University of Montana

Program Description

The nature of food production and consumption has changed dramatically over the last 200 years. On the one hand, the industrialization and globalization of agriculture have increased production substantially and made it possible, for example, to consume fresh strawberries during a Montana winter. On the other hand, many citizens, farmers, and scholars are deeply concerned about the long-term sustainability of the food system economically, socially, and ecologically. Catapulted onto the public stage during the last 25 years, these questions of sustainability range widely - from debates over genetic engineering to findings of widespread pesticide contamination of water, from high rates of hunger and food insecurity to over-consumption of fast food and obesity, from the impact of urban sprawl on farm lands to the vast distance between farmers and eaters.

If, as Wendell Berry says, eating is an agricultural act, then everyone is involved in the health and quality of our food system. Yet, very few people have a clear understanding of how, where and why their food was produced. The tremendous social and geographic distance between growers and consumers accounts for the common ignorance of social and environmental consequences - as well as acts of courage, vision, and heroism - committed in the name of food production and distribution. This distance means we don't know, so how could we care? Knowledge and experience can span the informational gap between our food and us, as individuals and communities. That's why the University of Montana's Environmental Studies Program (EVST) created an emphasis on Sustainable Food and Farming.

The study of food systems lends itself beautifully to true interdisciplinary learning and problem solving. It also has the capacity to profoundly connect us with nature and the place we live. Students will discover our food system's complexity and vulnerability, and they will be able to ask informed questions. Students often learn a lot about the serious environmental problems confronting society, but they hunger for the opportunity to do something about it, something tangible and real. Accordingly, the Sustainable Food and Farming emphasis will give them the tools to do so. Educated, our graduates will be more to able to exercise the privileges of citizenship, more able to care.

Our vision is to provide students at the graduate and undergraduate level with the opportunity for (1) intensive interdisciplinary study of our food system; (2) hands-on experience growing organic food for low-income people on an urban farm; (3) community-based action research; and (4) active civic engagement.

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