Course code:

ES3010

Level:

M - Intermediate

Meets the following requirements:

  • ES - Environmental Science

Lab fee:

40

Typically offered:

Yearly

The global demand for food and fiber will continue to increase well into the next century.

How will this food and fiber be produced? Will production be at the cost of soil loss, water contamination, pesticide poisoning, and increasing rural poverty? In this course, we examine the fundamental principles and practices of conventional and sustainable agriculture with a primary focus on crops.

By examining farm case studies and current research on conventional and alternative agriculture we develop a set of economic, social, and ecological criteria for a critique of current agricultural practices in the United States, and that will serve as the foundation for the development and analysis of new farming systems.

Evaluations are based on two exams, class presentations, participation in a conference on potato production, and a final paper.

Prerequisites:

Signature of the instructor and one of the following: Biology I, Plant Biology, Ecology, or Economics.

Always visit the Registrar's Office for the official course catalog and schedules.