Fall 2019 - 59095 - PA 680PA - Policy Research Project

Green New Deal and Food

Introduction

The Green New Deal has grabbed headlines, and endorsements, from a range of politicians. Beyond the US, an expansive program of public spending has been offered as a tool to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels towards a net-zero carbon economy, one that’s required in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Although the Green New Deal has been the subject of policy analysis at the intersections of energy, employment and infrastructure, there has been a substantial absence of discussion around the Green New Deal and food systems.

One organization that has taken this work seriously outside the United States is the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). Their work on a European Food Policy has drawn hundreds of key stakeholders together in a multi-year process to articulate policy pathways that are both ambitious and realistic.

IPES-Food would like this PRP to develop the framework for a similar process in the United States. The challenge for students in this PRP will be both to master a swiftly growing literature in the US and elsewhere, and to use it to develop approaches and understandings of policy pathways that work not just in urban areas, but rural ones. To do this, students will research, interview stakeholders, and develop proposals connecting agriculture and food system restructuring to support climate change mitigation through a combination of engagement with innovative farmers and food entrepreneurs and policy specialists

The goal will be, by the spring of 2020, to have a series of policy interventions that can be debated as part of the Iowa Caucuses, with a final report to be presented at the IPES Food 2020 panel meetings in Washington DC.

Learning objectives

By the end of the PRP, all students will:

Gain a deeper understanding of the food system and food policy levers.  This includes examining the role of local, state, and national government and the roles of community and civil society in the food system.
Know how to present preliminary and final results to senior local and state government officials (through interaction with the Executive Masters program, elected and non-elected city officials, and others). 
Learn how to manage yourself, your peers and your clients to efficiently use your, and their, time and resources. 
Understand how community engagement works, and be aware of some of the pitfalls of working for and with underserved rural populations. 

In addition, depending on interests, each student will have the opportunity to learn some of the following:

How to analyze secondary data for policy analysis. 
How to strategize approaches to policy design with a range of different communities 
How to identify best (and worst) practices from other communities.