Food Policy MSc

How does a coconut growing in Malaysia become a coconut drink in the UK? On this programme we explore how policy influences the trajectory of food not just from field to fork but across time and territory.

The MSc in Food Policy is about analysing, researching and informing the future of food policy from the local to global scale. It is run by the Centre for Food Policy, founded by Prof. Tim Lang in 1994. Read this report for a summary of the Centre's past work and vision for the future.
The ways in which we produce, process, distribute, market, prepare and consume food have important consequences for our health and that of the planet. We look at the positive and negative impacts of food, from the health, environmental, political, socio-economic and cultural perspective.
This Masters promotes genuine interdisciplinary because we think you need to look at the subject from all angles to make the most holistic evaluation. It draws on social sciences (sociology, politics, economics, anthropology, psychology) as well as health sciences and epidemiology. We look at the latest food policy debates and place them in a historical context.

You will be taught by a team of food policy specialists who are leaders in the field. Our academic staff are actively involved in research and in policy-making on the local, national and global stage. Our teaching reflects this engagement.

Students are exposed to conflicting narratives about the problems facing the food system and the best ways to resolve them. We address important questions of our time, such as:

• Are we producing too much or too little food to feed the world population?
• How have we ended up living in a world where there are more overweight and obese people than under-nourished people?
• Why is a third of the food produced globally lost or wasted?
• How can we deal with the massive impact of agriculture on climate change?
• How do lobbyists and the media influence what we eat?