|
The goal of the Food
Systems program is to enhance the competitiveness of the system and to
contribute to its long-term economic, social and environmental sustainability.
We achieve this goal
by supplying timely and relevant research-based information, providing
education for those involved in the system, and ensuring that our graduates
in this area are equipped to deal with the economic, social, and environmental
consequences of change in the food system.
Our programs encompass
the entire food system – dealing with decision making at the farm,
firm and consumer levels, and with public policy. An important part of
our research and extension programs involves monitoring, evaluating, and
analyzing system performance and identifying ways in which this can be
improved. We study how producers, agribusinesses, and consumers make decisions,
as well as developing and evaluating production, marketing, and whole-business
management strategies for farms and agribusinesses. Among these strategies
are investment and savings decisions, employment and labor issues, international
competition, policy, and effects on community and environmental sustainability.
Other areas of focus are the effects of managerial decisions on efficiency
and future growth, and the aggregate effect of firm-level and consumer-level
decisions on the economic viability of the food and agricultural sector
as a whole.
Consumer needs and
desires are central to the operation of the food system. We study the
determinants of consumer behavior, attitudes and beliefs, and how these
affect purchasing decisions and product use; the effects of consumption
patterns on markets and prices; and the effects of emerging concerns about
food safety and genetically modified foods on consumer behavior and market
demand.
Social, economic and
structural changes in the food system in Pennsylvania and elsewhere also
require that we deal with issues of land use, the rural/urban interface,
heterogeneous production environments, the impact of animal production
systems and their changing structure, the environmental effects of agricultural
practices, and farm and off-farm employment issues.
Our graduate program
in this area includes a Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) and two Master's degrees
(M.S. or M.Ag.) with or without thesis. Our undergraduate program in this
area is the Agricultural Business Management (AGBM) major major, and faculty
also teach several service courses for students in other majors in the
College.
|
