013). Rural politics: policies for agriculture, forestry and the environment. Routledge.

Winter, M., & Lobley, M. (Eds.). (2009). What is land for?: the food, fuel and climate change debate. Routledge.

Key words search

Food, farming, sustainability, power, land

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	Cannot also have taken SPA2019
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	6
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	13/02/2020
Last revision date	27/01/2025