Nutrition and Food Systems at University of Arizona

Food systems is the study of the food supply chain, which includes production, processing, distribution, and consumption as well as waste. Drivers of the food system include culture, economics, policy, and marketing, and the collective impact on outcomes including human and environmental health, food insecurity, and community food security. The Nutrition and Food Systems degree is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexities of the food system from production to consumption and impact on human health, as well as challenges faced by the food system to develop sustainable solutions for producing, processing, delivering, and consuming safe, culturally desirable, nutritious, and economically and environmentally sustainable food. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is committed to training emerging leaders who will address grand challenges facing humanity, including management and preservation of precious and finite natural resources, and finding solutions to feed over 9 billion people by 2050.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Effectively communicate diet and nutrition information/knowledge to diverse populations
• Apply scientific evidence, best practices, and professional judgment when evaluating food- and nutrition-related problems
• Identify alterations in nutrition metabolism and its implications on health and disease
• Utilize food science and culinary principles in food preparation to recognize how knowledge of food can influence nutritional status.
• Explore the relationship between drivers of the food system and the food supply chain as they affect food consumption, food waste, the environment and human health.