Spring 2023 food-related courses

All of these classes have been pre-approved for the Food Systems & Nutrition minor and the Food Systems, Nutrition and Environment track of the Environmental Studies major or co-major. You may also petition to count other courses, including those from study abroad (limit of one for the minor, two overall for the major/co-major) and classes where you are able to add substantial food-related content through assignments or other customization. Find all the details about the minor and the major tracks on the Environmental Studies Program website.

Click on the arrows to read more information about each course.

At the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (ASE):

  • Food Nutrition and Culture (ANTH 126)
    Interplay of the act of eating with its biological and cultural correlates. Topics include cooking and the development of human social systems; physical and behavioral adaptations to diet; the relation of eating to human evolution; historical and symbolic attributes of food; dynamics and environmental consequences of global agribusiness; national cuisines; and food-based social movements for addressing injustice and inequality. Zarin Machanda, Tues/Thurs 10:30-11:45,  In Person
  • Microbiology (BIO 106)
    A survey of the structures and functions of microbes, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and eukaryotic microbes (fungi, protists). Topics include microbial genetics, physiology, cell biology, diversity, evolution, ecology, and the human microbiome. BIO 107 (Microbiology Lab) is not required but may be taken concurrently. Requires completion of BIO 0013, BIO 0014, and BIO 41 or graduate standing. Ben Wolfe, Mon/Wed 1:30-2:45 + labs,  In Person
  • General Physiology (BIO 116)
    Elements of homeostasis and of endocrine, nervous, and digestive systems are discussed at various levels, from the molecular to the organ system. Material will include lessons from and comparisons across vertebrates and invertebrates. Prerequisites: Bio 13 and 14, or equivalent. Mimi H.F. Kao, Mon/Wed 1:30-2:45, In Person
  • Cellular Agriculture and Cultured Meat Lab (BME 174)
    Scientific process of producing meat from cell culture (termed “cultured meat”). Cell isolations and cell culture, cell analysis (such as immunostaining), and various food science analyses (of texture, flavor, etc.). Distinctions between biomedical engineering for food and biomedical engineering for medicine, demonstration of key areas of research that are needed to advance the field of cellular agriculture. Recommendation: BME 0173. David Kaplan, two sections, Mon 1:20-4:20 or Thurs 6-9 pm, In Person
  • Nutrition and Entrepreneurship (ENT 193)
    This course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial theory and practice relevant to the nutrition/food space will be discussed from the perspectives of a stand-alone start-up company and within larger organizations. This course is designed for students interested in exploring how entrepreneurship can be incorporated into food and nutrition and who may wish to begin to build an entrepreneurial skill set. Course topics will include ideation, finding potential investors, pitch development and pitching skills, competitive analysis, market sizing, business plan development, basic entrepreneurial finance and legal issues, entrepreneurial ethics, and management skills needed to run an entrepreneurial venture. Final products of the course will be a pitch presentation and a written business plan. Prereqs: sophomore standing. Jimmy Edgerton, Wed 4:30-7:30 pm, In Person
  • Sustainability in Action (ENV 100)
    An integrated multidisciplinary approach to the study and practice of sustainability. Introduction to the breadth of sustainability and the enormous career opportunities available, including data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and field work. Topics include: water, waste, energy, climate change, transportation, food & agriculture, informational interviewing and networking skills. Tues/Thurs 6-7:15 pm, Tina Woolston, In Person
  • Practicing in Food Systems (ENV 190, cross-listed w/ANTH159)
    Project-based course designed to integrate academic learning with application in a range of food systems settings. Emphasis will be on balance between process and product. Readings, discussion, and field research will be split between the specific content focus of the group project (in SP23 this will be the development of a public education campaign relating to food waste) and general issues arising from planning and carrying out interdisciplinary team projects; developing productive relationships with communities, clients, and stakeholders; addressing ethical concerns in collaborative and public research. Preference will be given to students who have declared the Food Systems and Nutrition minor or the Food Systems, Nutrition and Environment track of the ENVS major. Mon 1:40-4 pm, Cathy Stanton, In Person
  • Power on the Plate: Food and Inequity in America (EXP 02)
    What can the food on our plate tell us about the country we live in? This class will explore the history, policies, ideologies, and social inequities that influence foodproduction and distribution in the United States and that, in turn, shape the way we eat. We will consider food as the linchpin of culture-building and reflection of cultural norms. Topics coveredinclude the trucking and traveling bee-keeping industries, food deserts and food privilege, andalternative food systems. The goal of this course is for students to examine the systems thatbring food to their plates and consider what these systems tell us about race, class, and genderin America more broadly. Our discussions will be guided by the overarching question: Who haspower and who does not?. Mon 6-8:30 pm, Jessie Thuma, In Person
  • An Insider’s Guide to the World of Food Media (EXP 15)
    The rise and evolution of food media over the last three decades has directly impacted everyaspect of how we interact with food: from what, when, and where we eat, to how we connectwith our plates and our planet. This course will be a wide-ranging survey of the past, present,and future of food media. We will analyze the theory behind this influential force at the nexus ofinformation and entertainment, but our journey will be rooted in real-life practice. Your guidewill be someone whose career on the front lines has been nearly as varied as food media itself,which is continually changing as it feeds our appetites and shapes how we look at the world.Food media encompasses a variety of formats across the wider media landscape. We’ll exploreimportant skills including food writing, recipe writing, and food styling and photography, andwe’ll go behind the scenes to explore food storytelling in books, newspapers, magazines, radio,podcasts, television, film, the Internet, and social media. We’ll analyze how each media formfeeds, or is fed by, our culture’s current obsession with food. Tues 6-8:30 pm, Denise Drower Swidey, In Person
  • Human Nutrition (NU 101)
      To provide an understanding of basic nutrition science to non-science majors and students with a limited scientific background. Students will become familiar with: the principles of diet planning, government standards, and food labeling; the biological functions and food sources of each nutrient; energy balance, weight management, and physical activity; the role of nutrition in chronic disease development; nutrition throughout the life cycle; food safety issues; and current nutrition-related controversies. This course meets the science requirement for undergraduate non-science majors. It is not acceptable for biology credit for biology majors.Fri 1-2:30 and Tues 1:30-3, Diane McKay, In Person
  • Nutrition & Behavior (PSY 128/NU 128)
    The interactions between nutritional variables and behavior in man and other animals. Effects of obesity, starvation, protein malnourishment, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies on intellectual function and behavior. Influences of diet on brain biochemistry and learning. Grace E. Giles, Tues 3-5:30, In Person
  • Food Justice (UEP 285/DEIJ 214)
    (Cross-listed w/DEIJ 214) This class offers students different lenses, such as critical race theory to see how the intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability and citizenship play out in the development of systemic structural and socio-spatial inequities and injustices in food systems. It develops an understanding and contextualization of the role of food justice activism within the broader narrative of the alternative food movement and offers emerging ideas about how policymakers and planners can take a role in increasing food justice beyond the more mainstream and ultimately contested notions of what is ‘local’ and ‘sustainable.’ The course will help participants chart their role(s) in advocating for ‘just sustainability’ as a defining factor in becoming food systems planners and policymakers. Julian Agyeman, Tues 3:15-5:45 pm, In Person

At the School of the Museum of Fine Arts

  • Food: Politics of the Table (SCP-0144)
    Investigates the cultural connections of food and community while learning the history of service-ware, place settings, cutlery, table vessels, and their surrounding rituals, practices, and contexts. Research and the creation of functional and non-functional objects for the table focusing on the intersection of food, politics, consumers, and culture. Non-SMFA students and MAT Art Education students will receive a letter grade. Erin Genia, Mon 2-6 pm, In Person

At the Friedman School for Nutrition Science and Policy

NOTE: Friedman School courses require the instructor’s consent for undergraduates to enroll. Undergrads may be able to register for other Friedman School courses with permission of the instructor. If you’re not sure whether a course will count toward the Food Systems & Nutrition minor or the food track of the ENVS major, email cathy.stanton@tufts.edu.

  • Economics for Food and Nutrition Policy (NUTR 238)
    This course equips students with the economic principles used for food policy analysis, applying the methods of economics to the major food and nutrition policy problems of the United States and the world. Students will gain familiarity with the data sources and analytical methods needed to explain and predict consumption, production and trade in agriculture and food markets; evaluate the social welfare consequences of market failure and government policies; and analyze changes in poverty and inequality including both fluctuations and trends in incomes, employment and economic development. William A. Masters, Tues/Thurs 4:15-5:45
  • Corporate Social Responsibility in the Food Industry (NUTR 278)
    The role of the corporation in achieving societal goals is controversial and has evolved over time. The food industry in particular has the potential to impact human health, food access, ecological sustainability, working conditions, and community well-being. This course will provide students with an overview of prevailing theories of the social responsibilities of corporations; how CSR activities may benefit food businesses; how businesses can conduct, monitor, and measure the impacts of CSR practices; how consumers respond to these efforts; and emerging topics relevant to CSR in the food industry. We will draw upon academic research, case studies, and insights from current professionals to illustrate these concepts. Nicole Tichenor Blackstone and Sean Cash, Mon 10:45-1:15