Outline

Overview

What we eat has a profound influence on the environment around us. Similarly, the environment we live in influences our food systems. This unit will explore this bi-directional relationship with an emphasis, and critical examination on sustainable eating. Students will be exposed to food systems and their relationship with greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity, sustainable farming practices, human and animal health, an increasing global population, food insecurity and other current issues. Ultimately, this unit will equip students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills to promote and support our global food system, an important entity for our planetary health.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Education
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Kellie Burns, kellie.burns@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Kellie Burns, kellie.burns@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Tutorial quiz	Week 1 Quiz This quiz will assess content from Week 1 lectures, tutorials and readings.	25%	Week -01 Due date: 23 Jun 2022 at 19:47	1.5 hr
Outcomes assessed:
Tutorial quiz	Week 2 Quiz This quiz will assess content from Weeks 1 & 2.	30%	Week 02 Due date: 30 Jun 2022 at 19:49	1.5 hr
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Planetary Health Report Students summarize key threats to planetary health and devise a solution.	45%	Week 04 Due date: 15 Jul 2022 at 19:53	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

Details of assessment tasks are provided on canvas.

Assessment criteria

he University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Distinction

75 - 84

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Credit

65 - 74

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Pass

50 - 64

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

https://www.sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2014/378&RendNum=0 https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.html

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Pre-semester	Week 1, Lecture 1: Defining a healthy planet; the Earth and its ecosystems; Anthropocene and the Great Acceleration; GEO-6	Online class (1 hr)
	Week 1, Tutorial 1: Human impacts on planetary health.	Tutorial (3 hr)
	Week 1, Lecture 2: Human health and evolution; healthspan and lifespan; chronic disease and the environment	Online class (1 hr)
	Week 1, Tutorial 2: Anthropocene and QUIZ 1	Tutorial (3 hr)
	Week 2, Lecture 1: Biodiversity, food systems and soil health	Online class (1 hr)
	Week 2, Tutorial 1: Exploring soil health	Tutorial (3 hr)
	Week 2, Lecture 2: Water use, water quality, Indigenous food practices and health	Online class (1 hr)
	Week 2, Tutorial 2: Exploring Ethical food practices; QUIZ 2	Tutorial (3 hr)
	Week 3, Lecture 1: Building blocks of a healthy diet	Online class (1 hr)
	Week 3, Tutorial 1: Analysing our personal diets	Tutorial (3 hr)
	Week 3, Lecture 2: Food politics, dietary patterns and solutions for planetary health	Online class (1 hr)
	Week 3, Tutorial 2: Food politics; What can individuals do?	Tutorial (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

The Sydney School of Education and Social Work requires attendance of at least 90 percent of all seminars, workshops or lectures. Where a student is unable to attend at the required rate evidence of illness or misadventure may be required and the student may be required to undertake extra work. Students should discuss the circumstances of their absence(s) with the co-ordinator of the unit of study.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All required texts are listed on canvas and available at the USyd Library.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Understand the impact of human health on planetary health and how the principles of sustainability can intervene in this relationship.
LO2. Describe and assess the soil, biological, and water resources and climatic conditions that support food production systems and planetary health.
LO3. Evaluate the resilience of food production systems in the context of climate change, human population growth, and socio-economic factors.
LO4. Describe how environmental changes have impacted on local food systems and food insecurity.
LO5. Consider how regenerative agriculture farming solutions may help rebuild the health of the planet, including Indigenous food practices.
LO6. Describe the building blocks of a healthy diet and discuss how these are impacted upon by dietary patterns.
LO7. Critically consider how food politics and individual behaviours shape planetary health and discuss possible actions or policies that address each.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Students feedback is appreciated and USS results considered to make changes to the unit.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

EDGU1007: Food, Sustainability and Planetary Health

Intensive June - July, 2022 [Block mode] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect