Origin Food: a market for identity – course starts March 11, 2013

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Monday March 11, 2013 the course Origing Food: a market for identity will start again.

The main aim of the course is to provide for a broad and scientific understanding of the growing importance of food products with an indication of origin within the globalising agro-food system. The course is obligatory in the specialisation Gastronomy of the Master Food Technology. No specific prerequisite knowledge is asked. The course is open to students from other Masters. The different educational backgrounds is stimulating for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary study of OPFs in groups. Language of instruction and examination is English.

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Food products with a geographical indication are becoming more important worldwide, both in economic and cultural terms. In the course a distinction is made between Origing Food Products with a protected geographical indication (PDO, PGI or TSG) based on EU-regulations such as Parma ham, Boerenleidse kaas, Café de Colombia and not officially acknowledged Origin Food Products locally sourced by e.g. restaurants, shops or online box schemes.

The course deals with a range of questions on OFPs organised in five themes: 1) Linking people, place and product: the construction of distinctiveness; 2) Regulation and legislation; 3) Marketing and branding; 4) Sustainability impact; 5) Consumers’ appreciation, regional gastronomy and food tourism.

The course consists of a combination of lectures, group assignments to study some Origin Food Products more in detail and a gastronomic excursion, often seen the higlight of the course.

Students interested in the course can ask for the Course outline for this year. Contactperson: Dirk.Roep@wur.nl

New course: Sociology of Food Provisioning and Place-based Development

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The MSc course “Understanding Rural Development: Theories, Practices and Methodologies” (course code RSO-31806) has been revised and renamed into “Sociology of Food Provisioning and Place-based Development”. The course is mandatory for Master students within the track Sociology of Rural Development of the Master International Development Studies, specializing in rural sociology and a free choice course for Master students of other programmes and tracks. If you are interested in topics such as alternative food geographies, food citizenship, food democracy, urban food provisioning, sustainable place shaping, and regional branding, it may be worth participating in this course. Students who do not have a BSc degree in International Development Studies or related field of expertise may not have the assumed prerequisite knowledge to successfully participate and are therefore requested to contact the course coordinator, Han Wiskerke (han.wiskerke@wur.nl), to see if and how this gap can be addressed.

For more information about the contents, schedule, learning outcomes and educational activities, please click on this link or contact the course coordinator for more information or the latest version of the course guide.

Vers voedsel in zorginstellingen

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Het wordt vaak geroepen: lokaal vers voedsel heeft een positieve invloed op de gezondheid van patiënten in zorginstellingen. Of dit waar is, blijkt lastig te onderzoeken. Het is een vermoeden, niet meer en niet minder. Vorig jaar heeft een studente (Marina van Maanen) een MSc-thesis onderzoek gedaan naar de perceptie van ouderen in een zorginstelling in Brabant van lokaal voedsel (kijk hier voor haar rapport). Ook toen bleek het lastig om iets te zeggen over de relatie tussen lokaal voedsel en de gezondheid van patienten. Vorige maand verscheen er toch ineens een stuk in de trouw met de kop: Patient geneest sneller met vers voedsel uit de regio. Dus toch? Leest u zelf en oordeel. Het moet gezegd: in het proces naar duurzamere voedselnetwerken is  dit een zeer positieve ontwikkeling en kan het niet vaak genoeg in het nieuws komen. Echter, is het genoeg om grote zorginstellingen en ziekenhuizen te overtuigen? Er zijn geen harde bewijzen (en waarschijnlijk komen die er nooit), alleen indirecte indicatoren en indirecte kostenbesparingen.

Trendy food and food regime change?

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Picture1During the nineties, we, urbanites, discovered the countryside anew. Farmers opened their stables and greenhouses for excursions, recreational activities such as ‘farm golf’ and camping at the farm became popular. That these farmers also produced food and where that food went to, was not so much considered. Often also not by the farmers themselves. The onion in bulk to the wholesale markets, the milk to the factory, the consumer at the farm gate for recreational activities; multifunctional farming. However, more and more the connection to the consumer happened through food too. Veggie boxes, fresh dairy directly from the farm. In small, it was always there already, but it has grown in public awareness ever since. Local food is now celebrated in magazines, in the supermarket, at the market, at fairs, in the newspaper, in policies. Continue reading →

Thesis: evaluation of temporary use of wasteland in Wageningen

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nobelveldje.wordpress.com

nobelveldje.wordpress.com

The civil initiative ‘Kerngroep Nobelveldje’ is very satisfied with its role and social activities for temporary use and food growing on wasteland ‘Nobelveldje’ in a Wageningen neigbourhood. They want to share their enthusiasm with people that have similar ambitions in their own neighborhood. However, first the ‘Kerngroep Nobelveldje’ wants to find out how their initiative is perceived in the neighborhood. The idea is to use these results to stimulate others that have similar ambitions. The ‘NatuurSUPER’ organization has been a supporter of civil initiatives like the ‘Nobelveldje’. This organization wants to evaluate their role in this kind of civil initiatives.
Hence, the Kerngroep Nobelveldje and NatuurSUPER have formulated the following research goals:
• To explore the range of qualitative and quantitative methods for the evaluation for this kind of civil initiatives, with a focus on neighborhood commitment and satisfaction
• To identify the best suitable and feasible method
• To test the method in the case of Nobelveldje
• To discuss the results in the context of the strategic intention of the use of these data
• Advising the NatuurSUPER organization in the use of an evaluation method fort their specific question.
The ultimate goal of the thesis can be to design a research method to value civil action in public space. If you are interested in the interface between participatory models, learning-in-action and civic action in urban agriculture, this could be your chance to do relevant research for external commissioners. For more information: Contact person for this project: jeroen.kruit@wur.nl