Interest in agricultural issues and debates
have grown markedly among non-specialist audiences in recent
years. This course will provide a broad overview of the
historical development of our global food economy along with a
survey of recent trends and controversies. Topics discussed will
range from basic food staples, food markets and trade
liberalization to food security, environmental sustainability
and alternative agricultural systems. Understanding of technical
terms and trade-offs, along with the local and global dimensions
of the economics and politics surrounding our globalized supply
chain will be recurring concerns in this course.
Mandatory
Readings
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course has three (3) main objectives:
1) To cover the basic physical, technical and economic issues
related to agricultural development;
2) To cover broadly the history of our globalized food supply
chain;
3) To introduce students to past debates and current
controversies.
Texts
There is no textbook or reading package for this
class. Most of the readings are freely available on the web and links
are provided on the course’s webpage. Suggested readings are not
mandatory, but students who will write term papers on topics covered in
these texts are expected to be familiar with them.
Most of the
suggested readings are freely accessible from anywhere. Some of them,
however, may require you to use a UofT terminal or user code.
ASSIGNMENTS
% OF GRADE
DATE DUE
1) Proposal for Term Paper
2) Term Test
3) Term Paper
4) Final Exam
5%
20%
40%
35%
January 26
February 9
March 29, 5PM
TBA
As per the University Grading Practices Policy,
please note that "after the methods of evaluation have been made
known, the instructor may not change them or their relative weight
without the consent of at least a simple majority of the students
enrolled in the course. Any changes shall be reported to the
division or the department."
How to Query or Challenge a Mark
Please note that you have two weeks from the date an item is
returned in class to ask for the item to be remarked. Contact the
Course Instructor for all queries about course marks, or if you wish
to challenge a mark. Absolutely no item will be remarked after the
two-week period has passed. Material submitted for remarking must be
accompanied by a brief written explanation detailing your
reasons for dissatisfaction with the original mark (such as an
addition error or something you think the marker may have missed). A
request for a remark without a written explanation will not be acted
upon.
Please note that you are allowed two questions where you and the
instructor can agree to disagree (meaning you believe that you are
entitled to a higher mark, but your instructor disagrees) without
penalty. Beginning with the third question where you and your
instructor disagree, one point will be taken off your final mark by
question for which a revised mark was requested by you and denied by
the instructor.
Please read the course syllabus before e-mailing a question or expect a
one line answer telling you to look it up if the answer is already there.
Always use your University of Toronto e-mail address (@utoronto.ca) for
all course-related communications. E-mails from other domains (e.g.,
hotmail, Rogers, gmail, yahoo, etc.) may be filtered as spam and will at
any rate be ignored. Always include the course code (e.g., GGR287) as
part of your subject line, along with your full name and student number
in the body of the e-mail. E-mails will be answered during office hours
as promptly as possible. Please note that I do not open attachments and
will not answer during week-ends.
The first person that you should e-mail concerning department- or
program-related queries or to submit documentation regarding a missed
assignment, quiz, or test is the Academic Counsellor for Geography/Environment,
Sabrina Ferrari (sabrina.ferrari@utoronto.ca).
E-mail should NOT be viewed as an alternative to meeting with the TA or
professor during office hours. Nor should e-mail be used as a mechanism
to receive private tutorials (especially prior to tests) or to explain
material that was covered in missed lectures. Not receiving replies to
e-mails from the TA or professor, or not receiving them in time, will
not be an acceptable excuse for pleas for extensions to assignment or
exam deadlines.
Students are advised to consult
www.enough.utoronto.ca for information on university policy
concerning the appropriate use of information and communication
technology.
Tests
A set of questions will be given in advance. Students
will be asked to answer a number of these during the test. Note that
Power Point slides presented during the lectures WILL NOT be posted
online. No documentation is allowed during the tests.
Students will be asked to write a 13-15 page review
essay of a book dealing with topics covered in class. The choice of book
must be approved by the instructor. Papers should follow the
Standard Documentation Formats.
The papers are
due by March 29, 5 PM. There will be a drop-off box in front of Room
Davis 3284.
Your choice of book must be approved by the
instructor before turning in your proposal. When e-mailing the
instructor about your book choice, please provide a link to the
publisher's webpage devoted to the book or, if no such thing exists, to
the Amazon or another large bookseller webpage devoted to the book.
Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays
to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of
possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be
included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database,
where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism.
The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com
service are described on the Turnitin.com web site.
> Full legal statement
Students are permitted, under our conditions of use, to opt-out of using
Turnitin. If a student chooses not to submit an assignment through
Turnitin, the instructor will need to find alternative arrangements to
check their work as rigorously. Students will not be penalized for
choosing to opt out, but they will be asked to have a short meeting with
the instructor and be asked questions about their research methodology
and work.
You are required to submit a hard copy of the assignment as
instructed in the syllabus for the TAs to grade and annotate Electronic
copies will be submitted by students through Turnitin.
Please not that submitting your paper through
Turnitin.com or making alternative arrangements before the deadline with
your professor is not optional. Failure to do so will result in a grade
of 0 for your term paper. Failure to submit your paper on turnitin.com
before the deadline will result in the same late penalty as if you had
not submitted your hard copy.
Department of Geography Late Assignment/Missed
Test Policy
This is the departmental policy for late assignments and
missed tests. Please note that the penalty related to your
proposal is different. In this particular case, I apply my own
policy as specified on the syllabus.
Missed Term
Work (Assignment/Lab - as per Department of Geography policy): Late
assignments will be subject to a late penalty of 10% per day (including
weekends) of the total marks for the assignment. Assignments submitted
five calendar days beyond the due date will be assigned a grade of zero.
Academic accommodation can be made when an assignment is late or a
student is unable to write a term test/quiz for University.
Missed Term Work (Quiz/Test - as per Department of Geography policy):
In courses with final exams, there will be no re-writes or make-ups for
term tests/quizzes missed for University-accepted, verifiable reasons.
Instead the final exam will be re-weighted by the value of the term
test/quiz. In courses with no final exam, re-writes may be scheduled at
the discretion of the instructor.
Informing Your Professor and Submitting Appropriate Documentation:
1. The following steps must be completed in order
to be considered for academic accommodation for any course work such
as missed tests or late assignments:
2. Students must inform their professor in writing (e-mail is
acceptable) within 24 hours of a test date/assignment due date of
any circumstances that prevent them from writing a test or
submitting an assignment on time.
3. Students must submit a University-accepted documentation (e.g.,
U of T Student Medical Certificate) within one week of a missed
assignment due date or test date. Failure to submit appropriate
documentation will result in a grade of zero. Please submit original
documentation in person to Sabrina Ferrari (Academic Counsellor,
Room DV-3282 Department of Geography). Medical Certificates MUST
include the following statement: "This student was unable to write
the test on [date(s)] for medical reasons." Documentation must show
that the physician was consulted within one day of the test or
assignment due date. A statement merely confirming a report of
illness made by the student is not acceptable (such as, "This
patient tells me that he was feeling ill on that day."). Failure to
comply with this policy will result in a grade of zero for the test
or assignment in question.
4. A petition for academic accommodation must be completed and
submitted along with the University-accepted documentation (#3,
above) within one week of a missed assignment due date or test date.
Petition forms are available in person from Sabrina Ferrari, Rm. DV-3282.
Please note that the written explanation and
documentation that you submit represents an appeal from you, requesting
the opportunity to account for that portion of your grade in some other
manner. If an appeal is not received, or if the appeal is deemed
unacceptable, you will receive a grade of zero for the item you missed.
If the appeal is granted - that is, your reason for missing the item is
considered acceptable by the committee - then a mechanism for accounting
for the grade value of the missed item will be discussed.
Once all documentation has been received, the petition for academic
accommodation will be reviewed by a Departmental Committee. Students
will be informed of the Committee's decision within 2 weeks. Note that
holidays and pre-purchased plane tickets, family plans (unless critical,
such as death of an immediate family member), your friend's wedding,
lack of preparation, or too many other tests are not acceptable excuses
for missing a quiz, a test, or an item of term work.
Expectations/Classroom Behaviour/Behaviour in
the Academic Setting
Our expectation of you is that you will show respect to the
Course Instructor, TAs, other faculty, staff, and fellow
students. This includes arriving on time and staying for the
entire class (so you don't disturb others by your late entry or
early departure); listening quietly (so you don't disturb others
by your chatting or online activities); approaching your course
work with an open, honest spirit and enthusiasm; and otherwise
adhering to the Code.
In turn, you can expect the Course Instructor, staff, and TAs to
show respect to you and your fellow students; to deliver the
best course that they possibly can; to communicate their
enthusiasm for the material; to maintain fairness in all aspects
of course delivery and assessment; and otherwise to adhere to
the University's Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.
Academic Integrity/Honesty or Academic Offenses
It is your responsibility as a student at the University of
Toronto to familiarize yourself with, and adhere to, both the
Code of Student Conduct and the Code of Behaviour on Academic
Matters.
This means, first and foremost, that you should read them
carefully.
The
Code of Student Conduct is available from the U of T Mississauga
website (Registrar > Academic Calendar > Codes and Policies) or in
your print version of the Academic Calendar.
The
Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters is available from the U of
T Mississauga website (Registrar > Academic Calendar > Codes and
Policies) or in your print version of the Academic Calendar.
Further Thoughts on Academic Honesty:
The Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters states that:
"The University and its members have a
responsibility to ensure that a climate that might encourage, or
conditions that might enable, cheating, misrepresentation or
unfairness not be tolerated. To this end all must acknowledge that
seeking credit or other advantages by fraud or misrepresentation, or
seeking to disadvantage others by disruptive behaviour is
unacceptable, as is any dishonesty or unfairness in dealing with the
work or record of a student." ―University of Toronto Mississauga
Academic Calendar
This summarizes what we are all trying to
achieve through the implementation of this Code―both students and
faculty. We are trying―together―to create an atmosphere of fairness and
honesty, in which people can learn and receive appropriate credit for
work that they have done. Note that the Code refers specifically
to expectations for faculty members, not just for students. It is my
responsibility, as a member of the faculty of the University of Toronto,
to be familiar with these expectations and adhere to them. There are
many additional academic requirements that we are expected to meet with
regard to the integrity of course materials, returning of marked work to
students, maintenance of student privacy, fairness, grading practices,
and others. My TAs and I will make every possible effort to meet these
expectations.
Accessibility
U of T Mississauga and the AccessAbility Resource Centre
are committed to the full participation of students with
disabilities in all aspects of campus life. The AccessAbility
Resource Centre provides academic accommodations and services to
students who have a physical, sensory, or learning disability,
mental health condition, acquired brain injury, or chronic
health condition, be it visible or hidden. Students who have
temporary disabilities (e.g., broken dominant arm) are also
eligible to receive services. All interested students must have
an intake interview with an advisor to discuss their individual
needs.
Students who require accommodation are advised to visit the
AccessAbility Resource Centre as early as possible to
have their needs assessed, as it may take some time to process
the application.
Lecture 1 (January 5): Introduction
Lecture 2 (January 12): Historical Perspective I
Lecture 3 (January 19): Historical Perspective II Lecture 4 (January
26): Commodities I (Deadline for review essay proposal)
Lecture 5 (February 2): Commodities II Lecture 6 (February
9): Term Test (Questions)
Lecture 7 (February 16): Guest lectures by Jean-Francois Bissonnette
and Francois Ndayizigiye
(February 23): Reading Week
Lecture 8 (March 1): Commodities III
Lecture 9 (March 8): Agricultural Inputs, Technologies and Food
Additives
Lecture 10 (March 15): Policy Controversies I: Environment,
Biotechnologies and Organic Production
Lecture 11 (March 22): Policy Controversies II: Food Security, Subsidies
and Barriers to Trade
Lecture 12 (March 29): Policy Controversies III: Urban Agriculture, Locavorism and Urbanization
Supplementary Material: Policy Controversies IV: Canada (This material
will not be covered this year, but I leave it here for those of you who
will write a term paper on a Canadian topic) Final Exam: TBA
Beddington, John. 2010. "Global
Food and Farming Futures." Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society B (Biological Sciences) 365 (1554) (September): 2767.
• Transition towards the Modern Era
Crowley, Terry. 2004. '[Victorian]
Agriculture' and 'Rural
Labourers in the Victorian Era' in James Eli Adams, Tom Pendergast
and Sara Pendergast (eds). The Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era.
4 vols. Grolier Academic Press.
Perkins, John. 2010. "Green
Revolution" in Cutler J. Cleveland (ed.) Encyclopedia of the
Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment.
Phillip L. Kunkel, Jeffrey A. Peterson, Jessica A. Mitchell. 2009. "Agricultural
Production Contracts." University of Minnesota Agricultural
Extension Service.
- Rice
Chang, Te-Tzu. 2000. "Rice."
In Kipple, Kenneth F. and Kriemhild Coneč Ornelas (eds). The
Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge University Press.
ROOT & TUBER CROPS - Potato
Messer, Ellen. 2000. "Potatoes
(White)." In Kipple, Kenneth F. and Kriemhild Coneč Ornelas (eds).
The Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge University Press.
International Year of the Potato. 2008. "Diffusion"
- Cucurbits
David Maynard and Donald M. Maynard. 2000. "Cucumbers,
Melons and Watermelons" In Kipple, Kenneth F. and Kriemhild Coneč
Ornelas (eds). The Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge
University Press.
OTHERS - Sugar
Galloway. Jock H. 2000. "Sugar."
In Kipple, Kenneth F. and Kriemhild Coneč Ornelas (eds). The
Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge University Press.
- Palm Oil
K. G. Berger and S. M. Martin. 2000. "Palm
Oil." In Kipple, Kenneth F. and Kriemhild Coneč Ornelas (eds).
The Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge University Press.
Gade, Daniel G. 2000. "Hogs."
In Kipple, Kenneth F. and Kriemhild Coneč Ornelas (eds). The
Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge University Press.
>Fisheries, Seafood and Aquaculture
>Fisheries
Pauly, Daniel and Dirk Zeller. 2010. "Marine
Fisheries." In Cutler J. Cleveland (ed). Encyclopedia of the
Earth.
GDAE, Jonathan M. Harris and Anne-Marie Codur. 2008. "Economics
of Fisheries." In Cutler J. Cleveland (ed). Encyclopedia of the
Earth.
GreenFacts.org. 2010. "Fisheries
and aquaculture." In Cutler J. Cleveland (ed). Encyclopedia of
the Earth.
Bostock, John et al. 2010. "Aquaculture:
Global Status and Trends." Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society B (Biological Sciences) 365 (1554) (September):
2897-2912.
- Current Perspectives and Debates
World Bank. 2007. World Development Report 2008: Agriculture and
Development, Policy Briefs
-
Agriculture and the Environment
• Urban Agriculture
Satthertwaite, David, Gordon McGranahan and Cecilia Tacoli. 2010. "Urbanization
and its Implications for Food and Farming." Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 365 (1554): 2809-2820.
Supplementary Material: Policy Controversies IV:
Canada (This material will not be covered this year, but I leave it here
for those of you who will write a term paper on a Canadian topic)
• For Trade Liberalization
Boin, Caroline. 2009. "The
mystery of famine." Spiked, November 19.
Most of the
suggested readings are freely accessible from anywhere. Some of them,
however, may require you to use a UofT terminal or user code.