LHUA10153 Animals and Sustainability

Details
Responsible DepartmentDepartment of Large Animal Sciences   50 %
Department of Agriculture and Ecology   25 %
Institute of Food and Resource Economics   25 %

Earliest Possible YearMSc. 2 year
DurationOne block
 
Credits7.5 (ECTS)
 
Level of CourseMSc
 
ExaminationFinal Examination

oral examination


All aids allowed

Description of Examination: Oral examination based on case report and in course curriculum

Weight: Oral exam 100%



7-point scale, external examiner
 
Requirement for Attending ExamA case report must be submitted
 
Organisation of TeachingLectures, theorectical and practical exercises, project work on case study in groups and (when possible) field trips
 
Block PlacementBlock 1
Week Structure: B
 
Language of InstructionEnglish
 
Optional PrerequisitesLHUA10152 
LHUA10149 
LHUA10152 
LHUA10156 
LØJA10281 
 
RestrictionsNone
 
Course Content
The course content will address the following issues relating to the use of animals in a sustainability context at the enterprise and household level

The course content will address the following issues relating to the use of animals in a sustainability context at the enterprise and household level

1) Introduction - sustainability and decision making
. Sustainability concepts (all subjects)
Introduction to case studies
2) Stakeholder analyses and societal legal considerations

3) Environmental sustainability
. Animal husbandry and interaction with the environment
o Impacts of livestock on the atmospheric, aquatic and terrestrial environment
o Technological opportunities for minimising negative environmental impacts
. Natural resource and nutrient flux perspectives of international trade with fodder, animal derived food, live animals and other products related to the animal sector
. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool for assessing environmental impacts and sustainability of different livestock systems

4) Economic sustainability
. Economic concepts of sustainability
. Incentive structures and policy instruments
. Inter temporal economic evaluations of animal welfare and environmental interactions etc.

5) Case study synthesis and discussion Ethical considerations
Group work with ethical considerations
Presentations

6) Examination


 
Teaching and learning Methods
. Lectures, and exercises . Group work . Defined case study of relevance to animal sector illustrating all aspects of sustainability
 
Learning Outcome
Learning Outcome
The objective of the course is to enable students to independently perform a scientifically sound and holistic analysis and evaluation of sustainability in its widest sense (economical, environmental and societal) of industries, animal husbandry and other issues pertaining to the animal sector. Furthermore, the course provide student with knowledge to understand the external (international) factors and the instruments that can be applied to develop a sector in a given direction.

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge:
- Describe the concepts of different sustainability criteria
- Understanding multi-criteria and other economic methods for analyzing sustainability
- Explain the factors and mechanisms leading to environmental consequences of keeping animals
- Understand the theory and principles behind life cycle analyses
Skills:
- Apply various methods for analysis and evaluation of sustainability
- Interpret life cycle assessments and economic analyses of various production chains or animal related activities.
-
Competencies:
- Scientifically analyze a given animal (production) system
- Elaborate sustainability considerations for a given animal related activity and development trends influencing these
- Discuss and suggest appropriate measures to improve sustainability of a given sector or activity, and how these can be implemented
 
Course Literature
Perman, Roger, Yue Ma, James McGilvray, and Michael Common, Natural Resource
and Environmental Economics, 3 ed., Harlow: Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 2003.

Steinfeld, Gerber, Wassenaar, Castel, Rosales, de Haan. Livestocks Long Shadow. FAO, 391 pages available at
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e00.pdf

Steinfeld et al. Livestock in a changing landscape 1 and 2. available at
http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/am074e/am074e00.pdf

Swanepoel, et al. The Role of Livestock in Developing Communities: Enhancing Mulitfunctionality. WUR - selected chapters (available as pdf file)

Material on companion animals and sustainability to be identified

Academica literature identification, interpretation and evaluation are core elements due to the project nature of the course.
 
Course Coordinator
Hanne Helene Hansen, han@life.ku.dk, Department of Large Animal Sciences/Production and Health, Phone: 353-33083
 
Study Board
Study Committee V
 
Work Load
project work124
lectures20
Colloquia10
supervision10
Excursions10
preparation22
examination10

206