BSc Minor Freedom from Hunger

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.
The general aim of the BSc minor Freedom from Hunger 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.
This BSc minor is a thematic minor.

Some non-WUR universities prescribe their students to do a minor of a total of 30 ects. In that case, students are advised to do the (free) Right to Food e-learning course of the FAO at https://www.fao.org/right-to-food/resources/e-learning/en/. The report of this course can serve to pass PAP50806 Capita Selecta Public Administration and Policy (period 3).

• Unpack complex drivers and events that have led to food crises in history and the political economy of a food crisis

• Explain how (interactions between) biophysical and social processes at different levels contribute to and manifest themselves into food crisis

• Propose human rights-based, humanitarian and political interventions that can reduce or prevent hunger and food insecurity

• 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.