Global Food Security and Nutrition (Online Learning) PDD

The University of Edinburgh

Food security is concerned with the availability, access, and utilisation of safe, nutritious and sustainable food to all, especially vulnerable groups within society.

The challenges related to food are not only the existence of approximately 795 million undernourished people in the world (Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)) but also:

• the increasing presence of diet-related, non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes and heart disease)

• the contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions

• land use change

Understanding the interconnection of food, health and the environment, as well as their trade-offs, is vital to formulate policies that enable us to achieve food security in a sustainable manner.

What will I learn? This programme recognises that food security concerns not only food policy and food production issues but other aspects such as:

• land tenure

• immigration

• demographics

• diet and nutrition

• technology

• natural resources (e.g., pressures on water and soil)

• climate change

We offer expertise and research on these topics, and the team have good working relationships with international organisations that are at the cutting edge of addressing food security issues, such as:

• Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

• World Food Programme (WFP)

• Organics International (IFOAM)

Who is this programme for? This programme would be suitable for students with a background in agriculture, development, food systems or other food related studies, as well as professionals within a broad range of disciplines such as food production, distribution, policy, or international development.velopment.