Welcome to the course

Welcome to ‘Explore how farmers produce food sustainably’, a European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food online course produced by the University of Reading, the University of Hohenheim, Koppert Biological Systems and John Deere.

The course

Over the next three weeks you’ll gain an understanding of the complexities of producing food sustainably through a high-level lens of agricultural processes and practices. We’ll explore the challenges of producing enough food for a rapidly expanding global population through case studies and interviews with professionals. You’ll have a chance to investigate the types of food produced in your area and consider the trade-offs farmers have to make when deciding which production methods to use. We will discuss the wide range of technologies that are being developed to address the sustainability challenges and evaluate our own priorities when it comes to choosing which foods to buy.

The course aims to provide a balanced analysis of primary production methods. We hope it will enable you to make informed, proactive choices about your food. And that it will encourage you to engage with the industry to improve the food we eat. A wider understanding of the significant challenges facing EU farmers will help with the adoption of new technologies – something we’ll depend on to keep the planet fed.

• Week 1: Sustainability in food production
• Week 2: Feeding a growing population
• Week 3: The future of livestock farming