The 3rd International Master class to broaden disciplinary thinking in agriculture, food sciences, nutrition and health to arrive at a disciplinary research perspective on healthy and sustainable diets. It aims to contribute to synergy between scientific disciplines, applied research and stakeholders along the food supply chain.

The global burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs, e.g. obesity, diabetes, CVD, malignancies), infectious diseases (e.g. malaria, measles) and the ‘double burden of disease’ in both Western and Low & Middle Income Countries (LMIC) call for a diet shift to increased nutrient density and lowered energy density. Moreover, because of the current climate concerns and the growing world population this should go hand-in-hand with reducing the environmental footprint of plant- & animal-based food production, processing and distribution systems (e.g., GHG-emissions, land use). These societal challenges are recognized by governments and supply chain actors at national and global levels. For research, this requires evaluation of synergies and trade-offs between nutritional health, environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness, together with cost-effective intervention strategies and policies, e.g. food reformulation and procurement; food prices, taxes and subsidies; FBDGs, food labelling  and communication. This requires a food systems approach, that allows for interdisciplinary collaboration and involvement of societal actors at the micro-, meso- and macro- level of the food system.

The course welcomes PhD students and post-docs as well as professionals from industry and research centers. It will build on insights from environmental, biomedical and social sciences; nutrition, epidemiology, food science, agricultural, ecological and behavioral sciences, etc. Basic scientific knowledge on concepts and methods and study designs in qualitative and quantitative research is assumed.

For more information visit the VLAG Graduate School website.