Course content

Population growth, climate change and scarcity of food and energy are global societal challenges. This course has a value chain perspective where sustainability, biological resources (resource resources) and efficient resource utilization are key. The term circular bio-economy expresses the vision of a complete utilization of raw materials and residues. In this course circular bio-economy will be linked to the importance of food safety and food security. Sustainable food production requires Norway to contribute and provide solutions nationally and globally. The term "sustainable" is often mentioned in different contexts. The core of the concept of sustainability means that the consumption of resources does not exceed the ability of the world to reproduce or replace them. The concept of sustainable food production can contain a number of issues such as food security, the level of food safety, impact on human health, costs, quality, economic growth and environmental sustainability, in the form of climate change, biodiversity, water and soil quality etc. In this course, students will be given an introduction to global food production and value chains linked to food in a sustainable perspective. Students will be given an introduction to methods and tools to understand and evaluate complex environmental issues related to food production, processing and consumption. Particular emphasis will be placed on factors that affect the optimal utilization of global and local foods. After completing the course, students should be able to have a systematic approach to issues related to the environmental impact of food-producing production systems. This knowledge is important in order to develop a more environmentally friendly food production in the future.

This course is a complementary course (K-emne) and is available to civil engineering students.

Learning outcome

Knowledge after completion: Students will have knowledge of macroscopic factors such as resource access, international food production and how it affects the environment globally and locally. Students should be able to understand what it means that food production is sustainable and able to evaluate the degree of environmental sustainability of a system. Students should be able to define issues related to sustainable food production in the value chain and evaluate alternative solutions to reduce environmental impact, as well as assess environmental consequences of changes in production and process. Be able to understand quantitative estimates of environmental impact, such as LCA analyzes. The students should be able to evaluate today's solutions within food production and processing and make suggestions for new future solutions that are more sustainable in a system perspective.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, guest lecturers from the industry and R & D, colloquium and group work in selected topics. In addition two "half day" field trips to facilities/laboratories in Trondheim is planned.

Expected time spent; Lectures 45h Exercises 20h Semester assignment 50h Excursion 8h Self-study 75h

Compulsory assignments

• Report

Recommended previous knowledge

None

Required previous knowledge

Admission to the course requires that you are enrolled as a student at NTNU, Trondheim

Course materials

The literature in this course is given at the start of term and is based on reports, book-chapters and academic papers. The literature in the course is primarily in English..