Food Policy and Climate

Food systems are both a major driver of the climate crisis and one of its most effective solutions. This course examines how urban and local governments globally are uniquely taking up this challenge: designing food policy that curbs emissions while building resilience to climate shocks, supply disruptions, and market volatility.

Students will explore the practical mechanics of food policy—how municipalities use tools like public procurement and behavioral design to drive meaningful change, and how cities coordinate across agencies and through city networks to act at scale. The course pays particular attention to the narratives and communications strategies that governments use to make food policy publicly acceptable when it touches consumption, identity, and culture. 

Through case studies from New York City and municipalities across the globe, students analyze policy mechanisms and political strategies, with attention to stakeholder engagement, resistance, and tradeoffs. The course prepares students to engage with food policy as a practical governance challenge, and to pursue careers at the intersection of climate, food systems, and urban policy.