Course Name: Global Food Security (GFS101)

Global Food Security is one micro-course (short course) from a suite of Micro Courses developed by the University of Tasmania. This micro course, in particular, is part of the The Diploma of Sustainable Living. Which is a complete degree you could enrol in if you find yourself wanting to learn more about Food Security, Sustainability or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

These micro-courses are 1/3 of an award course (full course) that a traditional student would enrol in at the University of Tasmania. These courses have been designed to allow learners to engage and sample learning from a higher education institution before deciding on their next step. Remembering all learning on OERu is free and assessments are always optional.

The unit helps you develop critical thinking and an appreciation of diverse approaches as GFS contains many confounding issues and perspectives.


What is the course about

The challenge of ensuring adequate and sustainable food production and equitable access to food for a diverse human population in the 21st century is crucial and profoundly complex. This course explores the complex and pressing challenge of Global Food Security (GFS). The course is inter-disciplinary and covers environmental, technical, economic, cultural, political and moral questions. The interdisciplinary skills and knowledge developed in the course are relevant to all citizens and professions. This open and non-assessable course represents Module 1 of larger 1st-year unit delivered through the University of Tasmania’s, The Diploma of Sustainable Living.

You will be introduced to vitally important problems, such as those related to hunger, obesity, resource scarcity, poverty, population growth, justice, and sustainability. Throughout this 4 week course, we hope that you will engage with and participate in constructive debates on these controversial topics through a series of prompting questions asked at the end of each week’s content.

At the core of this unit is the question: how can we achieve Global Food Security in the 21st century and what role might you play in this?

We hope that you can keep this question in mind throughout the unit as achieving Global Food Security will require participation across all of society.


What is involved

There are 4 learning pathways each containing numerous resources and learning challenges designed to help you develop your thinking in relation to Global Food Security. The Four learning pathways are:

  1. – Thinking through food security
  2. – Exploring global food systems
  3. – Ethics and choices: skills for tackling global food security
  4. – Poverty, hunger & equality

The micro course can be completed in 40 hours, including participation with the assessment task.

Prerequisites: Do I need them?

Anyone is free to participate in this course. An internet connection and basic web browsing skills are required.

Learners aiming to submit assessments for formal credit towards an academic qualification will need to meet the normal university admission requirements of the conferring institution (e.g. language proficiency and school leaving certificates etc.). Please see the assessment details tab.

Each micro-course can be studied independently.