BSc minor Freedom from Hunger (WUFFH)

Freedom from Hunger is a core element of Freedom from Want, defined as one of the four fundamental freedoms defined by President Roosevelt as the foundation of human rights. Nevertheless man-made hunger still persists, not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. Food crises result from complex international dynamics and become manifest locally, where poverty traps, institutional fragility and conflict reproduce hunger and soil degradation.

Continue to an overview of the courses in this minor

The general aim of the BSc-minor is to understand the interplay between global and local factors in producing hunger and to design human rights-based responses to food crises. It comprises a comprehensive and scale-sensitive analysis of food crises, a thorough analysis of emergencies and the role of humanitarianism and a critical review of international human rights law and institutions.

The general structure of the minor is as follows: the course 'Food Crises: the Big Picture' sets the scene in period 1. In the same period students focus on humanitarian aid to cope with food crisis (course: 'Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction'). The course 'Global Food Security' in the second period offers a multi-disciplinary and multi-level approach, whereas the course 'Food, Nutrition and Human Rights' focuses on the human right to food.

Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this minor students are expected to be able to:

  • to unpack complex drivers and events that have led to food crises in history and the political economy of a food crisis;
  • to explain how (interactions between) biophysical and social processes at different levels contribute to and manifest themselves into food crisis;
  • to propose human rights-based, humanitarian and political interventions that can reduce or prevent hunger and food insecurity;
  • to combine and apply different theoretical concepts and methodologies from law, political science, disaster studies and plant sciences to analyse food crises and to propose interventions.

    Target group

    This minor is interesting for WUR-students of the following beta and gamma BSc programmes:

    • BBN Forest and Nature Conservation
    • BIL International Land and Water Management
    • BLT Food Technology
    • BVG Nutrition and Health
    • BIN International Development Studies
    • BCL Communication and Life Science
    • BGM Health and Society
    • BEB Economics and Governance

    The minor is also interesting for non-WUR students of the BSc programmes sociology, anthropology, political science, international law, development studies, conflict studies and human rights studies at universities in the Netherlands and in other EU-countries.

    Language

    English

    Semester

    First semester (period 1, 2 and 3)

    Programme or thematic

    Thematic programme