Fostering Integrated Food Policy Through Multi-Disciplinary Teaching and Learning. The Case of the IFSTAL (Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning) Programme.

This paper uses the example of the UK-based IFSTAL programme to explore how integrated food policy can be supported through targeting the next generation of food policymakers. IFSTAL brings post graduate students from different food-related disciplines together both online and at face-to-face workshops. In a rare example of interdisciplinarity at university post graduate level, IFSTAL uses techniques and tools associated with soft-systems methodologies to develop students’ ‘food systems thinking’ – with the rationale that food policy challenges can only be addressed through multi- or trans-disciplinary solutions. This rationale is rooted in policy literature on the lack of joined-up food policy in the UK, with attempts to overcome this and integrate food policy across government departments (e.g. health, environment and agriculture) frustrated by bounded remits and persistent silo mentalities. Synthesising this food policy literature, systems thinking methods and pedagogical theory, the paper uses examples from IFSTAL’s teaching practice to examine the potential for better integrated policy via systems thinking methods, outlining the pros and cons in each case.