Fish in the Global Food System New Masters course: Spring 2014

1. Fish in the Global Food SystemNew Masters course: Spring 2014 Professor Edward H Allison School of Marine and Environmental Affairs College of the Environment

2. The course: questions, issues and teaching approach Food and nutrition security issues are at the top of the international development agenda, and fish have an important role to play. This course will develop a critical political economy and political ecology analysis of fisheries and food security governance and development, equipping students for future policy analysis and advisory roles. We will approach fisheries and aquaculture issues from a food systems perspective. Our overall objective is to understand how fisheries contribute to food and nutrition security and how changing policies, technologies, climate, and cultures of consumption are affecting that contribution. Our central question: will there be fish for all in 2050 as part of a safe, healthy and nutritious diet? Some of the issues we will debate and investigate in the field may include: • Should we be managing fish for wealth, welfare or nutrition? • Does international trade in fish from developing countries deprive the poor of nutritious food or support food security through economic growth? • Is aquaculture the saviour of fisheries or another environmental disaster in the making? • What are the health risks and benefits of fish consumption? • What will happen to fish availability under climate change? • Who is having more influence on fisheries policy: fisherfolk, environmentalists, multinational food companies, celebrity chefs or fisheries scientists? • Whose eco-label can you trust? Which fish/seafood should you eat – if any?

3. Administrative details • Course registration : SMEA 550C - Register by March 3rd2014 – 3 credits • Timetable: Mondays and Wednesdays 3:30 to 5:00 pm • Prerequisites – none, but a basic understanding of the problem of overfishing is assumed. I can recommend Hilborn and Hilborn’s (2010) short book “Overfishing: what everyone needs to know” OUP, as an accessible primer for those without prior exposure to fisheries issues. All disciplines welcome – bring your expertise to our interdisciplinary feast. • Readings: There are no text books for this course – it will be taught from papers addressing contemporary policy debates in fisheries and food security and from my personal experience of being involved in several of these policy debates. • Field visits: We will visit and talk with people involved in the seafood value chain. We may sometimes need some flexibility to accommodate field trips. You will be consulted well in advance over any activities that fall outside the schedule. • Assessment: 75% for an end-of-quarter paper in the style of a journal article for Food Policy, Marine Policy or Development Policy Review; 25% by participation in debates, presentations, field visits. • Further details: Contact Eddie Allison (eha1@uw.edu or Tel 206 685 0694

4. About Professor Allison • Eddie has worked as a policy advisor and development project worker with the UK’s aid program, UN FAO, EU and Rockefeller Foundation. His experience spans Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceana. He is new to the Pacific North West and looks forward to exploring its fisheries and seafood issues with you. • He is a former Director of Policy, Economics and Social Sciences at WorldFish, Malaysia www.worldfishcenter.org • He has 15 years’ experience of teaching, research and development practice with the School of International Development, UEA, UK. www.uea.ac.uk/international-development For some of the research relevant to this course, consult Eddie’s publications: http://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=b_nxGfQAAAAJ&view_op=list_works His most recent paper (Feb 23rd 2014), is on future fish supplies in a changing climate: http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v4/n3/full/nclimate2119.html