Food economics: Teaching for the future of agriculture, nutrition, and health

Abstract

This article introduces “Food Economics: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health,” a new open access textbook that helps equip students with the skills needed to analyze complex food systems issues and contribute to a sustainable, equitable, and healthy future of food. Recognizing that students enter courses with pre-existing beliefs about food and face barriers to sustained engagement in coursework, the textbook uses analytical diagrams, data visualizations, and real-world applications to spark and keep interest. Food economics education plays an important role for cultivating a skilled workforce, promoting evidence-based policy, and bridging cultural and disciplinary divides to address food system problems.