Here is a list of all lectures and the course literature (including links to the pdf-files) you are expected to read before each lecture. Lecture slides and other materials will also be added continuously to this page.

Introduction to the SFS master's program

(only for SFS programme students)

Information from Program Study Director Mattias Eriksson (slides from the roll-call)

Theme 1: Introduction to food systems

Course introduction with general information

Lecture 1: Food Systems – An introduction

Teacher: Pernilla Tidåker

Literature:

UNEP (2016) Food Systems and Natural Resources (Chapters 1-4)

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 1: Overview of food system challenges

Lecture slides and other material:

An introduction to food systems - definitions, concepts and frameworks

Lecture 2: Resource Use and Environmental Impacts in Food Systems

Teacher: Johan Karlsson

Literature:

UNEP (2016) Food Systems and Natural Resources (Chapters 5, 7 and Annex 1)

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture 2 Resource use & environmental impacts 2025_Johan Karlsson.pdf

Lecture 3: Food Systems and Climate Change – The 2-way interaction

Teacher: Johan Karlsson

Literature:

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 3: Food systems and greenhouse gas emissions

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 4: How can we reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions?

Myers et al (2017) Climate Change and Global Food Systems: Potential Impacts on Food Security and Undernutrition

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture 3 Food systems & Climate change 2025_Johan Karlsson.pdf

Lecture 3 Scenarios and Narratives + Task 2 Seminar assignment.pdf

Lecture 4: How our diets affect nutrition, health and environment

Teacher: Niina Sundin

Literature:

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 7: How are food systems diets, and health connected?

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 9: What is a healthy sustainable eating pattern?

2022 Global Nutrition Report: The state of global nutrition (optional reading)

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture 4 Sustainable diets 2025_Niina Sundin.pdf

Lecture 5: Power and Social Sustainability in Food Systems

Teacher: Matthew Kessler

Literature:

The Power project: a report on TABLE's exploration of power in the food system (link to download PDF at bottom of page)

Optional:

Edible Education 101: "The Long Green Revolution" by Raj Patel with Mark Bittman (Video, watch from 6:00 - 45:00)

TABLE Feed Ep20: Phil Howard on Corporate Consolidation (Podcast) OR TABLE Feed Ep23: Power in Multi-stakeholder partnerships (Podcast)

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture 5 Power and social sustainability in food systems slides

Task 2: Scenarios and Narratives for future food systems

FAO (2018) The future of food and agriculture - Alternative pathways to 2050
IDDRI (2019) Agroecology and carbon neutrality in europe by 2050: what are the issues?
WRI (2018) Creating a sustainable food future - A Menu of Solutions to Feed Nearly 10 Billion People by 2050

Lecture slides and other material:

Seminar 2 - Narratives and scenarios for future food systems slides

Theme 2: Food Production Chains

Lecture 6: Crop production – Resource use and environmental impacts

Teacher: Pernilla Tidåker

Literature:

Vitousek et al (2009) Nutrient Imbalances in Agricultural Development

Naylor et al (2005) Losing the Links Between Livestock and Land

Muller et al (2017) Can soil-less crop production be a sustainable option for soil conservation and future agriculture?

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture 6. Crop production - plant nutrients - sustainability

Lecture 7: Crops, yields and cropping systems

Teacher: Göran Bergkvist

Literature:

Kremen (2020) Ecological intensification and diversification approaches to maintain biodiversity, ecosystem services and food production in a changing world

Garnett et al (2013) Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: Premises and Policies

Lecture slides and other material:

Bergkvist. Crops, yields and croppings systems.

Lecture 8: Transport systems – From local to global distribution in different settings

Teacher: David Ljungberg

Literature:

Gebresenbet and Bosona (2012) Logistics and Supply Chains in Agriculture and Food

Lecture slides and other material:

Transport & distribution

Lecture 9: Aquatic resources in global food system

Teacher: Max Troell

Literature:

Tigchelaar et al (2022). The vital roles of blue foods in the global food system

Troell (2024). Opportunities for Blue food in a turbulent future - what's ahead for a growing aquaculture industry?

(Optional reading: Troell et al (2023))

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture by Troell

Lecture 10: Livestock – Past, present and future role in food systems

Teacher: Mikaela Lindberg

Literature:

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 8: Focus: the difficult livestock issue

van Zanten et al (2019) The role of farm animals in a circular food system

Magnusson et al (2022). Animal health and welfare for sustainable livestock systems

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture slides. Lindberg. Livestock

Lecture 11: Processing and ultra-processing of foods

Teacher: Hanna Eneroth

Literature:

The Nutrition Source. Processed Foods and Health (webpage)

Lecture slides and other material:

Food processing_Hanna Eneroth_22sep2025.pdf

Lecture 12: Food environments and food behaviors

Teacher: Meena Davidanam

Literature:

Sobal et al (2006) A Conceptual Model of the Food Choice Process over the Life Course

Turner et al (2017) Concepts and methods for food environment research in low and middle income countries (optional reading)

Lecture slides and other material:

Food environment

Lecture 13: Introduction to food security and food safety

Teacher: Hanna Eneroth

Literature:

European Parliament. Fact Sheets on the European Union. Food safety (webpage)

FAO (2008) An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

Lecture slides and other material:

Introduction to food security and food safety_25sep2025.pdf

Lecture 14: Food waste – Current situation and improvement options along the food chain

Teacher: Mattias Eriksson

Literature:

UNEP (2021) Food Waste Index Report (Executive summary, pages 7-19)

Lecture slides and other material:

Food waste

Lecture 15: Recycling nutrients from excreta – Past, present and future options for circular food systems

Teacher: Annika Nordin

Literature:

McConville et al (2015) Closing the food loops: guidelines and criteria for improving nutrient management

Lecture slides and other material:

Recycling nutrients. Lecture slides.

Theme 3: Sustainability Assessments

Lecture 16: Introduction to systems analysis in food systems

Teacher: Rasmus Einarsson

Literature:

van Zanten et al (2022) Land use modeling - from farm to food systems

Raworth (2017) A Doughnut for the Anthropocene: humanity’s compass in the 21st century (Supplementary appendix)

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture slides

Systems workshop

Lecture 17: Introduction to life cycle assessment

Teacher: Pernilla Tidåker

Literature:

FCRN Food Source. Chapter 2: The environmental impacts of food: An introduction to LCA

Pelletier (2015) LIfe cycle thinking... for food system sustainability

Optional:

Gulisano et al (2018) Evaluating the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of agro-food systems through life cycle approaches (optional)

Notarnicola (2017) The role of life cycle assessment in supporting sustainable agri-food systems: A review of the challenges (optional)

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture slides: LCA and food systems

Lecture 18: Indicators and tools for sustainable consumption of food

Teacher: Ylva Ran

Literature:

Ran et al. (2024) Environmental assessment of diets: Overview and guidance on indicator choice

Lecture slides and other material:

Lecture 18_ Indiactors and tools for sustainable consumption of food

Task 5: LCA literature review

Theme 4: Food for the Future

No specific literature for this theme

Additional litterature if you want to read more (optional)

Foley et al (2011) Solutions for a cultivated planet

IPBES (2019) Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services (summary)

Röös 2017 The sustainable farm – does it exist?

Toussaint et al (2022) Social sustainability in the food value chain what is and how to adopt an integrative approach

Poore & Nemecek (2019) Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers