LAW AND POLICY OF SUSTAINABLE AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS
Obiettivi formativi
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Understand sustainability and climate change as legal and public policy challenges
- Analyse the agrifood system as a regulated policy domain
- Critically assess international and EU legal and policy frameworks relevant to agriculture and food systems
- Evaluate different policy instruments (regulatory, market-based, voluntary) and their effectiveness
- Examine policy trade-offs between environmental, economic and social objectives
- Develop structured policy analysis using legal and institutional sources
Risultati di apprendimento attesi
Upon successful completion of the course, students will demonstrate:
- Knowledge of international and EU law and policy on climate, environment and agriculture
- Ability to interpret and analyse legislation, strategies and policy documents
- Understanding of regulatory design, implementation and enforcement issues
- Capacity to integrate legal reasoning with policy analysis
- Clear written and oral argumentation on sustainability-related policy choices
Contenuti Del Corso
The course introduces sustainability as a legal and policy objective and examines the agrifood system as a regulated domain characterised by environmental externalities and governance challenges. It then explores international frameworks, including global agreements, international organisations and the interaction between trade and sustainability.
The course focuses on the European Union as a central regulatory actor, analysing its institutional framework and key policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy.
It further examines policy instruments, including regulatory, market-based and voluntary approaches, and discusses their effectiveness. The final part addresses issues of justice, distributional impacts and future challenges in the transition towards sustainable agrifood systems.
Testi Di Riferimento
- A. Orsini, E.Kavvatha, EU Environmental Governance - Current and Future Challenges, Routledge, 2026
- J. Duncan, P. Claeys, Food Systems Governance: Challenges for Justice, Equality and Human Rights, Routledge, 2018
- C. Segger, M. C., Khalfan, A., (eds.), Weaving the Rules for Our Common Future: Principles, Practices and Prospects for an International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), 2002
- Bernd van der Meulen, Bart Wernaart, Lisanne Kramer, Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Food Law, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025
Metodologie Didattiche
- Lectures with policy-oriented analysis
- Seminars based on academic literature and legal texts
- Analysis of international treaties and EU legislation
- Case studies and applied policy exercises
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
- Class participation – 20%
- Group presentation / policy brief – 30%
- Final written exam – 50%
Criteri per l’assegnazione dell’elaborato finale
Students opting to write a final thesis are required to develop an individual research project related to the themes of the course.
The topic must be relevant to the law and/or policy of sustainable agrifood systems. It should address an issue at the international and/or EU level, and must be approved by the instructor in advance.
Students are encouraged to adopt an interdisciplinary PPE approach, integrating legal analysis with policy evaluation and, where relevant, economic reasoning.
Settimana 1
Week 1 – Sustainability and Climate Change: Law and Policy Foundations
- Sustainability as a policy goal and legal principle
- Climate change as a regulatory problem
- Evidence, expertise and policy-making
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 2
Week 2 – The Agrifood System as a Policy Domain
- Structure of the agrifood system
- Externalities, public goods and market failures
- Food security, food safety and sustainability objectives
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 3
Week 3 – Agriculture and Climate Change
- Emissions, mitigation and adaptation in agriculture
- Policy instruments and regulatory approaches
- Distributional and intergenerational effects
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 4
Week 4 – International Climate and Food Governance
- UNFCCC and Paris Agreement
- FAO, WTO and global food-related policies
- Coordination, soft law and compliance challenges
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 5
Week 5 – Trade, Sustainability and Global Supply Chains
- Trade rules and environmental policies
- Sustainability standards and due diligence
- Development, equity and global justice concerns
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 6
Week 6 – Multilevel Governance and the European Union
- EU competences in agriculture, climate and environment
- Sources of EU law and policy instruments
- Interaction between EU and international frameworks
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 7
Week 7 – The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
- Legal basis and policy objectives
- Green architecture, conditionality and eco-schemes
- Implementation, monitoring and reform debates
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 8
Week 8 – The European Green Deal and Climate Policy
- Green Deal as an overarching policy framework
- European Climate Law and climate targets
- Policy coherence and regulatory integration
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 9
Week 9 – Farm to Fork Strategy and Food System Policies
- Sustainability objectives and regulatory tools
- Pesticides, biodiversity, animal welfare
- Implementation challenges and political resistance
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 10
Week 10 – Policy Instruments and Regulatory Choices
- Command-and-control vs market-based instruments
- Incentives, subsidies and carbon pricing
- Voluntary schemes and private regulation
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 11
Week 11 – Rights, Justice and Policy Evaluation
- Environmental and climate justice
- Right to food and policy implications
- Policy effectiveness, legitimacy and accountability
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE
Settimana 12
Week 12 – Case Studies and Future Challenges
- GMOs, NGTs and innovation governance
- Carbon farming and climate-smart agriculture
- Just transition and social acceptance
All required readings and teaching materials will be provided by the instructor on a weekly basis through the course platform.
ON CAMPUS LECTURE