Food Production, the Environment, and th

Changing climate, population growth, and changing diets make managing agricultural production one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. Agricultural production is highly vulnerable to changes in climate and climate variability; it is also a principal driver of global environmental change: it is a major driver of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), emissions of air pollutants and pollutant precursors, land-use change, and nutrient pollution of aquatic and marine ecosystems.  These environmental impacts can be influenced by changes in diet, food demand, socio-economic context, and policy. As a sector, agriculture is a “hard-to-abate” source of GHG emissions and poses a serious challenge to achieving net zero emissions.

With a focus on the production side of food systems, this half-semester (7-week) graduate course investigates agricultural production and the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nitrogen, which mediate many of the complex interactions between climate, agricultural systems, and the environment.  These cycles also underlie emerging efforts to address the challenges posed by these interactions, such as regenerative agriculture, carbon capture & storage, Nitrogen 2.0, and innovations in livestock methane mitigation.  

Students will: 

• Explore the challenges of agricultural impacts on climate.
• Understand the underlying biogeochemistry of food production systems.
• Analyze regional variations in management and mitigation potential.
• Critically evaluate proposed mitigation solutions and obstacles to their success.