French Studies 334 - Food,Agricult,&Envirnmt/France

French food and agricultural products are celebrated worldwide for their quality, diversity, and rich cultural history. French chefs have long set the standard for the high-end restaurant world; it was French winemakers, a century ago, who first gave a legal status to the concept of terroir; while French farmers are perhaps best known for their skill in staging effective displays of political force. France is also an agricultural powerhouse, a leading global exporter of agricultural goods and a key player in determining European agricultural policy. As in the U.S., however, the French agri-food sector is currently facing an array of daunting challenges, from changing consumer preferences to an aging farmer demographic to an increasingly unstable climate. In this course we will learn what is distinctive about French food and agriculture and consider what the example of France has to offer environmental and food system activists in the U.S. and beyond. Topics to be covered include: French agricultural politics and the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); debates over livestock production in France (animal welfare, veganism, re-wilding); the world of French cheese; the history of France's much-admired open-air produce markets; the wine sector and wine-grape production; organic farming and other efforts to reduce pesticide use in France; the nature of French agricultural education; social diversity in French agriculture; and the French government's current campaign to bring about a large-scale "agroecological transition." Classes will be conducted in French. This course will equip you with a vocabulary specific to food, agriculture, and the environment and a strong familiarity with the institutions and dynamics underlying France's famous agri-food system. As such, it will provide excellent preparation for students wishing to pursue future work or study in France or another Francophone country.