SASA10153U Animals and Sustainability

Volume 2013/2014
Education
MSc Programme in Animal Science - compulsory
MSc Programme in Agricultural Development
Content

The course content will address the following issues relating to the use of animals in a sustainability context at the enterprise and household level

The course content will address the following issues relating to the use of animals in a sustainability context at the enterprise and household level

1) Introduction – sustainability and decision making

• Sustainability concepts (all subjects)
• Introduction to case studies

2) Stakeholder analyses and societal legal considerations

3) Environmental sustainability
• Animal husbandry and interaction with the environment
• Impacts of livestock on the atmospheric, aquatic and terrestrial environment
• Technological opportunities for minimising negative environmental impacts
• Natural resource and nutrient flux perspectives of international trade with fodder, animal derived food, live animals and other products related to the animal sector
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool for assessing environmental impacts and sustainability of different livestock systems

4) Economic sustainability
• Economic concepts of sustainability
• Incentive structures and policy instruments
• Inter temporal economic evaluations of animal welfare and environmental interactions etc.

5) Case study synthesis and discussion Ethical considerations
Group work with ethical considerations
Presentations

6) Examination

Learning Outcome
Learning Outcome
The objective of the course is to enable students to independently perform a scientifically sound and holistic analysis and evaluation of sustainability in its widest sense (economical, environmental and societal) of industries, animal husbandry and other issues pertaining to the animal sector. Furthermore, the course provide student with knowledge to understand the external (international) factors and the instruments that can be applied to develop a sector in a given direction.

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge:
- Describe the concepts of different sustainability criteria
- Understanding multi-criteria and other economic methods for analyzing sustainability
- Explain the factors and mechanisms leading to environmental consequences of keeping animals
- Understand the theory and principles behind life cycle analyses

Skills:
- Apply various methods for analysis and evaluation of sustainability
- Interpret life cycle assessments and economic analyses of various production chains or animal related activities.
 
Competencies:
- Scientifically analyze a given animal (production) system
- Elaborate sustainability considerations for a given animal related activity and development trends influencing these
- Discuss and suggest appropriate measures to improve sustainability of a given sector or activity, and how these can be implemented
Literature

New scientific articles and book chapters identified at the start of the course.

Academica literature identification, interpretation and evaluation are core elements due to the project nature of the course.
SASA10152U
SASA10149U
SASA10152U
SASA10156U
SOJA10281U
• Lectures and exercises
• Group work
• Defined case study of relevance to animal sector illustrating all aspects of sustainability
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Colloquia
  • 10
  • Exam
  • 10
  • Guidance
  • 10
  • Lectures
  • 30
  • Preparation
  • 22
  • Project work
  • 124
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination
Written assignment
Case study report; Weight: 34%. Oral examination based on case report and course curriculum. Weight: Oral exam 66%.
Exam registration requirements
The case study report must be submitted, presented and receive a passing grade.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
In order to obtain the highest grade (12), the student should be able to:

- Describe the concepts of different sustainability criteria
- Understand multi-criteria and other economic methods for analyzing sustainability
- Explain the factors and mechanisms leading to environmental consequences of keeping animals
- Understand the theory and principles behind life cycle analyses

- Apply various methods for analysis and evaluation of sustainability
- Interpret life cycle assessments and economic analyses of various production chains or animal related activities.

- Scientifically analyze a given animal (production) system
- Elaborate sustainability considerations for a given animal related activity and development trends influencing these
- Discuss and suggest appropriate measures to improve sustainability of a given sector or activity, and how these can be implemented 

The exam will include several aspects of sustainability and can't be passed with knowledge of only a single aspect.