Video transcript: Studying MSc Food Systems at the University of Leeds

Transcript for the Studying MSc Food Systems video embedded on the Global Food and Environment Institute Education page.

[Music]

[Several voices speak over clips of food being produced, including a combine harvester in a field, apples in a market and a person cooking using a wok] 

We're facing some big global challenges around food.

We're battling against climate change.

Food consumption and production accounts for nearly a quarter of our total greenhouse gas emissions. 

Ever-growing human population.

We have over-production in certain parts of the world.

One billion people go hungry, while 30% of the food that we produce gets wasted.

Also dwindling natural resources so we're actually facing a food security crisis.

[Professor Chee Yew Wong from Leeds University Business School appears on the screen sitting in the Victoria Gate shopping centre in Leeds]

Chee: There are now more and more people realising that the way we behave, the way we consume, the way we produce is not sustainable.
We have to change.

[A screen appears with MSc Sustainable Food Systems written on it]

[Professor Katie Field from the School of Biology appears on the screen walking through a food market]

Katie: This course is especially timely to help us future-proof our food supply chain.

[Dr Effie Papargyropoulou from the School of Earth and Environment appears on the screen walking through a food market]

Effie: We're going to use systems thinking as an approach, go into this big challenge, understand what the different elements of the food system are and what are the relationships between them in order to understand where those leverage points are. 

[Professor Katie Field appears on the screen standing in a food market]

Katie: It actually builds on existing strengths that the University has across campus.

[Aerial shots of the University campus are shown]

[Dr Effie Papargyropoulou appears on the screen]

Effie: It's very interdisciplinary. We have expertise from across the university all involved in developing and delivering these programmes.

Katie: The School of Biology.

Effie: The School of Earth and Environment.

[Professor Chee Yew Wong appears on the screen sitting in the Victoria Gate shopping centre]

Chee: In addition to the Business School, there are people from Food Science.

Effie: The Institute for Transport Studies.

Katie: Geography.

Chee: There are people from the area studies.

[Professor Caroline Orfila from the School of Food Science and Nutrition appears on the screen standing in a food market]

Caroline: I think looking at a single problem but with many different perspectives really helps to come up with novel solutions.

[Dr Effie Papargyropoulou appears on the screen]

Effie: The students themselves will be working on real world problems.

[Professor Chee Yew Wong appears on the screen sitting in the Victoria Gate shopping centre]

Chee: The module I’m teaching is all about the supply chain. Usually they are biased towards making economic decisions.

We are teaching the students how they can change this perspective to consider the economic as well as the environment and society impact. 

[Professor Katie Field is shown looking at plants in lab]

Katie: We'll actually cover some aspects of plant science that are critical for engineering future crops.

[Professor Caroline Orfila and Dr Effie Papargyropoulou are shown walking together in a food market]

Caroline: My contribution to the programme is teaching students to understand what happens to the food, how it's transformed into edible products, and all these things will be important for consumer decisions.

[A petri dish is shown]

[Dr Effie Papargyropoulou appears on the screen]

Effie: It's about experiential learning. So, we're trying to take the learning outside the classroom. 

We're going to be engaging with the industry, the different stakeholders that are involved. 

We're really going to expose the students to the points of tension and the traders we need to consider in a developing country context.

[Professor Katie Field appears on the screen standing in a food market]

Katie: We're also going to be doing more local-based field trips to food production systems including the University of Leeds farm.

Effie: Really bringing in cutting-edge research into the programme.

[Professor Caroline Orfila appears on the screen standing in a food market]

Caroline: There will be great opportunities for our graduates to go and work in the food industry internationally.

[A person is shown working at a computer]

Katie: Being able to enter professions right from a lab scientist all the way through to potentially helping put together policy and laws.

[Dr Effie Papargyropoulou appears on the screen]

Effie: Students will be able to work across different scales, from the micro all the way to the macro and these are the sort of skills that industry is telling us that they need more of.

[Professor Katie Field appears on the screen standing in a food market]

Katie: I think it's really exciting that we're going to be attracting such a wide range of students with diverse interests.

[Dr Effie Papargyropoulou appears on the screen]

Effie: They are going to bring their own perspectives and they are going to learn from each other and engage with other ways of looking at these challenges to become, you know, that change agent that will lead that transformation.

[Professor Katie Field appears on the screen standing in a food market]

Katie: It's going to be a really stimulating and exciting course for students to actually take.

[The video ends with a screen containing the University logo, the title MSc Sustainable Food Systems and a link to the School of Environment website]