Sustainable development in food and wine

Semester 2 · 40408 · Bachelor in Enogastronomy in Mountain Areas · 6CP · DE

Part 1:
The course includes the following topics relevant to the gastronomy sector in mountain regions:
1. theories and basic concepts of sustainable development in mountain regions from the disciplines of economic and agricultural geography, among others.
2. actors, governance structures, site conditions and factors influencing agriculture/gastronomy.
3. regional development and gastronomy.
4. culinary traditions/culinary heritage.
5. alpine farming and cheese production.
6. wine industry.
7. practical examples of sustainable initiatives, projects and hospitality services.
8. culinary/ gastronomic tourism - characteristics of demand and supply.
9. potentials, challenges and limits for the sustainable/resilient development of the gastronomy sector.

Part 2:
This section focuses on the discussion and analysis of the political and social geographies, as well as the regional and global networks involved in production, distribution, and consumption within the food sector. Particular emphasis is given on sustainable development in mountain regions. The course is designed to acquaint students with essential themes in food geography and related spatial dynamics. By developing these competencies, students will be equipped to critically assess current economic frameworks and power structures in the food sector, thereby supporting effective strategies for sustainable regional development. The following topics will be addressed:
• Basic concepts of geography such as space, place, scale and network (paths, relationships and distances) are presented in their economic and political dimensions and their relevance for the food sector (food as a commodity and socio-cultural good).
• Sustainability as a concept in food geography.
• Discussion of selected approaches in economic geography and political geography, such as mountain foodscapes, political economy and ecology, alternative economic forms, which serve to critically analyze existing economic systems.
• Critical analysis of power constellations at global and regional level: food regimes, food sovereignty, etc.
• Strategies for the sustainable development of regional food economies in mountainous areas, supported by specific case studies.
• Globalization and localization with a focus on processes of globalization (connections and disconnections): Uneven development, food regulation, food in movement and transformation, etc.
• Strategies for “localizing” food: terroir, and labels such as DOP, etc.
• Methods of qualitative economic and political geography, such as critical mapping, interviews and observations with a spatial focus (distributions, mobility/routes, relations etc.), which serve to analyze the food sector in the local context of the Alps in its socio-spatial dimensions, are practiced.

Lecturers: Tobias Boos, Thomas Streifeneder

Teaching Hours: 36
Lab Hours: 24
Mandatory Attendance: NO

Course Topics
See contents summary

Teaching format
Lectures, discussions, and exercises; field trip if possible

Educational objectives
The course teaches the basics of sustainable development in mountain areas for the gastronomy sector. Central elements are concepts, theories, terminology and application practices of economic, agricultural and regional geography or regional economics and rural geography in relation to issues relevant to gastronomy. These primarily concern the production of agricultural products and the processing, distribution and use of the regional products made from them in the gastronomy. The spatial focus is on the European mountain regions, with the Alpine Mountain areas and the area of the EUSALP macro-region Alps forming the regional and territorial focus. Scientific methods and content are therefore presented and discussed, including the economic, cultural-socio-economic and touristic potentials, challenges, advantages and disadvantages of mountain regions in relation to gastronomic development and their culinary heritage. The educational objectives include the acquisition of scientific knowledge regarding the possibilities and limitations of current and potential development opportunities of sustainable value chains in the gastronomy sector.

Additional educational objectives and learning outcomes
After successfully completing the course, students will be able to: Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of basic theories, concepts and terminology on sustainable development in general and for the gastronomy sector in particular in mountain areas (knowledge and understanding). Understand the local and (socio-)economic conditions for agriculture and gastronomy in general and in mountain areas in particular (knowledge and understanding). Carry out simple analyses and assessments of the potential and future viability of projects and initiatives based on knowledge of the criteria of sustainability and resilience (knowledge and understanding). Conduct targeted research based on the current state of research and take a critical stance on current discussions (judgement, evaluation). Deal with alpine-specific sources and statistical information and the interpretation of thematic maps (judgement, evaluation).

Assessment
The course is assessed on the basis of written texts (30 %) and an oral examination on the content of the course/compulsory literature (70 %). The written texts are based on the written elaboration (incl. graphical representations) of practical exercises. It is possible to take an intermediate oral exam. The instructions for all papers and the reading for the exams are provided via an online platform (OLE or TEAMS).

Evaluation criteria
The written texts and the final oral exam will be assessed on the basis of the clarity of the answers and the ability to summarize, evaluate, and establish relationships between course topics.

Required readings

Chapter 1 „Introducing geographies of food“. In Kneafsey, M.; Maye, D.; Holloway, L. & Goodman, M. K. (2021): Geographies of food. An introduction (S. 3-21). Bloomsbury Academic. [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Chapter 2 „Tradition und Moderne“. In Ermann, U.; Langthaler, E.; Penker, M. & Schermer, M. (2018): Agro-Food Studies. Eine Einführung (S. 17-38. ). Böhlau[Dr. Tobias Boos]

Chapter 5 „Food connections and commodity chains“. In Joassart-Marcelli, P. (2022): Food Geographies. Social, political, and ecological connections (S. 93-114). Rowman & Littlefield. [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Chapter 14 „New food geographies“. In Joassart-Marcelli, P. (2022): Food Geographies. Social, political, and ecological connections (S. 285-294). Rowman & Littlefield. [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Correia, R. & Brito, C. (2016). Wine Tourism and Regional Development. In: Peris-Ortiz, M., Del Río Rama, M., Rueda-Armengot, C. (Eds.) Wine and Tourism. Springer. https://doi-org.libproxy.unibz.it/10.1007/978-3-319-18857-7_3, S. 27-37 [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Wagner, D. (2015): Gastronomie und Culinary Tourism, in: K.-P. Fritz, D. Wagner (Hrsg.), Forschungsfeld Gastronomie, Forschung und Praxis an der FH Wien der WKW, DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-05195-2_4, S. 87-98 [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Ermann, U.; Langthaler, E.; Penker, M. & Schermer, M. (2018): Regionalisierung – die verstärkte Einbettung von Lebensmitteln in regionale Strukturen, in: Agro-Food-Studies, utb, S. 52-59 [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Martinus, K.; Boruff,B. & Nunez Picado, A. (2024): Authenticity, interaction, learning and location as curators of experiential agritourism, in: Journal of Rural Studies, 108, 103294 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103294 [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Additional reading of specific book chapters and specialist articles on concepts and empirical studies will be announced during the course via an online platform (OLE or TEAMS).

Supplementary readings

Rainer, G.; Kister, J. & Steiner, C. (2019). Qualifizierungsstrategien in regionalen Restrukturierungsprozessen. Die Neuerfindung Südtirols in eine, globalisierten Weinmarkt. Geographische Zeitschrift, 107(2), S. 130-156. [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Cook, I. et al. (2004). Follow the thing: Papaya. Antipode, 36(4), S. 642-664. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2004.00441.x [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Nowak, Z. (2018). Terroir: A socially constructed subterranean landscape gone global. In J. Zeunert & T. Waterman (Hrsg.), Routledge handbook of landscape and food (S. 543-552). Routledge. [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Fontefrancesco, M. F.; Zocchi, D. M. & A. Pieroni (2023): The intersection between food and cultural landscape: Insights from three mountain case studies. In land, 12(3), 676, https://doi.org/10.3390/land12030676 [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Krähmer, K. et al. (2024): Towards sustainable and sufficient city region food systems: Reflections from the case study of Turin, Italy. In sustainability, 16(19), 8569 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198569 [Dr. Tobias Boos]

Ermann, Ulrich (2006): Aus der Region – für die Region? Regionales Wirtschaften als Strategie zur Entwicklung ländlicher Räume, in: Geographische Rundschau, 58(12), S. 28-36. [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Streifeneder T, Hoffmann C, Laner P & Maggi S (2023): Die Landwirtschaft im Alpenraum: Entwicklungen seit 1980, in: Geographische Rundschau, 3, https://www.westermann.de/artikel/51230300/Geographische-Rundschau-Der-Alpenraum [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Streifeneder, T. (2023): Schauspiele auf dem Land - Das utopische Potenzial des »Malser Wegs« in Südtirol, in: Michael Mießner, Matthias Naumann, Ulrike Grabski-Kieron, Annett Steinführer, Werner Nell, Marc Weiland (Hrsg.), Ländliche Utopien [S. 313-323], transcript Verlag. [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Yikmis, S.; Türkol, M.; Abdi, G.; Imre, M.; Alkan, G. Türk Aslan, S.; Rabail, R. & Aadil, R. M. (2024): Culinary trends in future gastronomy: A review, in: Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 18, 101363, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2024.101363 [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

Pettenati, G.; Amo, E. & Woods, M. (2025): Assembling mountains through food. Typical cheese and politics of mountainness in the Italian Alps, in: Geoforum, 159, 104210, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2025.104210 [Dr. Thomas Streifeneder]

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Sustainable Development Goals
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.

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